The 6 Best Nonfiction Picture Books for in 1st Grade

 I love teaching nonfiction! My first graders love to learn about animals, space, and nature—and that natural curiosity is a huge win for us! Nonfiction gives students knowledge right at their fingertips. To truly unlock that knowledge, we need to teach them how to navigate the text. I generally teach nonfiction text features to my first graders in January, and I wanted to share some of my favorite books and how I use them.

Book 1: Butterflies and Moths by Nic Bishop (Focus: Photographs)

• What I teach: The purpose of photographs in nonfiction texts.
• Key takeaway: I love that this book has big, beautiful photos that help students see the similarities and differences between butterflies and moths up close. Emphasize how a photograph can give information that may not be in the text.

Book 2: Ladybugs by Gail Gibbons (Focus: Labels & Captions)

• What I teach: How to use labels and captions to gather more information.
• Key takeaway: Gail Gibbons is a nonfiction favorite! Use this book to walk students through where the author has used text outside of the main body, and why it’s there.

Book 3: Martin Luther King Jr. (National Geographic for Kids) (Focus: Table of Contents & Headings)

• What I teach: Table of Contents and Headings in a biography.
• Key takeaway: We discuss why the author chose the chapter headings. A great follow-up activity is having students brainstorm alternative headings for each section after we read it!

Book 4: Frogs by Gail Gibbons (Focus: Diagram)

• What I teach: Diagrams and how they help us understand complex information visually.
• Key takeaway: This book has a big, clear diagram I use to model this feature. We discuss why some information is better shared through a diagram than a paragraph of writing. I also use this book as my main example when teaching my students how to write their own nonfiction books.

Book 5: Sharks! by Sally Morgan (Focus: Bold Print, Glossary, & Index)

• What I teach: Bold print words, the Glossary, and the Index.
• Key takeaway: I model exactly how to use an index to find information quickly. We also make note that many of our bold words can be found in the glossary for further explanation.

Bonus Book: Pierre the Penguin by Jean Marzollo (Focus: Different Types of Nonfiction)

• What I teach: Expanding the definition of nonfiction.
• Key takeaway: This is a true story, but it’s told with a main character, problem, and solution—and it has almost none of the text features above! Use it to compare and contrast with other fiction stories to show that nonfiction comes in many forms.

Are you ready to use these books in your classroom? Save yourself hours of planning time! I have created complete Read Aloud Lesson Plans for all of these books (and more!).

Click below to grab the ready-to-use Nonfiction Text Features Read Alouds along with many others!

Or grab it on tpt!

Don’t forget you can grab a free nonfiction read aloud lesson below!

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