Using Nonfiction for Civic Engagement in Classrooms

Vivian Yenika-Agbaw is professor of children’s literature and literacy at The Pennsylvania State University, University Park. She teaches courses on children’s and adolescent literature.Ruth McKoy Lowery is professor of literacy and associate chair of the Department of Teaching and Learning at The Ohio State University. She teaches courses on children's literature and literacy education.Paul H. Ricks is a doctoral candidate in Curriculum and Instruction at The Pennsylvania State University, where he currently teaches children’s literature courses.

Facts…or alternative facts. Now is an era when critical reading of nonfiction texts is vitally important, a need which this timely volume addresses. Its nine chapters focus on some of the most pressing issues of our time—racism, immigration, bullying—framed by critical lenses and demonstrated through teaching examples and current, noteworthy nonfiction titles. A new important resource for both classroom practitioners and teacher educators who empower students to strive for social justice!

• List of TablesPrefaceAcknowledgmentsChapter 1: Critical Conversations: Approaches Some Authors Have Adopted to Address Social IssuesVivian Yenika-AgbawChapter 2:You Too Can Make a Difference: Young Civil Rights ActivistsTerrell A. Young, Barbara A. Ward, and Deanna DayChapter 3: Advocating for Immigrant Experiences in Nonfiction LiteratureRuth McKoy Lowery, Kathleen Colantonio-Yurko and Cody MillerChapter 4:Teaching for Social Justice: Nonfiction Texts and Multi-genre Writing Ann Berger-Knorr and Mary Napoli Chapter 5:Sixth Grade’s Inquiry into the World War II Japanese Internment Camps Yoo Kyung Sung and Junko SakoiChapter 6:Critical Conversations Using Native American Autobiographies Paul H. RicksChapter 7:Biographies as Bibliotherapy: Using Nonfiction to Help Boys Overcome BullyingLunetta M. Williams and Kelly C. ScottChapter 8:Creating Spaces for Critical Conversations on Issues of Social Justice Mary Ellen Oslick, Terri Robertson and Melissa ParksChapter 9: Helpful Resources to Engage Children in Conversations on Social Issues inNonfiction LiteratureSuzanne Chapman, Mario Worlds, and Soowon JoContributors’ Biography