13 Informational Writing & Research
When we think about writing prompts, we often neglect to consider informational texts, which I define as any piece of writing conveying factual information. This includes facts about our natural world, cultural information, and biographical information, as well as do-it-yourself procedural information. In the programs described so far, the content of the writing may be either informational or fictional. A map of a real neighborhood can be created at the same table as a map of a land where unicorns that fart rainbows reside. A librarian might offer a program focused on science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) topics, or a topic that includes art as well (STEAM), like storyboards or comics.
For resistant readers of any gender, informational books are high-interest reading materials.[1] If we generously define “research” as an investigation of a subject in order to uncover facts, a Writing Box session or series of sessions can be devoted to informational investigations and the writing up of the results.
The Writing Box program is adaptable to any topic or investigation that supports a writing practice.
Let’s walk through the creation of a sixty-minute writing workshop. This is one I call Fact-Checking. It can be adapted for all kinds of books—historical fiction, adventure stories, animal books, or biographies.
Suppose that the topic is bees, and the writers are in first through fifth grade. Perhaps the librarian is partnering with a fourth-grade classroom teacher to help build skills in the common core segment CCSS RI.4.9:
Integrate information from two texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.
Mentor texts
Books about bees
Buchmann, Stephen L. 2010. Honey Bees: Letters from the Hive. New York: Delacorte Press.
Dyck, Sara van. 2005. Bumblebees. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications Company.
Florian, Douglas. 2012. Unbeelievables: Honeybee Poems and Paintings. New York: Beach Lane Books.
Frisch, Aaron. 2015. Bees, Seedlings. Mankato, Minnesota: Creative Education and Creative Paperbacks.
Gibbons, Gail. 1997. The Honey Makers. New York: Morrow Junior Books.
Glaser, Linda, and Gay W. Holland. 2003. Brilliant Bees. Brookfield, CT: The Millbrook Press, Inc.
Hall, Kirsten, and Isabelle Arsenault. 2018. The Honeybee. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.
Heinrichs, Ann. 2002. Bees, Nature’s Friends. Minneapolis, MN: Compass Point Books.
James, Joyce. 2008. Bees, Nature’s Children. Danbury, CT: Grolier; Scholastic.
Markle, Sandra. 2014. The Case of the Vanishing Honey Bees: A Scientific Mystery. Minneapolis: Millbrook Press.
Markovics, Joyce L., and Brian V. Brown. 2010. The Honey Bee’s Hive: A Thriving City, Spectacular Animal Towns. New York, NY: Bearport Pub.
Nargi, Lela, and Kyrsten Brooker. 2011. The Honeybee Man. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books.
Prischmann, Deirdre A. 2006. Bees, Bridgestone Books World of Insects. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press.
Riggs, Kate. 2013. Bee. Mankato, MN: Creative Education.
Rockwell, Anne F., and S. D. Schindler. 2005. Honey in a Hive. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
Silverman, Buffy. 2012. Can You Tell a Bee from a Wasp? Minneapolis, MN: Lerner.
Starosta, Paul. 2005. The Bee: Friend of the Flowers, Animal Close-Ups. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge.
Stewart, Melissa. 2009. How Do Bees Make Honey?, Tell Me Why, Tell Me How. New York: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark.
Wimmer, Teresa. 2007. Bees, My First Look at Insects. Mankato, MN: Creative Education.
Winchester, Elizabeth. 2005. Bees! New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.
Winters, Kari-Lynn. 2013. Buzz About Bees. Ontaria, Canada: Fitzhenry & Whiteside.
Woodward, John. 2001. Honeybees, Animal Families. Danbury, CT: Grolier Educational.
And books about bugs
Arlon, Penelope, and Victoria Harvey. 2011. Bugs. London: Dorling Kindersley.
Cleary, Brian P., and Martin Goneau. 2013. Butterfly, Flea, Beetle, and Be: What Is an Insect? Minneapolis, MN: Millbrook Press.
Eaton, Eric R., and Kenn Kaufman. 2007. Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America, Kaufman Field Guide. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Co.
Evans, Arthur V., and National Wildlife Federation. 2007. National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Insects and Spiders & Related Species of North America. New York: Sterling Pub.
Greenaway, Theresa, and DK Publishing Inc. 2000. DK Big Book of Bugs. New York: DK Publishing.
Hughes, Catherine D. 2014. Little Kids First Big Book of Bugs, National Geographic Kids. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society.
MacQuitty, Miranda. 1996. Amazing Bugs. New York: DK Publishing.
McGavin, George. 2000. Insects, Spiders, and Other Terrestrial Arthropods. New York, NY: Dorling Kindersley.
Milne, Lorus Johnson, and Margery Milne. 1980. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders. New York: Knopf.
Murawski, Darlyne, and Nancy Honovich. 2013. Ultimate Bug-Opedia: The Most Complete Bug Reference Ever: More Than 400 Amazing Color Photos Throughout the Book! Washington, DC: National Geographic.
Veitch, Catherine. 2014. Learning About Insects, The Natural World. Chicago, IL: Raintree.
York, Penelope. 2015. Bugs. London: DK Publishing.
Resources
Aliki. 1986. How a Book Is Made. New York: Crowell.
Christelow, Eileen. 1995. What Do Authors Do? New York: Clarion Books.
Elbow, Peter. 1998. Writing with Power: Techniques for Mastering the Writing Process. New York: Oxford University Press.
Evans, Elaine. 2007. Befriending Bumble Bees: A Practical Guide to Raising Local Bumble Bees: University of Minnesota Extension.
Guthrie, Donna, Nancy Bentley, and Katy Keck Arnsteen. 1994. The Young Author’s Do-It-Yourself Book: How to Write, Illustrate, and Produce Your Own Book. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook Press.
Lee-Mäder, Eric, and Xerces Society. 2011. Attracting Native Pollinators: Protecting North America’s Bees and Butterflies: The Xerces Society Guide. North Adams, MA: Storey Pub.
Mitgutsch, Ali. 1988. From Picture to Picture Book. Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda Books.
Wilson, Joseph S., and Olivia Messinger Carril. 2016. The Bees in Your Backyard: A Guide to North America’s Bees. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Websites
East African Network for Taxonomy (BioNet-EAFRINET), with fact sheets on the bees of East Africa: z.umn.edu/wbr72.
Clay Bolt, Beautiful Bees: beautifulbees.org
Encyclopedia of Life: eol.org
Great Sunflower Project: greatsunflower.org
Heather Holmes, Pollinators of Native Plants: pollinatorsnativeplants.com
Iowa State University, Department of Entomology: Bug Guide, bugguide.net
USDA Forest Service: z.umn.edu/wbr73.
Wikipedia (search bee species or genus name)
Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation: xerces.org
- Caswell, Linda and Nell K. Duke. 1998. “Non-narrative as a Catalyst for Literacy Development.” Language Arts 75, no. 2: 108. ↵
