Shift to more nonfiction in schools becoming reality

Alan Borsuk

A broad shift is under way from fiction to nonfiction, propelled by the Common Core English and language arts standards that are being implemented in 46 states and the District of Columbia. It almost certainly will mean fewer classics, more historical documents, fewer personal essays, more analytical writing.

The nonfiction shift is the current center of attention in the changing world of reading instruction.

But it comes in the context of other big shifts: Reading lists that increasingly reflect a diverse population, changes in classroom techniques that promote more student participation, intense focus on how to get more children up to par in reading by third grade and more pressure for schools and teachers to meet accountability standards built largely around reading.

The Common Core standards are intended to provide consistency and quality across the country in what children learn. When it comes to reading, the standards call for fourth-graders to read 50% nonfiction and 50% fiction - and, for 12th-graders, 70% nonfiction and 30% fiction. It's not possible to compare that to the past, but it clearly moves the needle toward nonfiction.

Why? In general, advocates say, nonfiction gives students better preparation for college and careers by developing such things as analytical skills. And too much of what kids read and write has been too easy and too self-indulgent.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at December 16, 2012 1:09 AM
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