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Lesson 02: Nonfiction as Literature: Part One
Lesson 2 Overview | Nonfiction as Literature: Part One
- “Certainly the basic purpose of nonfiction is to inform, to instruct, hopefully to enlighten. But that’s not enough. An effective nonfiction book must animate its subject, infuse it with life. It must create a vivid and believable world that the reader will enter willingly and leave only with reluctance. A good nonfiction book should be a pleasure to read."
— Russell Freedman, quoted in Barbara Kiefer and Melissa Wilson’s “Nonfiction Literature for Children: Old Assumptions and New Directions,” 291
In this lesson, we’ll begin exploring nonfiction as literature, with the opening quote from Russell Freedman as our foundation. Freedman’s words initially appeared in his essay “Fact or Fiction?” published in Using Nonfiction Trade Books in the Elementary Classroom: From Ants to Zeppelins, edited by Evelyn Freeman and Diane Person. Barbara Kiefer and Melissa Wilson quote him in their chapter “Nonfiction Literature for Children: Old Assumptions and New Directions” that we’ll be discussing for this lesson.
Freedman, known for his passionate curiosity and extensive research in writing nonfiction for young people, emphasizes the importance of story and literary qualities in nonfiction. He brings attention to the power of nonfiction to engage readers while providing informative and enjoyable reading experiences.
In the readings for this lesson, you’ll learn about different categories of nonfiction, and complexities around definitions for nonfiction and informational texts. We’ll explore resources for locating nonfiction literature for children and adolescents, and ideas for evaluating nonfiction literature.
Lesson Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
- Develop and demonstrate an understanding about the complexities of defining “nonfiction” and “informational” books.
- Recognize nonfiction as literature and articulate purposes of nonfiction.
- Be familiar with resources for locating nonfiction literature.
- Identify and discuss characteristics of “good” or “effective” nonfiction.
Lesson Readings & Activities
By the end of this lesson, make sure you have completed the readings and activities found in the Lesson 2 Course Schedule.
References:
Freedman, Russell. “Fact or Fiction?” Using Nonfiction Trade Books in the Elementary Classroom: From Ants to Zeppelins. Eds. Evenlyn Freeman & Diane Person. Urbana, Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English, 1992. 2-10.
Kiefer, Barbara and Melissa I. Wilson. “Nonfiction Literature for Children: Old Assumptions and New Directions.” In Handbook of Research on Children’s and Young Adult Literature. Eds. Shelby A. Wolf, Karen Coats, Patricia Enciso, and Christine A. Jenkins. New York: Routledge, 2011. 290-299.