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Reading Nonfiction: Notice & Note Stances, Signposts, and Strategies
Visit for special previews, videos, and more. Also and "When students recognize that nonfiction ought to challenge us, ought to slow us down and make us think, then they're more likely to become close readers." That means we need to help them question texts, authors, and, ultimately, their own thinking. No matter the content area, with Reading Nonfiction 's classroom-tested suggestions, you'll lead kids toward skillful and responsible disciplinary literacy. Picking up where their smash hit Notice & Note left off, Kylene Beers and Bob Probst "Fiction invites us into the writer's imagined world; nonfiction intrudes into ours and purports to tell us something about it." This crucial difference increases the responsibility of the nonfiction reader, so Kylene and Bob have developed interlocking scaffolds that every student can use to go beyond a superficial We all know the value of helping students define nonfiction and understand its text structures. Reading Nonfiction goes the next crucial step-helping kids challenge the claims of nonfiction authors, be challenged by them, and skillfully and rigorously make up their mind about purported truths.
312 pages, Paperback
First published October 26, 2015
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632 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews
October 21, 2017
Having adored Notice and Note: Strategies for Close Reading by Kylene Beers and Robert E. Probst, I could not resist their follow-up book, Reading Nonfiction: Notice & Note Stances, Signposts, and Strategies, and I am glad I did even if it doesn’t rise to the same level.
Mimicking the format that made Notice and Note invaluable whether teaching second grade or high school — or any grade in between — the nonfiction strategy guide includes five signposts. However, only four are really useful; the fifth, Word Gap, just means unknown vocabulary. That said, the book has some really good ideas for inspiring close reading of articles and textbooks and some very amazing handouts to use. Still, Reading Nonfiction simply doesn’t rise to the same level as Notice and Note. I’m already using Reading Nonfiction in my class, but the book is unlikely to be as transformational as Notice and Note, which has — deservedly — sparked a revolution among English teachers.
Mimicking the format that made Notice and Note invaluable whether teaching second grade or high school — or any grade in between — the nonfiction strategy guide includes five signposts. However, only four are really useful; the fifth, Word Gap, just means unknown vocabulary. That said, the book has some really good ideas for inspiring close reading of articles and textbooks and some very amazing handouts to use. Still, Reading Nonfiction simply doesn’t rise to the same level as Notice and Note. I’m already using Reading Nonfiction in my class, but the book is unlikely to be as transformational as Notice and Note, which has — deservedly — sparked a revolution among English teachers.
July 22, 2016
Teachers unite... this book is for all educators / all grades. Loved learning new insights, signposts, and strategies for working with non-fiction; thanks for the adventure.
November 11, 2015
Beers & Probst have done it again. Notice & Note completely revitalized the way our Reading Workshop for students who struggle with comprehension is taught, and I found myself wishing desperately that there was a resource out there for nonfiction that would be as effective. Having read through the strategies and signposts in this book, I feel like I now hold that resource in my hands.
So many of our students are frustrated and burnt out with (what it is to them) the impenetrability of their textbooks and other nonfiction works. This book reinforces how doing all the heavy lifting for our students is actually weakening their ability to grapple with texts, and doing them a massive disservice - and gives us the tools to teach them how to decipher these complicated texts for themselves.
Not only are the educational tools presented here worth your time, but Beers & Probst's breezy and clear voices, their warm humor towards the occasional trials and tribulations that accompany teaching struggling readers, and their clear passion for the subject shine through every section. Their books are, quite simply, enjoyable to read, and feel more like having a conversation with charismatic fellow educators than listening to a dry lecture.
So many of our students are frustrated and burnt out with (what it is to them) the impenetrability of their textbooks and other nonfiction works. This book reinforces how doing all the heavy lifting for our students is actually weakening their ability to grapple with texts, and doing them a massive disservice - and gives us the tools to teach them how to decipher these complicated texts for themselves.
Not only are the educational tools presented here worth your time, but Beers & Probst's breezy and clear voices, their warm humor towards the occasional trials and tribulations that accompany teaching struggling readers, and their clear passion for the subject shine through every section. Their books are, quite simply, enjoyable to read, and feel more like having a conversation with charismatic fellow educators than listening to a dry lecture.
July 24, 2016
Practical read that I feel like I can use in my classroom right away!
July 23, 2016
Amazing, user-friendly resource to help students think deeply while reading nonfiction text. The signposts, the questioning stances, the anchor questions, and the strategies will help students move past just reading nonfiction text to find information. With these strategies, students will begin to analyze, question, reflect, and engage with nonfiction text. I love that the authors give you example texts to use to help model and teach each of the signposts. I'm excited to incorporate these strategies into my classroom this year.
May 18, 2016
I like the practical implementation of the big three questions and signposts. My students have responded with deeper thinking to their readings, and I am looking forward to kicking off next school year using this style of questioning the text.
February 13, 2016
I find myself wishing I could start the year over...and/or looking forward to next year! So many possibilities!!
August 7, 2016
So practical and student centered. Love how Beers and Probst honestly discuss their experiences with students. Awesome examples to see how the signposts and strategies work for ALL disciplines!
December 4, 2019
Usual high quality look at students, teachers, and reading. Almost wish I was back in a classroom to fully try these approaches to nonfiction.
November 30, 2015
The long-awaited "sequel" to Kylene Beers and Bob Probst's Notice and Note came out about a month ago, and it was well worth the wait, Reading Nonfiction:Notice and Note Stances, Signposts and Strategies may be even better than its predecessor.
Just like the original, its smart and teacher-friendly. And just like in the original, Beers and Probst tested and refined each of the Signposts with students in fourth grade and beyond across the country for years. As a reader of nonfiction and a teacher of eighth grade, the new Signposts resonate with me.
The chapter on each includes candid conversations of students about the impact of the Signposts on their understanding of the text and where they may struggle a bit as well as links to grade level appropriate texts to use with classes and humorous asides from the authors. They also include variations on each for different content areas - even for math.
I also really like the Strategies section. Though some are tried and true - many of you will remember Somebody Wanted But So from one of Beers' earlier works, When Students Can't Read: What Teachers Can Do - others are new like Possible Sentences. Whether reworked for nonfiction like Somebody Wanted or created for this text, each holds great potential to grow students' comprehension. I'm especially taken with Syntax Surgery.
As a huge fan of its predecessor, I can tell you that my students, ranging from resistant to rabid, report that the first set of Signposts made a significant difference in their stance as readers. This book promises to do the same.
Just as Melvin Dewey gave us a way to organize nonfiction in a meaningful way all those years ago, thus warranting a mention on their dedication page, Beers and Probst have given us a new way to organize our thinking about nonfiction. If you haven't already done so, buy a copy. It will become just as dog-earred as any other professional text on your desk.
Just like the original, its smart and teacher-friendly. And just like in the original, Beers and Probst tested and refined each of the Signposts with students in fourth grade and beyond across the country for years. As a reader of nonfiction and a teacher of eighth grade, the new Signposts resonate with me.
The chapter on each includes candid conversations of students about the impact of the Signposts on their understanding of the text and where they may struggle a bit as well as links to grade level appropriate texts to use with classes and humorous asides from the authors. They also include variations on each for different content areas - even for math.
I also really like the Strategies section. Though some are tried and true - many of you will remember Somebody Wanted But So from one of Beers' earlier works, When Students Can't Read: What Teachers Can Do - others are new like Possible Sentences. Whether reworked for nonfiction like Somebody Wanted or created for this text, each holds great potential to grow students' comprehension. I'm especially taken with Syntax Surgery.
As a huge fan of its predecessor, I can tell you that my students, ranging from resistant to rabid, report that the first set of Signposts made a significant difference in their stance as readers. This book promises to do the same.
Just as Melvin Dewey gave us a way to organize nonfiction in a meaningful way all those years ago, thus warranting a mention on their dedication page, Beers and Probst have given us a new way to organize our thinking about nonfiction. If you haven't already done so, buy a copy. It will become just as dog-earred as any other professional text on your desk.
December 13, 2016
"Fiction invites us into the imaginary world the author has created; nonfiction intrudes into our world, and purports to tell us something about it."
This book was excellent and gave me many ideas to use with my students! It emphasized strategies that help readers shape understandings and insights. It also made me reflect upon my own teaching at times.
The signposts and strategies I have tried with students so far have generated deep thought along with the expectation to always learn something new when approaching a text.
The concepts in this book teach students how to "enjoy (nonfiction) rather than endure it." My favorite was the philosophy that any student can do anything if we give them the correct scaffolds.
This book was excellent and gave me many ideas to use with my students! It emphasized strategies that help readers shape understandings and insights. It also made me reflect upon my own teaching at times.
The signposts and strategies I have tried with students so far have generated deep thought along with the expectation to always learn something new when approaching a text.
The concepts in this book teach students how to "enjoy (nonfiction) rather than endure it." My favorite was the philosophy that any student can do anything if we give them the correct scaffolds.
August 14, 2016
Excellent! Thank you, too, Heidi Weber, for leading the online book study throughout the summer. I'll definitely be using the info from this book in my classroom. I especially liked the overall idea that kids need to look at nonfiction texts with a skeptical eye. It is not enough to call nonfiction "true".
July 27, 2016
So glad that I read this book (and the Beers and Probst wrote it)! Lots of practical ideas that will benefit ALL teachers. Lucky to have participated in a Twitter chat for this book this summer with other teachers from our district.
August 8, 2016
Finally!
April 5, 2016
The section on Defining Nonfiction is must-read for Librarians. Well, heck, all Educators.
August 19, 2016
Very helpful. Lots of great ideas to use in any class
July 27, 2016
A MUST read for any teacher that teaches students how to read nonfiction effectively. So many unique ideas and strategies that all students and teachers would love to use in classroom.
December 6, 2016
Excellent read for anyone teaching nonfiction. It will change the way I teach!
August 21, 2016
I'm starting this school year inspired.
January 3, 2022
Kylene Beers knows her stuff, and I will read anything she writes. Full of research, graphs, examples, and answers to many questions, this book is extremely informative, highly engaging, and easy to read. The authors are candid, and it feels as if we are sitting together, chatting about how to best help our students read, interpret, and analyze nonfiction works.
Common Core State Standards shifted the focus to nonfiction, and many schools simply asked English to stop teaching literature/fiction and teach mostly nonfiction. Alas, that wasn't the intent of the Common Core. ALL teachers need to have their students read in their classes, and nonfiction texts work well in science and social studies classes. I listened to colleagues' concerns about not knowing HOW to teach nonfiction reading because they were not English teachers while I also listened to English teachers lament the loss of literature. This book is an excellent guide to teaching nonfiction that works for ALL content areas.
The book's format is perfect. Part 1, the first 72 pages, provides issues to consider such as rigor, complexity, readability, and it begins by defining nonfiction. That last one probably seems self explanatory, but the history (how the Dewey Decimal System created the nonfiction category!) demands, and definition were illuminating.
The authors focus on three big questions in part 2:
What surprised me?
What did the author think I already knew?
What challenged, changed, or confirmed what I already knew?
I love these questions; they work with every age and every subject. The authors break the question down by first ensuring the reader understands the question, then by teaching the question by explaining and modeling BEFORE learners try it on their own and follow up with reflection. This is excellent teaching (and it reminds me of Keys to Literacy's I-WE-YOU model of instruction).
Part 3 includes strategies while Part 4 explains the role of these strategies. The book also offers surveys, resources, and booklists. It's incredibly helpful.
Everyone should read this book. My dream is that it would be an all-staff read and then each department would determine how they would use the questions and strategies with nonfiction texts for learner reading assignments. Anyone interested in doing this?
Common Core State Standards shifted the focus to nonfiction, and many schools simply asked English to stop teaching literature/fiction and teach mostly nonfiction. Alas, that wasn't the intent of the Common Core. ALL teachers need to have their students read in their classes, and nonfiction texts work well in science and social studies classes. I listened to colleagues' concerns about not knowing HOW to teach nonfiction reading because they were not English teachers while I also listened to English teachers lament the loss of literature. This book is an excellent guide to teaching nonfiction that works for ALL content areas.
The book's format is perfect. Part 1, the first 72 pages, provides issues to consider such as rigor, complexity, readability, and it begins by defining nonfiction. That last one probably seems self explanatory, but the history (how the Dewey Decimal System created the nonfiction category!) demands, and definition were illuminating.
The authors focus on three big questions in part 2:
What surprised me?
What did the author think I already knew?
What challenged, changed, or confirmed what I already knew?
I love these questions; they work with every age and every subject. The authors break the question down by first ensuring the reader understands the question, then by teaching the question by explaining and modeling BEFORE learners try it on their own and follow up with reflection. This is excellent teaching (and it reminds me of Keys to Literacy's I-WE-YOU model of instruction).
Part 3 includes strategies while Part 4 explains the role of these strategies. The book also offers surveys, resources, and booklists. It's incredibly helpful.
Everyone should read this book. My dream is that it would be an all-staff read and then each department would determine how they would use the questions and strategies with nonfiction texts for learner reading assignments. Anyone interested in doing this?
August 13, 2017
WOW!!!! This is an amazingly helpful book on how to teach nonfiction to students. I'm not sure that at any point during any of my college coursework (undergrad or master's as a Reading Specialist) did anyone teach me how to teach students about nonfiction. I've started to incorporate more nonfiction in the past several years (#CCSS), but I've never felt like I'm doing a very good job of it. Now, at least I have some ideas how to begin.
A word of warning: this book is really about READING nonfiction - well, reading and comprehending nonfiction. It does not really address analyzing rhetoric (although some of the big questions and signposts might help you and your students start down that path). It doesn't really address analyzing text structure. It doesn't address analyzing the development of an idea over the course of texts or across texts. It is really just about helping students engage with, find interest in, and comprehend better the nonfiction that they are reading now in school and will read later in life.
But it's Kylene Beers and Bob Probst... how could it NOT be great!?!? (And so reassuring to hear about the many times kids were kids and teenagers were teenagers and did just sweetly and willingly engage in their lesson. Knowing that even these AMAZING educators can't get every student engaged or every idea to stick the first time is so affirming!)
A word of warning: this book is really about READING nonfiction - well, reading and comprehending nonfiction. It does not really address analyzing rhetoric (although some of the big questions and signposts might help you and your students start down that path). It doesn't really address analyzing text structure. It doesn't address analyzing the development of an idea over the course of texts or across texts. It is really just about helping students engage with, find interest in, and comprehend better the nonfiction that they are reading now in school and will read later in life.
But it's Kylene Beers and Bob Probst... how could it NOT be great!?!? (And so reassuring to hear about the many times kids were kids and teenagers were teenagers and did just sweetly and willingly engage in their lesson. Knowing that even these AMAZING educators can't get every student engaged or every idea to stick the first time is so affirming!)
November 10, 2016
I enjoyed reading this while simultaneously teaching NF. While some of the signposts and strategies seemed a tad elementary (actually, best suited to middle grades), most of the book is definitely applicable to high school, too.
The ideas in the book could be incredibly powerful if continues over multiple grade levels and/or across contents. This book could actually make a huge difference in students' learning if teachers across contents bought into it.
I immediately implemented the 3 questions with all of my students this year, and I have also tried contrasts and contradictions. Both went very well. I am trying possible sentences next week, and I'd love to try the poster at some point this year.
I liked that this book doesn't necessarily need to be read cover to cover and that any teacher can find at least one new idea to use immediately, if not multiple.
The BEST part of the book is Beers' and Probst's definition of nonfiction. It has absolutely changed the way that I approach and teach NF. That alone makes this a must read.
The ideas in the book could be incredibly powerful if continues over multiple grade levels and/or across contents. This book could actually make a huge difference in students' learning if teachers across contents bought into it.
I immediately implemented the 3 questions with all of my students this year, and I have also tried contrasts and contradictions. Both went very well. I am trying possible sentences next week, and I'd love to try the poster at some point this year.
I liked that this book doesn't necessarily need to be read cover to cover and that any teacher can find at least one new idea to use immediately, if not multiple.
The BEST part of the book is Beers' and Probst's definition of nonfiction. It has absolutely changed the way that I approach and teach NF. That alone makes this a must read.
August 17, 2018
This book is pure gold! Beginning with a critical change in how we should define nonfiction, followed by a thorough explanation of why it's critical for students to learn to read nonfiction skeptically, the book then dives into the what and how of teaching nonfiction texts. The authors begin with three essential questions to guide reading nonfiction, then explain and model five useful signposts to notice and note, and finally, detail seven fix-up strategies to use before, during, and after reading nonfiction to help bridge comprehension gaps. Each step includes step-by-step suggestions for how to teach the concept, texts that are helpful to use with students, and references to more resources in the appendix and online. This text will change how I read and teach nonfiction, and is a must-read for ANY teacher in any content area or grade level if your students read nonfiction.
January 6, 2018
Took the time to finish this book up today. I love using the signposts in my classroom and this book sets them up so well. I love the explaination and the lessons they provide you could use if you wanted. The authors really lay out everything you would need from lessons to handouts to videos examples to fix up strategies. I appriciate the student responses they provide and how they show you that you can tailor this to elementary, middle, and high school. I really like how they show you how to make the signposts really work for high school teachers by giving examples of how disciplines would change them to fit their content. This is a really great teacher resource!!!
March 2, 2020
There are definitely pieces of this book that I would recommend to teachers. However, there were also elements that set my teeth on edge: like the glibness of a textual aside early in the book about how Black folks used to be 3/5 of person under the law; the implication throughout that individual close reading will lead to justice (hint: individual solutions don't work for systemic problems); and the general race- and justice-evasiveness throughout. Teachers need support to understand how they can implement strategies and practices in ways that interrupt oppression and promote justice. This ain't it.
August 7, 2021
Loved this book! After 30 years of teaching English, ranging from 4th grade through 12th grade and including AP, I still love discovering new tools to give students to engage them with their own learning. This book is practical, research based, applies across grade levels and subject areas (social studies, science, math), and is filled with stories (as well as links to videos) of what students using the ideas actually looks like. It builds on reading strategies and academic conversation. I can't wait to get back to school and start using what I've learned! (And also really want to read the authors' previous book about reading fiction, but it will have to wait until next summer.)
December 14, 2017
Lots of great stuff in here and I really like the questioning stance approach to reading non-fiction.
The organization isn't as tidy as Notice and Note mostly because non-fiction is too diverse to be boiled down to a few signposts (and the obvious ones like text features and signal words are not included here). There are places where it feels like the authors are stretching to make strategies fall into categories and sacrificing clarity as a result. Still super useful.
The organization isn't as tidy as Notice and Note mostly because non-fiction is too diverse to be boiled down to a few signposts (and the obvious ones like text features and signal words are not included here). There are places where it feels like the authors are stretching to make strategies fall into categories and sacrificing clarity as a result. Still super useful.
July 12, 2019
This would be a great choice for a faculty book club. I’d love to work on this approach to nonfiction as a 7th grade team. It applies the stances, signposts, and strategies to all content areas—a powerful approach to literacy! It sparked ideas for my curriculum. What it didn’t offer was a clear picture of how to integrate stances, signposts, and strategies. I think it’s intended that teachers organize the integration of the ideas presented, which is both empowering and daunting.
September 4, 2021
This was a school read as we are going to be incorporating both the fiction and nonfiction signposts into our curriculum this year. I liked the layout of the book, the sample lessons with suggested anchor texts, and the additional strategies that can be taught to further support comprehension. After reading this book, I felt much more prepared to teach these strategies and to help my colleagues incorporate them into the various disciplines. This is a great resource for any teacher to have.
June 16, 2017
This book blew my mind! I finally feel like I have a good plan for teaching several skills in my nonfiction units! The authors took a bunch of those abstract concepts my kids struggle with (like author bias, connecting with the text) and provided concrete methods and strategies to help my kids get closer to these skills. Excited to see these work in my classroom!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews