Fans often express their love of authors or books by creating and sharing "fanfiction," a genre wherein fans write new narratives that add to beloved works or take place in existing story worlds. In this article, we describe a kindergarten teacher's efforts to enhance students' foundational literacy skills by combining author studies…

Immersion into fiction is associated with many educational and social benefits. The current study compared read-alouds of a historical fiction novel and a nonfiction textbook to determine whether differences were observed in student's transportation, content learning, and socio-emotional development. In all, 41 students between the ages of 9 and…

The author draws on previous work in looking at refugee literature and focuses on two different, yet arguably complimentary, examples of marginalized narratives in graphic novels that inservice teachers can use in instruction. "The Nameless City" by Faith Erin Hicks offers a fictional story yet delves into complex issues and themes.…

Even though student-led small-group book discussions about fiction have been a curricular staple, teachers still contend with surface-level discussions and students who have difficulty with creating meaning together. Based on their previous findings, the authors explore building a foundation for discussions (for teachers new to literature study)…

This paper reviews a corpus of 40 Chinese American contemporary realistic fiction picturebooks published in the United States. These picturebooks feature Chinese immigrants adjusting to American culture, Chinese American celebrating heritage culture, bridging two cultures, and connecting with their home country. The findings reveal that these…

Historical fiction is a powerful genre for inviting children into meaningful conversations centered on the lived experiences of others. Historical inquiry immerses readers in interdisciplinary research experiences and complements language arts Common Core State Standards that call for a balance of fiction and non-fiction text. Antiracist lenses…

Literacy educators, spurred by curricular standards requiring increased attention to reading nonfiction, are compelled to consider text-specific reading instruction. As research supports the connection between motivation and reading achievement, these mandates beg the question, "Are children equally motivated to read fiction and…

The author presents findings from a yearlong study of the ways an inclusive fourth-grade teacher and her students talked about reading outside of formal reading lessons. Findings indicated that across the school day, especially during informal moments, students narrated connections and disconnections between their experiences and realistic fiction…

Students need inspiration to write. Assigning is not teaching. In order to inspire students to write fiction worth reading, teachers must take them through the process of writing. Physical objects inspire good writing with depth. In this article, the reader will be taken through the process of inspiring young writers through the use of boxes.…

This teaching tip highlights three writing minilessons that help students construct vivid sensory detail (textual detail related to the five senses) in their fiction and creative nonfiction writing. Learning to show, not tell, is a difficult task for novice writers. The author explores reasons why this is the case and provides directions for the…

African American children's literature has a potentially powerful role to play in increasing reading engagement for African American boys. Unfortunately, this body of literature is not always used effectively in schools. Many teachers use African American books as an add-on to pre-exisiting curriculum rather than fully exploring the topics,…

This formative and design study examined how the Complex Text Analysis (CTA) instructional approach provided support for first-grade students to increase their comprehension of texts of increasing complexity. The students in the diverse class participated in weekly lessons during which fictional texts were read aloud and analyzed in terms of key…

Throughout its history, the ecology of the picturebook has been impacted by various social and cultural changes. Postmodernism is one perspective, among other conceptual and theoretical frameworks, that has been proposed to explain some of the fundamental changes evident in many contemporary picturebooks. A review of the literature (Pantaleo &…

Authentication projects, particularly for historical fiction, provide a means for students to explore literature and history while practicing critical literacy skills. The authors 1) present benefits and cautions for historical fiction use in elementary classrooms, 2) introduce authentication projects as a means to mitigate risks and enhance…

This article uses Dresang's dimensions of radical change to call attention to the evolving structures and features of novels for young readers being published today. The controversial topics and elaborate design features contained in contemporary novels, for example, the expansion of dystopic fiction, the disruption of traditional narrative…