Realistic Fiction/Sports Stories

Realistic Fiction books tell untrue stories that could really happen, and they take place in a believable setting. They occur in the present or in the recent past. They depict our world and society, and help us feel like we are getting to know real people. The characters in the stories deal with events and issues that resemble real life. Since students can often relate to the characters within these stories, they are able to easily make connections to the text and have an easier time comprehending the story. Sports stories are one of the most common genres to get reluctant readers reading. These books are not necessarily written to teach a moral message, but more so that students can react to the characters. Realistic Fiction is of high interest to students because they can usually find something in these books to relate to in their personal lives. It helps kids to know that there are other kids that exist that are just like them.

When looking for books to add to my classroom library, I consider stories that my students will be able to relate to or that are about topics that are of interest to them. I also look for popular author's names that I know the students like. These books can serve as excellent mentor texts in the classroom for teaching characterization, setting, plot, theme, style, tone, and point of view. Most importantly, though, they give students books that they can relate to.


Awards:
Newbery Award Winners 
Award-Winning Children's Realistic Fiction Books 

Author or Text Resources:
Popular Children's Realistic Fiction Books 
Scholastic Teacher Resources 

General Resources:
Story Elements and Quality Characteristics 
Contemporary Realistic Fiction 

Quality Teaching Ideas:
Lessons and Activities for Realistic Fiction 
Realistic Fiction: Bringing Words to Life

Some of my favorite book choices:

Family Farm
By: Thomas Locker

Family Farm is the story of a rural family working hard to save their farm. This is easy for a lot of students to relate to because we live in a farming community. The children worry so much about what is going on at home that they have a hard time concentrating in school. The kids in the story are from a small community and they may have to close their school and join with another. All of us in the Midwest can relate with this since all of the surrounding small communities have had to join together. The family in the story tries a new business venture, which teaches the lesson to never fear the unknown but instead to keep trying.
Locker, Thomas. (1988). Family farm. New York, New York: Dial Books.  
Grade level span:  n.a., Lexile Level: n.a., Grade Level: 4.0
Grade level span for class read aloud: 1-4
Major themes addressed: problem solving, family, money, community
Qualities of the writing: realistic illustrations, slightly complex text for a picture book
Connections to local, national, or global issues: farming communities, school consolidation
Facets that might require support: If not from the Midwest, some of the themes in this book might be harder to relate to
Support that might be needed: give background information on why farming can be difficult at times, and also about why school consolidations occur


The Storm
By: Marc Harshman

The story starts with Jonathan, who is a boy confined to a wheelchair that feels singled out. He doesn't see that other people also have difficult life issues . Jonathan gets left home alone on the farm when a big storm rolls in and he has to find inner strength to be able to save the horses. He hoped that people would now see more to him than his wheelchair. This book has many different layers and can be used to teach about supporting details. It can also give students with disabilities a book that they can relate to and help them see their disabilities in a more positive way.


Harshman, Marc. (1995). The storm. New York, New York: Dutton Books.
Grade level span:  4-5, Lexile Level: 860L, Grade Level: 4.8
Grade level span for class read aloud: 2-5
Major themes addressed: disabilities, inner strength
Qualities of the writing: unique storyline
Connections to local, national, or global issues: weather patterns
Facets that might require support: there might be too much text to keep some students entertained
Support that might be needed: read in chunks and discuss in sections