Using Picture Books to Build Background Knowledge

When first starting a new unit in a content area, consider layering students’ background knowledge on the subject with a short, powerful topic-related picture book. Nonfiction children’s literature is booming! The topics available are extensive. There are short, factual books on historical figures, world events, geographic places, animal habitats, famous inventions, outer space, body systems, and even mathematical concepts!

To first excite students about a new topic of study and also give them some initial information, check out your elementary school media center or local library. Picture books can become a supplemental reading resource to the traditional textbook.

NOTE: For those of you who have state assessments that require students to read multiple passages and then respond to comprehension questions and extended writing prompts, this is just the type of supplementary text you’ve been looking for.

There are also some fabulous professional resources that are nothing more than books of books. They list great titles organized by topic/standard. One of my favorites is Lester Laminack’s Reading Aloud Across the Curriculum. Check out the table of contents. He has identified relevant picture books for each of these themes. WOW! What a time-saving resource.