Last Janury, fifth grade teacher Katie McEnaney (right) and school librarianEllen Bunn (left) wrote a postdescribing a collaborative nonfiction writing unit they’ve offered for several years at their school. Their article was verypopular, so now they’re back with a more detailed explanation.

Over the next 3 weeks, they’llprovide a step-by-step breakdown of activities that took place in the libraryand discuss how those activities supported and enhanced the multi-week learningexperience.

Thank you, Katie and Ellen,for providing this additional information.

While fifth graders in Katie’s ELAclass researched and wrote nonfiction picture books to share with their secondgrade reading buddies, they also spent time in the school library where Ellenset up engaging hands-on activities adapted from 5 Kinds of Nonfiction (Stewart & Correia, 2021) and Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep (Stewart,2020). The goal was to find and explore mentor texts that highlight writingstyle (expository or narrative), clear text structure, vivid verbs and precise vocabulary,literary devices, and eye-catching design.

Inspirationfrom Nonfiction Authors
First, Ellen shared a slidedeck of inspiring quotes and images from diverse writers featured in Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep to engageand energize students in choosing a topic for their nonfiction picture book.

Reviewingand Sorting Books by Category and Writing Style
Next, the class exploreddifferent categories of nonfiction (active, browsable, traditional, expositoryliterature, and narrative) using an activity adapted from Activities 4.1 and4.2 in 5 Kinds of Nonfiction, Introducing the 5 Kinds of NonfictionActivity and Reinforcing the 5 Kinds of NonfictionActivity.

Student pairs moved at theirown pace among thematic text sets of five books each, including activism,birds, dinosaurs, dogs, and fashion from Sample 5 Kinds of Nonfiction TextSets as well as seven additional sets (shown at the end of thisarticle) created by Ellen. Students read enough of each book to recognize andrecord its category and writing style in the worksheet below. Some studentpairs became involved in one thematic text set, while others worked through twoor three text sets. And that’s okay!

Whole-classReflection and Conversation
In a follow-up class conversation,students reflected on the various nonfiction categories and writing styles and discussedwhich one(s) they might like to use when crafting their own nonfiction books.

OfferingAdditional Practice
After the library period, welooked over each pair’s written work and decided who needed more practicesorting books in a subsequent library session before moving onto the next stepof the process.

ADDITIONALTEXT SETS
*Titlesrecommended in Stewart & Correia 2021, the Celebrate Nonfiction blog, and/or the Celebrate Science website.

Coding and Technology

1.Active: *Szymanski, Jennifer. CodeThis!: Puzzles, Games, Challenges, and Computer Coding Concepts for the ProblemSolver in You. National Geographic Kids, 2019.

2.Browsable: Kelly, James. DKFindout!: Coding. DK, 2017.

3.Traditional: Daigneau, Jean. Code Cracking for Kids: SecretCommunications throughout History, with 21 Codes and Ciphers. ChicagoReview Press, 2020.

4.Expository Literature: Emberley, Michael. The Message: The Extraordinary Journey of anOrdinary Text Message. Atheneum, 2021.

5.Narrative: *Wallmark, Laurie. AdaByron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine. Creston Books, 2015.

Food

1. Active: *Cook,Deanna F. Cooking Class: Global Feast! 44Recipes that Celebrate the World’s Cultures. Storey Publishing, 2019.

2.Browsable: Claybourne, Anna. Don’tRead This Book Before Dinner. National Geographic Kids, 2019.

3.Traditional: Allman, Tony. TheFuture of Food: New Ideas about Eating. ReferencePoint Press, 2021.

4.Expository Literature: *Pizzoli, Greg. Pizza!: A Slice of History. Viking,2022.

5.Narrative: Frankel, Erin. APlate of Hope: The Inspiring Story of Chef José Andrés and World CentralKitchen. Random House Studio, 2024.

Fungi

1. Active: Gabriel,Alisha. Funky Fungi: 30 Activities forExploring Molds, Mushrooms, Lichens, and More. Chicago Review Press, 2022.

2.Browsable: Boddy, Lyne. HumongousFungus: The Weird and Wonderful Kingdom of Fungi. Underground All Aroundseries. DK, 2021.

3.Traditional: Johnson, Sylvia A. Mushrooms.Minneapolis, MN: Lerner, 1982.

4.Expository Literature: *Gianferrari, Maria. Fungi Grow. Beach Lane Books, 2023.

5.Narrative: Metcalf, Lindsay H. BeatrixPotter, Scientist. Albert Whitman, 2020.

Painting

1. Active: Coffee,Stephanie. Paint Lab for Kids: 52 adventures in painting and mixed mediafor budding artists of all ages. Quarry, 2016.

2.Browsable: Alexander, Heather. AChild’s Introduction to Painting: The World’s Greatest Paintings and Sculptures.Workman Kids, 2014.

3.Traditional: Fraser, Mary Ann. Wallto Wall: Mural Art around the World. Getty Publications, 2024.

4.Expository Literature: *Salyer, Hannah. Ancestory: The Mystery and Majesty ofAncient Cave Art. Clarion Books, 2023.

5.Narrative: Levinson, Cynthia. ThePeople's Painter :How Ben Shahn Fought for Justice with Art. Abrams, 2021.

Stars and Astronomy

1. Active:Aderin-Pocock, Maggie. Star Finder!: AStep-by-Step Guide to the Night Sky. New York, NY: DK Publishing, 2017.

2.Browsable: Stowell, Louie and Peter Allen. The Story of Astronomy and Space. Usborne, 2015.

3.Traditional: Simon, Seymour.Stars. Smithsonian, 2006.

4.Expository Literature: Chin, Jason. Your Place in the Universe. Neal Porter Books, 2020.

5.Narrative: *Larson, Kirsten W. TheFire of Stars: The Life and Brilliance of the Woman Who Discovered What StarsAre Made Of. Chronicle Books, 2023.

Trees

1. Active: Daniels,Patricia. Trees. National GeographicKids, 2017.

2.Browsable: Hickey, Cat. DK Findout!Forest. DK, 2017.

3.Traditional: Walker, Sally M. Champion:The Comeback Tale of the American Chestnut Tree. Henry Holt, 2018.

4.Expository Literature: Pendreigh, Kirsten. When a Tree Falls: Nurse Logs and Their Incredible Forest Power. Chronicle Books,2025.

5.Narrative: Napoli, Donna Jo. MamaMiti: Wangari Maathai and the Trees of Kenya. Simon & Schuster, 2010.

Weather

1. Active: Marder,Jenny. The Ultimate Kid’s Guide toWeather. Grosset & Dunlap, 2024.

2.Browsable: Drimmer, Stephanie Warren. Ultimate Weatherpedia: The Most Complete Weather Reference Ever. National Geographic Kids, 2019.

3.Traditional: Simon, Seymour. Weather.Morrow Junior Books, 2006.

4.Expository Literature: Singer, Marilyn. On the Same Day in March: A Tour of theWorld’s Weather. HarperCollins, 2000.

5.Narrative: Nickel, Sandra. Breakingthrough the Clouds: The Sometimes Turbulent Life of Meteorologist JoanneSimpson. Abrams, 2022.

Next week, we’ll share librarylessons in which students explored text structures and craft moves innonfiction picture books.

As an author, archaeologist,and fifth grade teacher, Katie McEnaney is always on a whirlwind huntfor the perfect artifact to illustrate a point and teach about the past. Herstories have been featured in LittleThoughts Press and the middle grade anthology Clio’s Curious Dash Through Time. When she’s not traveling theworld and geeking out over archaeological sites, you can find her at home inWisconsin with her husband, son, and two very-demanding cats. You can read herand her students’ book reviews at https://www.thelogonauts.com/ .

As a school librarian, EllenBunn enjoys engaging K-8 students in research. She was a committee memberfor the Charlotte Zolotow Book Award (2016, 2017), Sibert Medal Award (2022),and South Asian Book Award (starting 2025). Previously she excavated andpublished about ancient hominin archaeological sites and hunter-gatherers ineastern and southern Africa, before teaching elementary science. Sheparticipates in rural land-use planning in Wisconsin, where she and her husbandhave raised three children, farm animals, and organic vegetables.

Socialmedia links for Katie:
https://www.instagram.com/katie_mcenaney
https://bsky.app/profile/katiemcenaney.bsky.social

Socialmedia links for Ellen:
https://bsky.app/profile/ellenbunn3.bsky.social
https://www.instagram.com/ellenbunn3