Diving into Non-Fiction: A Library Journey in SIS

Here in the wonderful library at Surabaya Intercultural School, our elementary students have been learning about non-fiction books and  how they differ from fiction books. Mr. Greg is working with Kindergarten by exploring different types of maps, from political and physical world maps, to country and local maps. They even made a map of the library and identified where resources are located. In first grade the students interviewed their parents about their family history and developed a family tree listing the important people in their ancestry.

Second graders have focused on the unique text features in non-fiction text and learned how books are categorized in the library. They have had several book hunts, using and reinforcing the knowledge of library resources. Third graders became authors  themselves by illustrating a wordless book and learning how authors must design, write, and edit their own manuscripts to produce a published book. Fourth graders have also focused on non-fiction text features and how knowledge of them helps them read to find out information.

They have been studying physics and energy after recently finishing a unit on migration and the immigrant experience. Fifth graders are starting to write and illustrate their own mini books, creating plots, settings, and characters. They will be publishing, reading aloud to other students and writing reviews on their peers work in the next few weeks.

See also: Insights from the Library and Counsellor: Navigating Summer Break with Books and Self-Care

Ms. Ririn’s Behind-the-Scenes: Organizing Resources for Library Delight

Ms. Ririn has been ordering, collecting, categorizing and organizing resources to add to our large collection. She also maintains the check out/in system to insure students have books to read at home each week. Please help her by having your student return their books each week in their book bags. Don’t forget to read with your children every night and model good reading behaviors. Feel free to stop by and search our vast collection and find a book to read for yourselves. With over 32,000 items in our collection, we’re bound to have something interesting for you.

Discover more about children’s literature and reading habits at Reading Rockets

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