"Nonfiction texts govern as much as 90% of the reading and writing done by literate adults and comprise more than 70% of standardized assessments. For our children to succeed in school and beyond they need to be fluent in the different purposes of nonfiction writing. They need to know how to plan, compose, revise, edit, and publish a range of nonfiction texts."
mdash;Tony Stead and Linda Hoyt

In Explorations in Nonfiction Writing, Tony Stead and Linda Hoyt offer teachers and students alike scaffolds to move forward with nonfiction writing, using writing as a natural way to wonder, learn, and think about topics that excite them. It includes opportunities for students to explore a variety of real-world nonfiction texts and to work collaboratively as researchers and writers to create their own informational texts.

While learning how to locate, access, interpret, record, publish, and share information, students also consider ways to activate their voice and make their nonfiction writing clearer, more authoritative, and better organized. Designed around a consistent mix of explorations—some are extended units of study that engage primary writers in the complete writing process and others are targeted minilessons that expose students to various forms of nonfiction writing—Explorations in Nonfiction Writing is easily adaptable and will support you whether you are integrating nonfiction writing into your established literacy block or developing a new nonfiction writing program that supports your entire academic curriculum.

Watch a series overview.

Explorations in Nonfiction Writing components:

• The Teacher's Guide outlines the series' guiding principles, offers practical tips for outfitting and organizing classrooms, and describes strategies and procedures for embedding nonfiction writing into your curriculum.
• Organized around 5 major purposes for writing nonfiction — to inform, to instruct, to narrate, to persuade, and to respond — the Lesson Booksupports your nonfiction writing instruction in two ways:
  • Extended Writing Units are in-depth studies — two weeks to a month in length — that give children a chance to explore more deeply a particular type of nonfiction text. In the course of an extended writing unit, students work collaboratively on a class research writing project and then apply what they've learned to an individual project.
  • Power Writes are compact minilessons that encourage students to analyze and try their hand at a wide variety of nonfiction texts from across the curriculum, such as signs, letters, labeled diagrams, reports, poetry, directions, and interviews.
• An accompanying Big Book of Mentor Texts provides an anthology of exemplar nonfiction texts in an expansive big book format. Each mentor text supports one or more lessons. The carefully crafted text and dynamic visuals show how engaging and vibrant nonfiction texts can be and set a high standard for young writers.
• The Resources CD-ROM provides a wealth of printable resources including instructional charts, checklists, and assessment forms.

Read the Introduction and Narrate: Extended Writing Unit and Power Writes (PDF)