Tell me if this sounds familiar: sometimes it's tough to get middle and high school students to go outside their comfort zones for reading nonfiction. They assume the book is too long, too difficult, or too boring, and many students stick to super-short biographies or animal books.
As a result, I'm always on the lookout for nonfiction that will be nonthreatening, "worth it", or super engaging for my classroom library.
When I asked several of my English teacher colleagues on Instagram what they would recommend, they answered the call with some GREAT suggestions. These titles range in length, difficulty, content, and maturity.
We hope you enjoy this list! To see the FULL book talk for each title, click on the hyperlink of the teacher's username who recommended it.
1. Hope Nation: YA Authors Share Personal Moments of Inspiration
Recommended by @secondarysara.
Link to Amazon.
2.The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough
Recommended by @doccopteaching.
Link to Amazon.
3. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Recommended by @elaclassroom
Link to Amazon.
4. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah
Recommended by @addiewilliams_tpt
Link to Amazon
5. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
Recommended by @prestoplans
Link to Amazon
6. The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
Recommended by @buildingbooklove
Link to Amazon
Recommended by @nouvelle_ela
Link to Amazon
8. I Will Always Write Back by Caitlin Alifirenka & Martin Ganda
Recommended by @theclassroomsparrow
Link to Amazon
9. The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater
Recommended by @hansonhallway
Link to Amazon
10. World War II Heroes: Ten True Tales by Allan Zullo
Recommended by @2peasandadog
Link to Amazon
11. Bomb: The Race to Build (and Steal) The World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin
Recommended by @theliterarymaven
Link to Amazon
12. In the Shadow of Liberty by Kenneth C. Davis
Recommended by @readitwriteitlearnit
Link to Amazon
13. I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
Recommended by @mrsorman
Link to Amazon
14. For Everyone by Jason Reynolds
Recommended by @mrsspanglerinthemiddle
Link to Amazon
15. Quiet Power: The Secret Strengths of Introverted Kids by Susan Cain
Recommended by @toocoolformiddleschool
Link to Amazon
16. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer
Recommended by @thedaringenglishteacher
Link to Amazon
17. Chasing Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson
Recommended by @helloteacherlady
Link to Amazon
18. Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
Recommended by @room213tpt
Link to Amazon
19. Marley Dias Gets It Done by Marley Dias
Recommended by @literarysherri
Link to Amazon
20. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
Recommended by @writeonwithmissg
Link to Amazon
21. Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World by Rachel Ignotofsky
Recommended by @thesuperheroteacher
Link to Amazon
What other nonfiction books would you recommend?
Tell us in the comments!
War Child: A Child Soldier’s Story by Emmanuel Jal is also a great read!
ReplyDeleteLove all of these! Thanks to all for the great recommendations!
ReplyDeleteMalcom Gladwell's books: All of them! Thanks for this wonderful list.
ReplyDeleteReyna Grande’s memoirs, The Distance Between Us and A Dream Called Home, are two nonfiction books that my students loved last year. In Distance, Grande recounts her painful childhood after she and her siblings are left behind when their parents leave Mexico for El Otro Lado (USA). The sequel, A Dream Called Home, continues Grande’s journey to adulthood as she attends college and embarks on a seemingly unlikely quest to become a published author. Grande is a masterful storyteller, and her difficult experiences as an undocumented immigrant in the U.S. were, sadly, stories many of my students could relate to.
ReplyDelete