National Geographic Kids

An aerial view of a mountain ridge rising above a sea of clouds at sunset — a window onto the world

Reading the World

Real people, places, events and discoveries.

Reading nonfiction opens a window onto the world. Through National Geographic Kids Readers, we explore real people, places, events and discoveries.

Our aim is not simply to finish a book or answer questions, but to help young readers understand what they read, build vocabulary and gradually express what they have learned in their own words.

Look, Wonder and Read

Before reading, we look carefully at the photographs and illustrations. Pictures help introduce a topic, activate what the learner already knows and raise questions about what we are going to read.

An open National Geographic Kids reader about sea otters — photographs, labelled words like sea urchin, and short fun-fact bubbles, with a reading pen resting above — The photographs come first — a page about sea otters, with words and fun facts to discover

We then read the text together, paying attention to the information and ideas in each section.

Materials

National Geographic Kids Readers, National Geographic Learning

Focus

Understanding nonfiction and building vocabulary

Goal

Retelling what we learn in our own words

Discover Words and Ideas

New vocabulary is explored through pictures, context and examples. We connect words with what they describe rather than relying only on translation.

When appropriate, we also look inside words, exploring prefixes, roots, suffixes and word families. Learners begin to notice how words are related and how their parts contribute to meaning.

A vocabulary slide — skyline /ˈskaɪ,laɪn/, the outline of buildings against the sky, shown with an illustrated city skyline and its simple line outline — *skyline* — a word, its meaning and the picture it describes

Organise What We Learn

As we read, we identify important information and look at how ideas connect.

Depending on the text, we may use a simple mind map, timeline or diagram to organise facts, events and relationships. These visual tools help make information easier to understand and remember.

A lesson slide — How Big Were the Towers? with key facts about the World Trade Center: 110 floors, 1,360 feet high, 30,000 to 50,000 workers, and three thinking questions beside a photograph of the twin towers — Organising information — key facts and questions, made visible at a glance

Retell in Our Own Words

After reading, the learner is encouraged to explain what the text is about and share the important things they have discovered.

With pictures, key words or a simple structure as support when needed, the learner gradually learns to retell the information in their own words.

A lesson slide — Sequencing Language, 4 Connectors, with a retelling example: First, it was a beautiful morning. Then, a plane flew into the north tower. 17 minutes later, a second plane hit the south tower. Finally, people learned about the hijackers. — Sequencing language — four connectors that give a retelling its shape

A Reading Journey: September 11

One of our reading projects used the Level 3 book September 11. We planned to explore it over five 30-minute lessons, beginning with “Tuesday Morning” and “A Shocking Event”.

A lesson slide — September 11, Lesson 1: a photograph of the New York skyline with the twin towers, a labelled diagram of the World Trade Center plaza, and opening questions: What can you see? Where do you think this is? — Lesson 1 — approaching a difficult historical event step by step, beginning with what we can see

Through photographs, reading and discussion, we approached a difficult historical event step by step, helping the learner follow what happened and understand the information in the text.

For us, nonfiction reading is more than collecting facts. It is a way to become curious about the world, understand what we discover and find the words to share it.

Curious about the world.
Understanding what we find. Finding the words to share it.

← Back to Teaching Projects