Gathering information
For 19 weeks, I tracked the books
that the children checked out of the
school library. Each week I tallied the
number of books that were nonfiction/
informational and how many were fiction.
I also noted the choices of boys
versus girls. As each child brought a
book to the librarian to be stamped, I
read the book’s title to the child and
flipped through several pages. Then I
asked the child, “Is this book fiction or
nonfiction?” I recorded the genre of the
text as well as anecdotal notes about
the child’s understanding of the difference
between fiction and nonfiction
texts. In addition, I informally observed
the children’s choices in the classroom
library and gathered information
through writing samples and discussions.
This was a learning opportunity
for the children and a type of informal
assessment strategy for me.