Our nonfiction penguin unit is definitely one of my favorites. If you've been following along for some time now, you know that I say this a lot but in this case, I really mean it!! I incorporate this into our two month nonfiction unit of study in reader's and writer's workshop. I chose this topic because let's face it, who doesn't like these super cute and cuddly littles ones?! Last year we were even lucky enough to have the Camden Aquarium come and bring a real life penguins to our school! It was the perfect culminating experience.
In reader's workshop, we immerse ourselves in the characteristics of this genre by reading nonfiction penguin books. I hand select the texts that I think we will be best for my students for me to read aloud and model my use of nonfiction text features. These books include nonfiction texts of all levels. Scholastic has made such student friendly options. This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience.
National Geographic Kids Penguins- Explore My World
This is a great easy reader to get a taste of nonfiction. There are large pictures and very little print with some simple nonfiction text features.
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National Geographic Kids Penguins!
This is a my absolute favorite penguin text to read- and my students too! There are plenty of nonfiction text features and the key details about easily identifiable. Since this is more text heavy (guided reading level M), I use this briefly before multiple mini-lessons to model the use of the nonfiction text features. As we read, we record our new learning on post-its and place them on our anchor chart (see below).
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Scholastic Discover More: Penguins
This option is also very text heavy (guided reading level N) however, it comes in handy when my students have lingering questions that our other texts can't answer. There are so many facts in this book that no child will go unanswered. :) The text covers the page, the images are range from larger to small but it's perfectly perfect for modeling the use of an index!
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Penguins! By Gail Gibbons
Gail Gibbons does it again! This book is the perfect text to test your students ability to identify nonfiction texts. The images are beautifully drawn, leaving students unsure how to classify it's genre. Many have the misconception that only books real images are nonfiction. This sparks a great conversation around this topic. It also has the perfect image with labels of all the different types of penguins.
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All of our thinking gets recording during reader's workshop and then categorized into subtopics during writer's workshop. This is the perfect place to showcase all our learning.
The books below are also perfect for the discussion about nonfiction vs. fiction texts. I read these for read alouds or during shared reading this month because we can't get enough of these furry friends!
The Emperor's Egg Penguins Love Colors
If Your Were a Penguin Penguin's Hidden Talent
Up and Down Lost and Found
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