Making Nonfiction and Other Informational Texts Come Alive

Book excerpt: Offering a fresh approach, this much-needed text mirrors the features that are traditionally found in nonfiction texts—illustrations, diagrams, insets, boxed materials—to help clarify and explain the concepts being presented. This is a perfect complement to reading methods courses, which includes a wealth of nonfiction titles that teachers can readily use effectively in a balanced literacy program. Packed with ideas and suggestions for the classroom, Pike and Mumper offer everything one needs to know in order to use nonfiction texts in the classroom, from using them in literature circles, and as models for writing or for research purposes--Publisher's description.