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Home > Reading Topics A-Z > Nonfiction and the Common Core

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Nonfiction and the Common Core

Children's author and historian Marc Aronson discusses the importance of reading nonfiction in developing critical thinking skills.

In this video interview, nonfiction children's author and historian Marc Aronson talks about why he thinks the new Common Core State Standards could be transformational to teaching and learning. Aronson says that the Common Core supports close, rigorous reading of informational text and encourages students to ask "what's the evidence?" He makes the case that reading across texts to uncover a full range of facts and opinions helps strengthen critical thinking skills.

Aronson suggests ways that parents can encourage their kids to read nonfiction books. He also invites teachers to turn to librarians for their expertise in identifying really great nonfiction for the classroom. You can see an extended interview with Aronson here.

Related resources

• Another Meaning of the "Common" in Common Core (blog post from School Library Journal)
• How to Teach Expository Text Structure to Facilitate Reading Comprehension
• Developing Research and Information Literacy (for parents, in English and Spanish)