There are so many beautiful books about animals, plants, space, and weather. I was interested that the book features a section on dinosaur books. Our kindergarteners can spend endless time studying the dinosaur books and talking about the different kinds of dinosaurs. I was excited to see a book about a dinosaur dig that I would like to use with our students. Our young students got me interested in dinosaurs and I went to a dinosaur dig and museum near Thermopolis, Wyoming. I often pick a theme in grade school and bring in nonfiction books from their library, fix matching word searches, and maybe stickers for bookmarks. I find that looking at nonfiction books with lots of pictures is an activity that includes all levels of readers and students like to do it together with a high level reader doing most of the reading of the text. Our text listed books that I hope are in our school's library. In the morning I look to see what we are studying that day and go to the library to get a few books to go with the day...great filler for odd moments. Our book is sure making those selections faster for me to make!
I have always tried to use informational books as additions to which ever subject I happened to be teaching. Teaching math or science is great but having other book to reinforce the materials being taught help children see it differently. Any time a subject can be written into informational lectures with great picture or illustration only serve to make it more exciting.
With my own children who love reading all types of literature as well as informational books, they too found great value in trying to perceive what the information was relating to them.
Giving knowledge is a good reason for reading almost all literature but essential for informational books. If more of our children read Lola M. Schaefer’s Arrowhawk, we, may not have so many hurt animals being abused by kids for fun. This book will illustrate how one can use the environment and animals to keep our planet healthy and safe. While we can always ask someone about a subject, often it is quicker and easier to read to obtain the knowledge we need. As we listen to today’s news, we still hear of people who tried to deny the history of the Holocaust although it is in written form.
Whether we believe it or not, it is up to the individual to read, elevate the historical facts of different material. In the modern world, so many see history and biography as fictional literature. They believe it was created by man to change people’s mind.
As teachers, our jobs to the best of our abilities is to answer the children’s’ questions about history, biography or informational material of past or present through photographs, illustrations, and creative dramatization. This will help them grasp some of the concept and content of books.
Re: Meredith I do understand how young children can get hocked on books about dinosaurs. Little children uses so much of their time creating fantasy about dinos. It is also one of the things we do at my school in the mornings. They are calmer after hearing stories about dinos, or history that is made for little ones to understand. If history or biography is put into simple terms, our K-1st. can enjoy and have fun looking at the pictures and role playing.
Chapter 12 holds a lot of great examples for informational books. I really don't remember reading a whole lot of informational books in my early years besides dinosaur books and my snack cookbook. In Teaching with Informational Books, James Rutherford believes that for the early elementary school classrooms, they should steer away from science textbooks. He thinks that we should present these younger children with adventurous science books to introduce them to science topics. I definitely agree with this, because it is important to teach children about science that they can see everyday which textbooks don't always include. Once children move into middle or late elementary school, they can better understand science topics that they do not observe in their current environments.
I agree with you that this book makes it easier to choose books for the classroom. This book not only tells you what you need to look for in a book, but gives you those examples! It's great that you are incorporating these books into your lessons. I think that it is great students can increase their knowledge about a certain subject after hearing the teacher discuss it, and then read an informational book!
Lacy E, I agree teachers should try and use as many resource books other than textbooks in a student's younger years. I think an elementary student learns more when they can see the topic from many different resources. Informational books are great ways to incorporate other information into the lesson whether it be history, science, math, english, or reading. It is definitely something that I want to incorporate into my classroom.
Informational books are fascinating and seem to be infinite. I personally love informational books. They are right up there with history and historical fiction. I am certain that if there is a subject you want to learn about, there is probably a book about it. I liked the idea of finding out what interests the child and get them books about it. Children can go shopping for books about the things they like, and don't forget the library. I always like the tips given about picking a particular genre of book. Some of the ones given for informational books are being sure the information is up to date. This may sound insignificant but can be very important when it comes to doing research. Informational books can teach about life and the world around us. The are a very essential part in children's literature.
annmarie, I think sometimes students think because it is a textbook it is boring. The same information can be presented in a 'regular book' from and they will enjoy it. I agree that it helps to back up a lesson using other books.
This was a great final chapter in the text, seemingly wrapping up everything into a cohesive whole instead of little parts. I enjoyed reading how authors make the information in their work interesting, needing to write a story just like fiction authors, but only using true facts. I agree with Rutherford and Pringle, that trade books should be used in classrooms versus texts. Since trade books are written by very knowledgeable people in that specific field, they are more factual, can tell a better story since it's covering one main idea, and can involve students better than texts. However, it seems that it would take years before a teacher would have, in their arsenal, all the proper trade books to replace what a text book would provide. Maybe the two could work in conjunction? I also like the idea of using these trade books along with other types of books we've read about. I can imagine teaching a class about WWII, using a trade book about the progression of the war and Nazis, reading Anne Frank's diary, and using picture books to illustrate the unit. With the millions of books on the market, this could be accomplished for virtually every unit taught in the classroom.
Annmarie, You stated so eloquently how important history is to us, our children, and our world. It is imperitive that we teach the mistakes of the past as well as the mistakes we still have time to change to keep our future safe, and children are definitely important in this cycle. Very thoughtful post and good ideas.
This chapter was very interesting to read. I love informational books. Even for someone my age, there is so much to learn from children informational books. I have a nephew that LOVES dinosaurs. He has anything and everything that has to do with dinosaurs. It is amazing how much he knows about them because he owns so many books. I think informational books are a great way to get children excited about something and to learn more about it. The part of this chapter that really made me think was the part about accuracy. This really stinks that these books get published but yet we have to check for accuracy. Also something that I found interesting was the accuracy of illustrations. That is not something that you would normally just think about. I really liked that the chapter had different sections to talk about the different types of informational books. When I was younger, I would say most of my books were hobbies, crafts, and how-to books. I loved these books.
Sarah C: I think it good for a teacher to use both text books and informational books. This allows the students to have lots of information in a text, but have more in-depth information on certain topics. I think informational books are more interesting than just a plain text.
Meredith: These kinds of informational would be a great filler during class. This is such a good idea. Some of those moments cause kids to become restless and begin to get in trouble. If you had different kinds of books, it would not only keep them calm and distracted, but they would also learn from them.
The first thing about chapter 12 that is beneficial for me is learning the value of informational books. The book has six reasons why informational books are important and they include; gaining knowledge, provide opportunities for new discoveries, introduction of the scientific method, encouragement of self reliance, development of critical think and reading skills, and the expansion of the child’s vocabulary. I think that all these are great values for informational books, but also think that any of these could be associated with any genre of book. The second thing that is important that I learned from the chapter is how to evaluate informational books. Knowing ways to properly evaluate these books will better help me or any person to better understand the genre. It was interesting to me to also read about all the different subjects that can be included in the informational book genre. And finally, as in the rest of the chapters it was beneficial to read about teaching with informational books. Giving prospective teachers ideas about how to use a genre of book in the classroom is going to be beneficial in the long run.
I completely agree with you in that there seems to be to end to what people can learn from informational books. Being able to research and learn about any subject is one of the great things about books.
I agree with you about our text being a good resource for helping to pick out books. Like you said finding filler books for awkward moments can be a little difficult and our book does a wonderful job listing books that could be beneficial.
Felisha, I agree that accuracy in books is important, but surprising that we have to check this on our own. I'm amazed just by the number of grammatical and spelling errors, plus typos, in our text book! I guess this is a great teachable moment for students, good proofreading skills! I think my favorite informational books were astrology related, and hobbies as well!
I like reading informational books. They are very informative and interesting. I think these are great books to use in the classroom because they inform the students about various topics/subjects. I think students could not only learn but enjoy reading informational books because they provide wonderful ideas and material for students to expand their vocabulary and critical thinking skills.
RE: Felisha Great job! I definitely agree that informational books are a great way to get children excited and it teaches them about a variety of topics that I know students would love to learn more about.
Chapter 12 was a wonderful chapter that opened the world of informational books. I never read many informational books but I think that they have made better strides and makeing that type of book more kid friendly. I found the criteria for informational books. My son loves to read books of that nature. Books of this nature can be used for reading and it's subject matter.
Robin A Thanks for reminding me that I need to check to make sure information is up to date. It doesn't take but a minute to check copyright date which is a quick clue as to how recent the information is. For science books that can make a big difference.
Tamika M. I am glad that there are so many different informational books that are available to the students in the school library where work. The students can find information on how to style their hair to how many different type of dinosaurs roam the earth and they also have books related to history. These types of books offer a wealth of information to the students when they are looking for answers to those questions that they just don’t understand or they need to have a clear answer to their question. I like the fact that the students can read information books just for enjoyment and wanting to seek more knowledge on any subject that they feel like reading up on. I will encourage the students that I work with and will work with to read more than one book on their subject of interest by different authors. This will help them to have more than one authors view on the subject and who knows, they may learn something new from the other authors point of view. Some informational books are written to help the student form a visual picture of what they are reading. This is great! I think that all children should read at least two informational book and talk about it each school year.
Tamika M In Re: Laura P Like wise I didn't read many informational books when I was in school. The only time that I picked up a book of this type was for writing a research paper. Now in today's new age world everything has change even the way that you locate information. Wow
Chapter 12 teaches us that infromational books provide opportunities for children to experience the excitement of new discoveries. They also help students to understnd what scientific methods means, encourage self-reliance, critical thinking, thinking skills, and to stretch their minds. I learned that informational books also expand childrens vocabulary by introducing new words. Informational books are great for aiding students with research for science, english, or even art projects. Informational books are as a whole great learning tools for many aspects of learning. Rutherfold states on page 531 "The kind I am recommending are those which are adventurous, in which the story is built around finding things out, and which emphasize the excitement of discovery." Books are great learning tools for all and not every student will choose the same type which we have learned throught this book. Chapter by chapter we have learned about all different types of books and what they have within them. In conclusion I have learned about all the different genre and how they are applied to different styles of books. Which will help me when introducing differnt books to my students.
Tamika I agree that informational books are great for helping student understand a subject they may have unanswered questions about. Like what do tree frogs eat or why snakes shed their skin. Students always have questions about stuff and informational books are a great place for them to find the answers and even learn something. I agree that they can find the answers to all their little in quizitive questions.
Chapter 12 Informational Books I think informational books have so many different values such as gaining knowledge, provide opportunities for children to experience the excitement of new discoveries, and encourage children to develop critical thinking and reading skills. I learned that is very important for informational books to have accurate information including in the illustrations. I enjoyed reading the part on how to use informational books to read for meaning. I have many students that I work with that can read very good but have no idea what they just read. I think it is vital to find the main ideas and note what the supporting details are. If they can find these items when they are reading, it will help them write using these same skills. I found many new ideas for books to use in certain subject areas. I am looking forward to reading books in the animal area such as Creepy, Crawly Caterpillars, My Puppy is Born, and Gorilla Walk.
Chapter 12 Informational books This was an interesting chapter about informational books. Children read informational books and informational literature for the enjoyment of reading them. Informational books also "expand childrens vocabulary by introducing new words, including technical terms are often enriched through photographs or detailed illustrations". When I become a teacher, the section on evaluating informal books breaks dowm information into several sections and it will help so much when I start teaching. There are some many informational books that children can use to get the information they need. They are very helpful when doing research on a particular subject. When I think of informational books, I think of encyclopedia books, until I read this chapter. Now I know more about informational books and that there is so many of them.
Tamika, I agree with you that children should read more informational books. Seems like as they get older they read them because they need to and not for the enjoyment of reading them.
Informational books are a great way for students to read about history and to see how things work. Informational books can reinforce the subjects that are being taught in schools if they are written with material that compliments the text in the school books. Meaning the facts in the informational books should be accurate, the illustrations should clarify the text, the students should be encouraged to use their analytical thinking skills, the student’s understanding should be supported by the organization in the book, and the style should stimulate interest. The books should be up to date, because attitudes and values change over time. History is a foreign topic in early elementary classroom curriculum. For younger students, it is beneficial to include hands on learning with history lessons. If students are learning about pioneer days, they could learn to cook some of the food from back then. They would also get an appreciation for the hard work our pioneers experienced when preparing food. If students are learning about dinosaurs, a field trip to Lawrence Kansas’ Natural History museum would be fun. I did this as a child, and I remember seeing the skeletal models of the ancient dinosaurs. This later blossomed into a desire to be an archeologist. Fortunately, I found my true calling in a classroom, and not a dusty desert. How to Books are a great way for students to learn more about a hobby, or to learn about a new hobby.
Re: Loisw I too learned a lot more about informational books after reading this chapter. There are so many possibilities with incorporating them in to lesson planning. I remember using Encyclopedias as a child, I am so glad there are more options today for children.
I am really glad this is our last chapter because I think that these types of books are very important in a classroom I think children learn better when they can relate things to everyday life or fun things like dinosaurs. I wish my teachers would have used more book besides textbooks to teach, I think I would have learned more. I really like that this book give examples of books because then it give us some ideas of books to use while teaching.
I really enjoyed this chapter of the book, and no, not just because it was the last one ! I have always enjoyed reading biographies, especially autobiographies. I have always found them very interesting and worthwhile. I agree with the book when they said, on the first page, “Informational books also provide opportunities for children to experience the excitement of new discoveries.” My little brother loves to read biographies and informational books about wars, weapons, planes etc. I just found this chapter to be very interesting because of all the different types of informational books. It’s not that I didn’t think there were so many; it is just that I never did think about it in reality. In fact, as I was thinking about the informational books I have read recently, I realized I have read many of them just in the five classes I am currently enrolled in and will read many more in the future. I believe that children should be encouraged to read more informational books, I don’t believe they are encouraged enough in this day in age. I am going to make it my goal to provide my students with ample opportunities to read many informational books.
Re: Felisha N Isn't it amazing how students/children can get so excited by reading informational books? I love to watch the excitment my little brother has for history, wars, plans, weapons etc. He began reading informational books when he was very young, many of his board books were informational books about planes and trucks etc. It was so neat to watch him grow up enjoying these books more and more!
Aspen, I agree yeah last chapter. I was just thinking that when I started to screen what my daughter was reading I told her that this was one of the few types she could read. (magic books are now outlawed until she has a sense of real vs fiction. So I hoped this would not discourage her from reading but give her new appreciation for books.
In response to Lacy E., I think James Rutherford definitely had the right idea with his suggestion about Science books for the younger Elementary grade classrooms. There is a series of books called Science Series for the Young about animal life that looks interesting. There are also some similar series that deal with various aspects of science, such as germs, etc. I find these types of books do help to hold a young child's interest much more than dull textbooks because of the engaging language and pictures.
As I stated in the post for Chapter 11, I have the last edition of the text where unfortunately the last two Chapters are different. So, I will be talking about Biography-From Who's-Who to How-To in this post, which I know is confusing. Personally, I have never been that interested in biographies. I think when appropriately written, as discussed in the book, this type of literature like all well written literature can have positive effects on the children who read it. I think dislodging stereotypes and misconceptions is very important in biographies written for children, just as it is in any type of history. Children need to be exposed to the facts, as well as the imperfections and failures of our ancestors. Once children have the truth they will be able to make educated and informed decisions about life.
Chapter 12 Informational books are factual, non-stereotypical, nonfiction, interesting and organized genre of books. People read informational books to gain knowledge. I have a book (other than the text) that I am currently using for my Statistics class. Informational books teach many things. By reading one you can learn about the subject, and possibly learn scientific method, critical thinking and reading skills, cultural or religious differences, new vocabulary and much more. Illustrations in informational books are used solely to clarify the text. Informational books can be about many different things: animals, people, weather, mountains, the solar system and much more. Children need informational books to not only gain knowledge but to make connections with the knowledge. Informational books are the books that people use to get information when doing book reports. These books are stereotypically refered to as the boring books. I don't think I read many of this genre when I was young.
Chapter 12 I really enjoyed reading this chapter because it is so true. There are many informational books that a child can read and get infromation. Such as autobiographies and biographies. This is a way to help a child learn about certain things. There are so many informational books. Students can also use an encyclopedia to get information as well.
Lisa I must agree with your comments on informational books. They do help our students gain knowledge, opportunities to experience new discoveries, and encourage children t develop critical thinking and reading skills which I think that is very important. This is just another way for students to enhance their learning.
Lacy I do agree with you when you say that science textbooks really don't teach students everything. I think a child will get more out of science when there is hands on projects or models and experiements being done in/out of the classroom. Students can gain knowledge that way as well.
Ampulos was correct when she said that teaching math or science is great but having other book to reinforce the materials being taught help children see it differently. It will show them different ways the subjects can be used.
There are so many beautiful books about animals, plants, space, and weather. I was interested that the book features a section on dinosaur books. Our kindergarteners can spend endless time studying the dinosaur books and talking about the different kinds of dinosaurs. I was excited to see a book about a dinosaur dig that I would like to use with our students. Our young students got me interested in dinosaurs and I went to a dinosaur dig and museum near Thermopolis, Wyoming. I often pick a theme in grade school and bring in nonfiction books from their library, fix matching word searches, and maybe stickers for bookmarks. I find that looking at nonfiction books with lots of pictures is an activity that includes all levels of readers and students like to do it together with a high level reader doing most of the reading of the text. Our text listed books that I hope are in our school's library. In the morning I look to see what we are studying that day and go to the library to get a few books to go with the day...great filler for odd moments. Our book is sure making those selections faster for me to make!
ReplyDeleteCHAPTER 12
ReplyDeleteFROM HISTORY TO HOW THINGS WORK
I have always tried to use informational books as additions to which ever subject I happened to be teaching. Teaching math or science is great but having other book to reinforce the materials being taught help children see it differently. Any time a subject can be written into informational lectures with great picture or illustration only serve to make it more exciting.
With my own children who love reading all types of literature as well as informational books, they too found great value in trying to perceive what the information was relating to them.
Giving knowledge is a good reason for reading almost all literature but essential for informational books. If more of our children read Lola M. Schaefer’s Arrowhawk, we, may not have so many hurt animals being abused by kids for fun. This book will illustrate how one can use the environment and animals to keep our planet healthy and safe. While we can always ask someone about a subject, often it is quicker and easier to read to obtain the knowledge we need. As we listen to today’s news, we still hear of people who tried to deny the history of the Holocaust although it is in written form.
Whether we believe it or not, it is up to the individual to read, elevate the historical facts of different material. In the modern world, so many see history and biography as fictional literature. They believe it was created by man to change people’s mind.
As teachers, our jobs to the best of our abilities is to answer the children’s’ questions about history, biography or informational material of past or present through photographs, illustrations, and creative dramatization. This will help them grasp some of the concept and content of books.
Re:
ReplyDeleteMeredith
I do understand how young children can get hocked on books about dinosaurs. Little children uses so much of their time creating fantasy about dinos. It is also one of the things we do at my school in the mornings. They are calmer after hearing stories about dinos, or history that is made for little ones to understand. If history or biography is put into simple terms, our K-1st. can enjoy and have fun looking at the pictures and role playing.
Chapter 12 holds a lot of great examples for informational books. I really don't remember reading a whole lot of informational books in my early years besides dinosaur books and my snack cookbook. In Teaching with Informational Books, James Rutherford believes that for the early elementary school classrooms, they should steer away from science textbooks. He thinks that we should present these younger children with adventurous science books to introduce them to science topics. I definitely agree with this, because it is important to teach children about science that they can see everyday which textbooks don't always include. Once children move into middle or late elementary school, they can better understand science topics that they do not observe in their current environments.
ReplyDeleteMeredith,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that this book makes it easier to choose books for the classroom. This book not only tells you what you need to look for in a book, but gives you those examples! It's great that you are incorporating these books into your lessons. I think that it is great students can increase their knowledge about a certain subject after hearing the teacher discuss it, and then read an informational book!
Lacy E,
ReplyDeleteI agree teachers should try and use as many resource books other than textbooks in a student's younger years. I think an elementary student learns more when they can see the topic from many different resources. Informational books are great ways to incorporate other information into the lesson whether it be history, science, math, english, or reading. It is definitely something that I want to incorporate into my classroom.
Informational books are fascinating and seem to be infinite. I personally love informational books. They are right up there with history and historical fiction. I am certain that if there is a subject you want to learn about, there is probably a book about it. I liked the idea of finding out what interests the child and get them books about it. Children can go shopping for books about the things they like, and don't forget the library.
ReplyDeleteI always like the tips given about picking a particular genre of book. Some of the ones given for informational books are being sure the information is up to date. This may sound insignificant but can be very important when it comes to doing research. Informational books can teach about life and the world around us. The are a very essential part in children's literature.
annmarie,
ReplyDeleteI think sometimes students think because it is a textbook it is boring. The same information can be presented in a 'regular book' from and they will enjoy it. I agree that it helps to back up a lesson using other books.
This was a great final chapter in the text, seemingly wrapping up everything into a cohesive whole instead of little parts. I enjoyed reading how authors make the information in their work interesting, needing to write a story just like fiction authors, but only using true facts.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rutherford and Pringle, that trade books should be used in classrooms versus texts. Since trade books are written by very knowledgeable people in that specific field, they are more factual, can tell a better story since it's covering one main idea, and can involve students better than texts. However, it seems that it would take years before a teacher would have, in their arsenal, all the proper trade books to replace what a text book would provide. Maybe the two could work in conjunction?
I also like the idea of using these trade books along with other types of books we've read about. I can imagine teaching a class about WWII, using a trade book about the progression of the war and Nazis, reading Anne Frank's diary, and using picture books to illustrate the unit. With the millions of books on the market, this could be accomplished for virtually every unit taught in the classroom.
Annmarie,
ReplyDeleteYou stated so eloquently how important history is to us, our children, and our world. It is imperitive that we teach the mistakes of the past as well as the mistakes we still have time to change to keep our future safe, and children are definitely important in this cycle. Very thoughtful post and good ideas.
This chapter was very interesting to read. I love informational books. Even for someone my age, there is so much to learn from children informational books. I have a nephew that LOVES dinosaurs. He has anything and everything that has to do with dinosaurs. It is amazing how much he knows about them because he owns so many books. I think informational books are a great way to get children excited about something and to learn more about it. The part of this chapter that really made me think was the part about accuracy. This really stinks that these books get published but yet we have to check for accuracy. Also something that I found interesting was the accuracy of illustrations. That is not something that you would normally just think about. I really liked that the chapter had different sections to talk about the different types of informational books. When I was younger, I would say most of my books were hobbies, crafts, and how-to books. I loved these books.
ReplyDeleteSarah C:
ReplyDeleteI think it good for a teacher to use both text books and informational books. This allows the students to have lots of information in a text, but have more in-depth information on certain topics. I think informational books are more interesting than just a plain text.
Meredith:
ReplyDeleteThese kinds of informational would be a great filler during class. This is such a good idea. Some of those moments cause kids to become restless and begin to get in trouble. If you had different kinds of books, it would not only keep them calm and distracted, but they would also learn from them.
The first thing about chapter 12 that is beneficial for me is learning the value of informational books. The book has six reasons why informational books are important and they include; gaining knowledge, provide opportunities for new discoveries, introduction of the scientific method, encouragement of self reliance, development of critical think and reading skills, and the expansion of the child’s vocabulary. I think that all these are great values for informational books, but also think that any of these could be associated with any genre of book. The second thing that is important that I learned from the chapter is how to evaluate informational books. Knowing ways to properly evaluate these books will better help me or any person to better understand the genre. It was interesting to me to also read about all the different subjects that can be included in the informational book genre. And finally, as in the rest of the chapters it was beneficial to read about teaching with informational books. Giving prospective teachers ideas about how to use a genre of book in the classroom is going to be beneficial in the long run.
ReplyDeleteRe. Robin A
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you in that there seems to be to end to what people can learn from informational books. Being able to research and learn about any subject is one of the great things about books.
Re: Meredith
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about our text being a good resource for helping to pick out books. Like you said finding filler books for awkward moments can be a little difficult and our book does a wonderful job listing books that could be beneficial.
Felisha,
ReplyDeleteI agree that accuracy in books is important, but surprising that we have to check this on our own. I'm amazed just by the number of grammatical and spelling errors, plus typos, in our text book! I guess this is a great teachable moment for students, good proofreading skills!
I think my favorite informational books were astrology related, and hobbies as well!
Chapter 12:
ReplyDeleteI like reading informational books. They are very informative and interesting. I think these are great books to use in the classroom because they inform the students about various topics/subjects. I think students could not only learn but enjoy reading informational books because they provide wonderful ideas and material for students to expand their vocabulary and critical thinking skills.
RE: Felisha
ReplyDeleteGreat job! I definitely agree that informational books are a great way to get children excited and it teaches them about a variety of topics that I know students would love to learn more about.
Chapter 12 was a wonderful chapter that opened the world of informational books. I never read many informational books but I think that they have made better strides and makeing that type of book more kid friendly. I found the criteria for informational books. My son loves to read books of that nature. Books of this nature can be used for reading and it's subject matter.
ReplyDeleteRobin A
ReplyDeleteThanks for reminding me that I need to check to make sure information is up to date. It doesn't take but a minute to check copyright date which is a quick clue as to how recent the information is. For science books that can make a big difference.
Tamika M.
ReplyDeleteI am glad that there are so many different informational books that are available to the students in the school library where work. The students can find information on how to style their hair to how many different type of dinosaurs roam the earth and they also have books related to history. These types of books offer a wealth of information to the students when they are looking for answers to those questions that they just don’t understand or they need to have a clear answer to their question. I like the fact that the students can read information books just for enjoyment and wanting to seek more knowledge on any subject that they feel like reading up on.
I will encourage the students that I work with and will work with to read more than one book on their subject of interest by different authors. This will help them to have more than one authors view on the subject and who knows, they may learn something new from the other authors point of view. Some informational books are written to help the student form a visual picture of what they are reading. This is great! I think that all children should read at least two informational book and talk about it each school year.
Tamika M
ReplyDeleteIn Re: Laura P
Like wise I didn't read many informational books when I was in school. The only time that I picked up a book of this type was for writing a research paper. Now in today's new age world everything has change even the way that you locate information. Wow
Chapter 12 teaches us that infromational books provide opportunities for children to experience the excitement of new discoveries. They also help students to understnd what scientific methods means, encourage self-reliance, critical thinking, thinking skills, and to stretch their minds. I learned that informational books also expand childrens vocabulary by introducing new words. Informational books are great for aiding students with research for science, english, or even art projects. Informational books are as a whole great learning tools for many aspects of learning. Rutherfold states on page 531 "The kind I am recommending are those which are adventurous, in which the story is built around finding things out, and which emphasize the excitement of discovery." Books are great learning tools for all and not every student will choose the same type which we have learned throught this book. Chapter by chapter we have learned about all different types of books and what they have within them. In conclusion I have learned about all the different genre and how they are applied to different styles of books. Which will help me when introducing differnt books to my students.
ReplyDeleteTamika
ReplyDeleteI agree that informational books are great for helping student understand a subject they may have unanswered questions about. Like what do tree frogs eat or why snakes shed their skin. Students always have questions about stuff and informational books are a great place for them to find the answers and even learn something. I agree that they can find the answers to all their little in quizitive questions.
Chapter 12
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I think informational books have so many different values such as gaining knowledge, provide opportunities for children to experience the excitement of new discoveries, and encourage children to develop critical thinking and reading skills. I learned that is very important for informational books to have accurate information including in the illustrations. I enjoyed reading the part on how to use informational books to read for meaning. I have many students that I work with that can read very good but have no idea what they just read. I think it is vital to find the main ideas and note what the supporting details are. If they can find these items when they are reading, it will help them write using these same skills. I found many new ideas for books to use in certain subject areas. I am looking forward to reading books in the animal area such as Creepy, Crawly Caterpillars, My Puppy is Born, and Gorilla Walk.
Chapter 12 Informational books
ReplyDeleteThis was an interesting chapter about informational books. Children read informational books and informational literature for the enjoyment of reading them. Informational books also "expand childrens vocabulary by introducing new words, including technical terms are often enriched through photographs or detailed illustrations". When I become a teacher, the section on evaluating informal books breaks dowm information into several sections and it will help so much when I start teaching. There are some many informational books that children can use to get the information they need. They are very helpful when doing research on a particular subject. When I think of informational books, I think of encyclopedia books, until I read this chapter. Now I know more about informational books and that there is so many of them.
Tamika, I agree with you that children should read more informational books. Seems like as they get older they read them because they need to and not for the enjoyment of reading them.
ReplyDeleteInformational books are a great way for students to read about history and to see how things work. Informational books can reinforce the subjects that are being taught in schools if they are written with material that compliments the text in the school books. Meaning the facts in the informational books should be accurate, the illustrations should clarify the text, the students should be encouraged to use their analytical thinking skills, the student’s understanding should be supported by the organization in the book, and the style should stimulate interest. The books should be up to date, because attitudes and values change over time. History is a foreign topic in early elementary classroom curriculum. For younger students, it is beneficial to include hands on learning with history lessons. If students are learning about pioneer days, they could learn to cook some of the food from back then. They would also get an appreciation for the hard work our pioneers experienced when preparing food. If students are learning about dinosaurs, a field trip to Lawrence Kansas’ Natural History museum would be fun. I did this as a child, and I remember seeing the skeletal models of the ancient dinosaurs. This later blossomed into a desire to be an archeologist. Fortunately, I found my true calling in a classroom, and not a dusty desert. How to Books are a great way for students to learn more about a hobby, or to learn about a new hobby.
ReplyDeleteRe: Loisw
ReplyDeleteI too learned a lot more about informational books after reading this chapter. There are so many possibilities with incorporating them in to lesson planning. I remember using Encyclopedias as a child, I am so glad there are more options today for children.
I am really glad this is our last chapter because I think that these types of books are very important in a classroom I think children learn better when they can relate things to everyday life or fun things like dinosaurs. I wish my teachers would have used more book besides textbooks to teach, I think I would have learned more. I really like that this book give examples of books because then it give us some ideas of books to use while teaching.
ReplyDeleteRE: Lacy E
ReplyDeleteI dont remember reading informational book either besides dinosaurs.
Chapter 12: Informational Books
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this chapter of the book, and no, not just because it was the last one ! I have always enjoyed reading biographies, especially autobiographies. I have always found them very interesting and worthwhile. I agree with the book when they said, on the first page, “Informational books also provide opportunities for children to experience the excitement of new discoveries.” My little brother loves to read biographies and informational books about wars, weapons, planes etc. I just found this chapter to be very interesting because of all the different types of informational books. It’s not that I didn’t think there were so many; it is just that I never did think about it in reality. In fact, as I was thinking about the informational books I have read recently, I realized I have read many of them just in the five classes I am currently enrolled in and will read many more in the future. I believe that children should be encouraged to read more informational books, I don’t believe they are encouraged enough in this day in age. I am going to make it my goal to provide my students with ample opportunities to read many informational books.
Re: Felisha N
ReplyDeleteIsn't it amazing how students/children can get so excited by reading informational books? I love to watch the excitment my little brother has for history, wars, plans, weapons etc. He began reading informational books when he was very young, many of his board books were informational books about planes and trucks etc. It was so neat to watch him grow up enjoying these books more and more!
Aspen, I agree yeah last chapter. I was just thinking that when I started to screen what my daughter was reading I told her that this was one of the few types she could read. (magic books are now outlawed until she has a sense of real vs fiction. So I hoped this would not discourage her from reading but give her new appreciation for books.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Lacy E.,
ReplyDeleteI think James Rutherford definitely had the right idea with his suggestion about Science books for the younger Elementary grade classrooms. There is a series of books called Science Series for the Young about animal life that looks interesting. There are also some similar series that deal with various aspects of science, such as germs, etc. I find these types of books do help to hold a young child's interest much more than dull textbooks because of the engaging language and pictures.
As I stated in the post for Chapter 11, I have the last edition of the text where unfortunately the last two Chapters are different. So, I will be talking about Biography-From Who's-Who to How-To in this post, which I know is confusing. Personally, I have never been that interested in biographies. I think when appropriately written, as discussed in the book, this type of literature like all well written literature can have positive effects on the children who read it. I think dislodging stereotypes and misconceptions is very important in biographies written for children, just as it is in any type of history. Children need to be exposed to the facts, as well as the imperfections and failures of our ancestors. Once children have the truth they will be able to make educated and informed decisions about life.
ReplyDeleteChapter 12
ReplyDeleteInformational books are factual, non-stereotypical, nonfiction, interesting and organized genre of books. People read informational books to gain knowledge. I have a book (other than the text) that I am currently using for my Statistics class. Informational books teach many things. By reading one you can learn about the subject, and possibly learn scientific method, critical thinking and reading skills, cultural or religious differences, new vocabulary and much more. Illustrations in informational books are used solely to clarify the text. Informational books can be about many different things: animals, people, weather, mountains, the solar system and much more. Children need informational books to not only gain knowledge but to make connections with the knowledge. Informational books are the books that people use to get information when doing book reports. These books are stereotypically refered to as the boring books. I don't think I read many of this genre when I was young.
Chapter 12
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this chapter because it is so true. There are many informational books that a child can read and get infromation. Such as autobiographies and biographies. This is a way to help a child learn about certain things. There are so many informational books. Students can also use an encyclopedia to get information as well.
Lisa I must agree with your comments on informational books. They do help our students gain knowledge, opportunities to experience new discoveries, and encourage children t develop critical thinking and reading skills which I think that is very important. This is just another way for students to enhance their learning.
ReplyDeleteLacy I do agree with you when you say that science textbooks really don't teach students everything. I think a child will get more out of science when there is hands on projects or models and experiements being done in/out of the classroom. Students can gain knowledge that way as well.
ReplyDeleteAmpulos was correct when she said that teaching math or science is great but having other book to reinforce the materials being taught help children see it differently. It will show them different ways the subjects can be used.
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