A most important literacy concept to teach, especially to our young kiddos in early childhood
is the difference between fiction and non-fiction.
I have made myself a graphic organizer,
visually helping the kids to see what things we choose around the classroom that are fiction
and which things we choose around the classroom that are nonfiction.
You can easily make a graphic organizer with anything you have around your room.
You could use two separate tables.
You could use tape to split your carpet.
You could go outside in the sand, and use a stick to split a sandbox,
just so that they know there's two different categories that they're going to sort:
books and realia around the room.
Realia: these are things around your classroom that the kids can hold, touch, feel.
Things that they can say, "Hey, I grabbed this. Is it fiction (fantasy) or is it nonfiction? (it's real.)"
I start teaching that way.
Fiction has the same beginning sound as fantasy. Fiction and fantasy are make-believe,
and I put my little finger jazz with that because they remember.
It's not real, you're using your imagination.
And that's okay. There's nothing wrong with making things up,
but true facts are books that are called non-fiction.
Things that are real, things that look real.
The kids use their senses to determine whether things are real or not real.
Can you see it? Can you smell it? Can you taste it? Can you hear it? Can you touch it?
When things are fantasy, you can't always see it.
Maybe in the book, but have you ever seen it in real life?
Have you ever touched a leprechaun? Have you ever caught, or captured, a unicorn?
Those things are fantasy/fiction. Things that the kids love to learn about.
But they also need to understand what things are real in our world, and what things are not.
We've been doing a study on animals in our classroom, and I have a story book
that's real photographs of real animals.
Real facts.
So I tell the children that these are things that we are learning about real animals.
Real bears, where they really live.
Those are facts that go into the category of nonfiction.
Then, of course, I have to read a story book about animals that cause chaos in the zoo.
These animals are going on strike.
They talk to each other, they paint things, they write things...
Is that real? No, that's fantasy. That's make-believe.
So the kids would categorize that book into fiction.
We have a pet frog in our room and we talk about our frog all the time.
We find out facts about our frogs from nonfiction books.
I read this story book with my kids,
and we write down and find out all the facts we can about our class pet.
That's real. That's nonfiction.
But, of course, there's a famous frog who lives with his mom and dad,
and goes to school and travels around the country, named Froggy.
Froggy is make-believe. He's fantasy. It's still fun to read about a frog, but this is fiction.
Now a fun part.
I let my kids go around the classroom and find things that they know belong in each category.
I have some animals in my classroom.
Now these animals are toys,
but they are shaped and look just like the real animals.
Then my kids would know that these are nonfiction toys,
and they would put them in the category of nonfiction.
I also have a bucket of stuffed animals and although this may look like a real dog,
this dog can stand,
this dog can talk,
"I love you!"
This is not real. This is fiction, so they could categorize that into my fiction category.
I use a lot of literature in my classroom,
and I believe that it really really solidifies the foundation of learning with a fiction and a nonfiction book.
So when talking about polar bears, I would introduce a book fiction and a book nonfiction.
And we can compare those books and talk about that.
Then the most important part is having the kids know it on their own.
So then the data comes when they can say,
"Oh! I just read a nonfiction book about penguins" and put it in the nonfiction category,
and then tell me that they read a book fiction about penguins.
In the same day, I know that that foundation of learning fiction versus nonfiction has been solidified,
and it will help them throughout their education.
Thank you.