Many of us grew up listening to and learning from fiction. In fact, we have wonderful memories of those stories, and there is a certain comfort level we associate with them. However, the current educational emphasis is focused on the use of informational texts. With research and the English Language Arts Common Core State Standards (ELA CCSS) encouraging us to use more informational texts with children, is there any time left in our classroom for fiction?

I believe we have to find the time. The current emphasis on disciplinary literacy doesn’t mean that we have to remove stories from our shelves or throw the books in the cabinet at the back of the classroom. In fact, students must be familiar with fictional texts in order to meet the ELA CCSS.

The ELA CCSS expect elementary students to not only recognize a wide variety of texts (stories, plays, poems) but also be able to retell what is occurring in the texts. In fact, children as young as first grade must be able to explain the difference between narrative texts and informational ones (RL.1.5).

However, with the need to expose our students to a wide variety of text in a limited period of time each day, we must carefully select and use fictional texts in the classroom. Here are a few suggestions:

Use Fiction to Learn More about Students

While research has shown that students enjoy and have an interest in factual books, students also enjoy diving into a good story every once in a while just because it catches their interest. Regardless of the type of text, everyone loves to see students reading. Let’s take a closer look at the fictional texts our students are reading at home, viewing on the Internet, or discussing with peers. Talk with students about those stories. Are there certain informational texts which might be suggested based on student interests with fiction?

We all have students who enjoy mysteries or fictional sports stories. Take advantage of that interest. Share excerpts from a variety of texts during read alouds and talk about stance. Is there a difference in the way that they might read a fictional sports story compared to an autobiography or biography on a famous athlete? If they are reading to take away information versus reading for enjoyment, does it impact where, how, or when they read? Talk about why they may choose to read one text over the other. Why is it important to read a variety of books?

Think Two by Two

Pair up a fictional and a factual text. The ELA CCSS expect elementary students to examine multiple texts on a topic. There are so many outstanding informational texts available now that it is easy to find factual and fictional texts which complement each other. Take a popular science trade book such as Seymour Simon’s GORILLAS (2008) and a fictional text such as the award-winning Katherine Applegate novel THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN (2012), which is based on a true story. Students can work collaboratively to examine the two texts. Use think alouds to help them develop metacognitive awareness with all types of text. What is different between the two texts? Perhaps keep a class chart as they go through the two texts. Why are the books written differently? Is the purpose or audience for the books the same or different? How would they describe the texts to others? What type of information would they use when writing an advertisement or a book review for each text?

Encourage Close Reading

Close reading is a topic that is attracting a great deal of interest right now. In fact, the Literacy Research Panel of the International Reading Association recently released a policy brief on close reading. As part of their findings, the importance of teaching students to close read for an authentic purpose is emphasized. Just as with other literacy skills, we don’t want to teach a skill merely so students learn to do the skill.

Encourage close reading by selecting a variety of texts, including fictional ones. Model how to close read a chunk from each text. Encourage discussion as students close read the texts. These questions can target various aspects of the CCSS. After modeling close reading of diverse texts through a series of minilessons, allow students to work in groups or with partners to close read. Then provide a meaningful activity which is based on the material they read. Ask students how the types of questions and answers differed depending on the text. What types of strategies did they use to close read the diverse text? How did the strategies vary?

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Remember the Power of Choice

Even as adults, it still feels good when we have a chance to choose what we want to do instead of someone telling us what to do. When appropriate, allow students to choose the type of text they want to read. Give them a sheet to keep track of the text they chose, the genre, and the date they read it. Explain your expectations, but share that they can choose when they are going to read the different texts. Explain why it is important to experience texts which cut across genres. Review the sheet and conference with the students to ensure the range of text they are reading is diverse. Of course allowing choice isn’t changing the fact that they have to read a wide variety of texts, but it is allowing them the power to make the decision of what type of text they want to read on a specific day.

Remember They are Digital Natives

We have to remember to weave technology throughout our lessons. Our elementary students are what Prensky calls digital natives. They thrive in a world that is constantly “plugged in.” Therefore, allow them to explore digital text that ties to a fictional text they might be reading. Perhaps they can review a YouTube interview with the author or research information on the author and create their own video with a partner portraying the author. They can also determine if the author has a blog and create a question to post on the blog. Another suggestion is to examine various websites to see the reviews and numerical ratings of the text and create a visual to illustrate their findings.

The next time a fictional text catches our eye, let’s not automatically assume we don’t have time for it in the classroom. After all, fictional text helps broaden our students’ definition of text and serves an important purpose in their literacy learning. While I believe we need to emphasize informational text, that doesn’t mean we have to ban fiction from our classrooms. With the classroom clocks ticking faster than ever, let’s remember the importance of finding time for fiction.

Jennifer L. Altieri, Ph.D. is a professor of literacy education at St. John's University. Queens, NY, and the author of POWERFUL CONTENT CONNECTIONS: NURTURING READERS, WRITERS, AND THINKERS IN GRADES K–3. Contact Jennifer at jenniferaltieri@bellsouth.net.