Yopp and Yopp (2000) advocated the pairing of
fiction and nonfiction books to enhance students’
learning. They indicate the fact that many times when
students are exposed to narrative books, questions
will emerge. In pairing nonfiction with fiction books,
many times, these questions are answered. An
example Yopp and Yopp provided is reading The Very
Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle. After reading this story,
the students might have some questions about
crickets. Reading Chirping Crickets by Melvin Berger
can help to answer these questions. Introducing the
nonfiction book before the narrative book can help to
activate and build background knowledge which in
turn will “enrich the students’ understanding of and
appreciation for the story” (p. 413). Yopp and Yopp
suggested pairing the book Tiger With Wings: The Great
Horned Owl by Barbara J. Esbensen or Owl by Mary
Ling with Owl Moon by Jane Yolen. They concluded
with the statement that “not only can fiction spark the
questions that lead children to nonfiction, but
nonfiction can build the background knowledge that
allows children to more deeply appreciate fiction” (p.
413).
Content area
Nonfiction trade books can be used to
supplement content area text books and instruction.
Vacca et al. (2011) state that nonfiction offers “the
kind of meaty material that entertains students at the
same time it informs” (p. 363).
Teachers can use nonfiction books to target
district and state content area standards. Wood
(2003) posited that “content area literacy entails
finding the most current, age-appropriate materials
and methods to coordinate with and meet the
requirements of state and local curricula” (p. 15).
The standards written by the Missouri Department of
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