Bridging Fiction and Nonfiction

Before the push to include more nonfiction in the classroom was widespread, students were primarily exposed to fiction. This is a genre that most middle grades students feel comfortable with--they’ve been using it in the classroom since they began school. Nonfiction is its own genre with a different purpose, structure, and style, and students cannot directly transfer fiction reading skills to nonfiction (Benson, 2003). However, there are ways of relating nonfiction to fiction and making the two genres less polarized. By drawing connections between the two genres, a teacher can make nonfiction texts easier and more relevant for students to engage with.

Newkirk (2012) took an interesting approach to reading and argued that humans are innately drawn to making meaning through stories. Because of this, nonfiction without a traditional “story-like” structure can be difficult for some, especially younger readers, to understand. Newkirk (2012) proposed that students use similar reading strategies for reading nonfiction as they would to read fiction.

Newkirk (2012) suggested that students begin by looking for a conflict or problem that is the driving force behind the text. Fiction generally has an overt conflict that is integral to the plot, and nonfiction usually, in some way, is addressing a question, problem, or situation. Students can then look for the main “characters” or players that are involved in the text. This may be a stretch for some texts, but it can be beneficial for students to think about the “doers” in a text, even if they are inanimate objects like planets in the solar system. Next, students should look at the “patterns of thought,” which are similar to the themes students look for in works of fiction. A nonfiction text will focus on some topic or concept in a way that is beneficial for students to notice and think about. Finally, students should think about the author. Just like with fiction, a nonfiction author can have purpose, tone, and can even invoke mood. If students consider the author and his role (if there is one worth noting), they may be able to better understand how and why a nonfiction piece was written. With these basics, a student may suddenly find that a nonfiction text is much more approachable.

Though Newkirk’s (2012) methods can be useful, there are some texts which may be more appropriate than others to apply his strategies to. It is also important to use these strategies as ways to make nonfiction more relatable, not as a means of simplifying and analyzing nonfiction just like fiction. As Benson (2003) noted, the genres require different “reading strategies and comprehension skills” (p. 14). However, there are some reading strategies that, when modified, work just as well for nonfiction as they do when used with fiction.

Literature circles, which are widely used in middle grade classrooms to analyze works of fiction, can be a familiar and useful way for students to work with nonfiction (Andler, 2013). Students can be assigned specific roles within a small group and can work together to create an understanding of a piece. Andler (2013) suggests transitioning from “literature circles” to “reading circles,” where students analyze and work with nonfiction (p. 18). Teachers can begin by using short texts and some of the same roles that students are familiar with, like “Word Wizards” who look for important vocabulary. Reading circles ensure that all students are working closely with a nonfiction text and that they have peer support to work through new and unfamiliar elements of the genre.

Another useful strategy for bridging fiction and nonfiction reading is the use of paired texts. Pairing texts means that students work with two texts, one fiction and one nonfiction, on a similar topic. As Andler (2013) pointed out, not only does this give students more information on a topic, but it can give them a familiar and easy point from which to access a nonfiction text. Rather than having students plunge into a complex informational book about infectious disease, students could first read Fever 1763, a book about the yellow fever in America (Andler, 2013). Because they would have a fictional story with plot, emotions, and characters as background, students could then read a nonfiction informational text about the disease and find it more relevant and interesting. By connecting literature to nonfiction, students can see how the two genres work in tandem. Nonfiction no longer has to be seen as “boring,” but rather as a way to connect fiction to the outside world.

Rather than viewing student familiarity with fiction as an indication that students are not reading enough nonfiction, teachers should see this as an opportunity to help students build bridges and make connections. An understanding of how fiction is read and understood fiction can be a strength, as these same understandings can be applied, with modifications, to nonfiction reading.

References

Andler, K. (2013). Nonfiction in the classroom: Exciting adventure or perilous journey. Illinois Reading Council Journal, 42(1), 13-22.

Benson, V. (2003). Informing literacy: A new paradigm for assessing nonfiction. New England Reading Association Journal, 39(1), 13-20.

Newkirk, T. (2012). How we really comprehend nonfiction. Educational Leadership, 69(6), 29-32.

[Untitled image of The Lightning Theif and Greek Myths as paired texts]. Retreived July 29, 2015 from http://www.layers-of-learning.com/pairing-fiction-and-non-fiction-books/