Abstract
This study explored teachers’ approaches to engaging children with fiction and nonfiction literature. This study found that the selection of essential standards was largely up to the discretion of the teachers, and most teachers did not deem the standards related to literary genres to be essential. Although these standards were not considered essential by teachers, they still taught the content to some degree (e.g., using general rules to describe the distinctions between fiction and nonfiction literature). Teachers had extensive classrooms libraries that include both fiction and non-fiction selections. Finally, teachers described children’s preferences for certain content and book series. Regarding genre, teachers noted children's increased interest in non-fiction literature compared to years past. Despite increased interest in non-fiction literature, teachers still perceived the majority of students to prefer fiction. Thus, the teachers predominantly prefer reading fiction literature to children during class. This study has the potential to spark a conversation about the improvements that need to be made to the State-adopted curriculum to more effectively guide teachers in their teaching of certain literary concepts and ensure that the curriculum appropriately supports students’ learning of the CCSS. Additionally, this research will extend the conversation about what types of books children seem to prefer.