Children learn by taking in pieces of information and categorizing them. As a child grows, he or

she adds to that warehouse of information. They do this all through their schooling years. When

they reach puberty they take this information, sort it, and think critically with it. They keep what

they know, problem solve or create new ideas (Sasson, 2007). Particularly, a good and

informative non-fiction book is important for students. It is where they gain knowledge, facts at

the same time, develop ideas.

Picture 1

Non- fiction genre: “Choosing Cards”

The non-fiction book I have chosen here is ‘Greeting Cards’ published by Discovery World. I

choose this topic because I find it rather intriguing and very much related to our real lives.

Choosing cards appropriate to the occasion gives the students a little personal touch and this

helps them to see the real value of learning English. For instance, choosing the right birthday

card for a grandparent or for your parents makes them realise that learning English does not

only meant to pass the examination but this language helps them to communicate to the people

around them which was noted by Hadfield and Hadfield (2008).

Moreover, the non-fiction book is not just an ordinary book size but a big book. The pictures are

big and vivid with bright colours and glossy. The big book is suitable to share with everyone in

the classroom and to conduct discussions with the students. The enlarged texts allow the

students to follow exactly what the teacher is modeling at the front of the class(Holdaway,

1979). This helps the student to follow the lesson easily and at ease without straining to follow

through the lesson. The Big Book approach as written by (Nambiar,1993) attempts not only to

teach various reading strategies and concepts about print but also to impart them in a manner

that is meaningful and interesting to the young learners in the classroom.

The activity I have in mind when using this book is to have an interactive read aloud with the

students. I will use this book as an opening to the lesson where I would be teaching greetings

cards to year 3 students under the theme ‘World of Knowledge’. It is in accordance to the

content standard that says (4.3) By the end of the 6-year primary schooling, pupils will be able

to plan, organise and produce creative works for enjoyment. I have chosen to conduct an active

and interactive group read aloud because I believe that such will enable students to participate

instead of just listening and reading without purpose. The interactive way of reading together

gives the students an apportunity to really understand the story. Besides, reading aloud helps to

increase students’ attention span. This book has a good pedagogical potential where it definitely

helps the teacher to convey ideas regarding greeting cards and the holidays in a fun, interactive

and meaningful manner.

Likewise, with the right layout and with an interesting real-life topic, this big book definitely

allows many rooms for developmental dimensions of the students (Prince George County

School 2010) where they are given a golden opportunity to extend and refine knowledge

through this non-fiction book. Besides, thorugh the interactive read aloud session that allocates

open discussion and information sharing, the students are also indirectly practising productive

habits and positive attitudes towards learning.

Above all, this book brings many possibilities in ways to teach and the activities able to conduct

with the help of this book. I surely will use this book when I teach in the classroom. The ‘Big

book’ approach and the captivating layout of the book will definitely motivate the students to pay

more attention to the lesson in class. Although this is a non-fiction book with a real-life topic, but

it is not boring and dull. It brings a sense of celebration and joy to the classroom atmosphere

because the topic is related to holidays and greeting cards. Finally, I believe that I have chosen

the right book and the right topic to teach to my year 3 students.