Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Favorite Publishers for Nonfiction

We got an unexpected surprise last week at my school. Money for the literacy closet ! So excited ! I get to purchase books and not have to pay for them ! It's this bookworm's dream !

Several years ago, I coordinated a huge Title 1 Grant for a school that has many students with multiple needs, as well as students with limited experiences and our main focus was nonfiction. I learned about what teachers loved and have used it to sculpt my buying experiences since then.

So here are a few of my favorites :

Red Rocket Readers-- a fairly new publisher of nonfiction and fiction. They add to their titles each year. I love to teach with them because of their engaging topics, clear layouts, and kid appeal. They have an intro blurb in the front with possible areas to focus on. In the back, there is a list of high frequency words which teachers can copy and use with small groups.

In addition, they publish running records and other extension materials on their webpage.

http://www.redrocketreaders.com/

Some of my favorite titles : Dogs at Work, The Chocolate Factory, and Max the Monkey.

National Geographic---another teacher favorite for primary and intermediate readers. With it's variety of layouts, appealing photos, and well developed texts, this publisher is a must for focusing on nonfiction text features !

http://www.ngsp.com/

The Theme Sets with 4 texts of varying Guided Reading Levels all on one topic are loved by intermediate teachers. They are stored in an easy travel case to take to the classroom. Topics such as  American Revolution, Rocks and Minerals, Volcanoes and more can be found in these sets.

The sets for younger students are amazing as well and begin at Level B.  From I Can Breathe Underwater to Fossils..... your students will want to read these over and over again !


Benchmark Education--another favorite for reaching those upper intermediate readers who are reading at a different level than their peers. They have topic sets from The Constitution to Space which have 2 texts- same cover- 2 different guided reading levels. A possibility would be one text at a K and another at a P focusing on the same topic and have the same cover.  In addition, a teacher's guide with lesson plans and suggested activities is included as well.

In addition this publisher provides sets designed to support the English Language Learners,  Reader's Theater with fun topics and ones that relate to science and social studies, and more. I really like their Genre Workshops with different types of literature- Fables, Pour Quoi Tales, and others. It also comes in 2 different Guided Reading Levels in the same bundle.

http://www.benchmarkeducation.com/


Wishing you a wonderful evening ! Hope you find some new nonfiction favorites !

1 comment:

  1. Excellent list, especially for intervention teachers. I'm sharing on my FB page. Thank you! ;-) Lauren

    ReplyDelete