Plugged-in to Nonfiction is the culmination of Dr. Janet Allen’s 35 years in education, 20 of them in her own classroom, and her extensive involvement as a researcher in adolescent literacy. She is an inspiring mentor to classroom teachers across the country.

An international consultant, researcher, author, innovator, and veteran educator, Dr. Janet Allen has become a major force in literacy work with at-risk students. She began her professional life in northern Maine as a teacher of high school reading and English. Moving to the University of Central Florida, she taught English and reading education, directed the Central Florida Writing Project, and assisted in the creation of the Orange County Literacy Project. She is the recipient of many teaching awards, including the Milken Foundation’s National Educator Award.

A Note from Dr. Allen
With each piece of nonfiction I included in my teaching, I realized my students became more engaged. Fiction became more real to them with the inclusion of nonfiction that offered contemporary or historical examples of similar events, themes, or factoids. In fact, eventually I was able to read several classic pieces of literature with my students because we started with nonfiction as the hook. The Crucible took on a whole new meaning for them when I included an article from a science text explaining that the hysterical behaviors of the accusers in the witch hunts may have been influenced by hallucinogenic effects related to the grains used in their food. When I included pamphlets from local churches where pastors distributed lists of names (written in red ink) and told parishioners not to read or view certain artists’ works or buy products from companies supporting their films because they were Communists, my students finally understood Miller’s purpose in writing The Crucible. The nonfiction pieces brought the works of literature to life for them. And when the literature came to life, students had real questions that intrigued them. In fact, my first published article was a co-authored article about our experiences of merging fiction and nonfiction for our students: “Witches, Worship, and Whimsy” (Allen & Leighton, 1981). At this point, I was using nonfiction as a tool for engagement, connection to literature, and inquiry.

It was years later before I finally realized I needed to teach my students how to actually read nonfiction. I was working with them on a project where they analyzed their grades and how they spent their time. As part of the project, I asked them to bring their report cards to class. I was stunned by the number of failing, or near failing, grades my students had earned in most of their content classes. They were steadily improving in my English and reading classes and yet failing science, math, social studies, and health. When I tried to analyze this phenomenon with them, I realized that all these classes were basically text-based, and my students believed they couldn’t read the textbooks. I think it was the first time I consciously thought that my job was to teach students how to read, write, and think about content, not just assign them content. It was definitely the first time I realized that reading most nonfiction is very different from reading most fiction.

A friend of mine used to say, “There are two ways to get to the top of an oak tree. You can climb the branches or you can sit on an acorn and wait.” In creating Plugged-in to Nonfiction, we chose to climb the branches. In the creation of any program with this scope, we were always aware that new research into adolescence and literacy was occurring as we were writing. In choosing the texts, creating teacher and student support materials, and designing assessments, we used applicable research in four broad areas: adolescence, effective literacy instruction, nonfiction texts, and assessment. We wrote with the knowledge we gained from this research and with the information students provided as they read and wrote nonfiction texts.

Professional Books by Dr. Allen (You will be redirected to the Recorded Books website after click.)