Nonfiction - (also called expository text) - provides information

·  Purpose – explain, inform or persuade

·  Types – newspapers, maps, instructions, recipes, forms, graphs, tables, charts, reports, advertisements

·  Higher level thinking content

·  Specialized vocabulary

·  Text features – titles, illustrations, headings, subheadings, labels, footnotes, graphic organizers

Steps to understanding nonfiction text:

·  Preview the titles, headings, and subheadings

·  Use text features – graphic aides (diagrams, charts, graphs, and time lines)

·  Understand text structure – comparing/contrasting, giving directions, describing or listing, sequence or time line, cause and effect, problem solution

Five common structures of nonfiction:

·  Description or listing – provides information, such as facts, characteristics and attributes about a subject, event, person, or concept.

·  Sequence or time order – presents a series of events that take place in time order

·  Compare and contrast – points out the likenesses and or differences between two or more subjects

·  Cause and effect – attempts to explain why something happened; how facts or events (causes) that lead to other facts or events (effects). A single cause has several effects. A single effect may have several causes.

·  Problem/solution – describes a problem and presents one or more solutions to that problem.

Maps – a flat picture of earth

·  Political map – shows information such as countries, states, cities, and capitals

·  Physical map – shows the earth’s natural features, such as mountains, oceans, and rivers

·  Landform map – shows the shape of Earth’s landmasses and bodies of water using colors and symbols

·  Transportation map – shows how you can travel from one place to another

·  Historical map – shows information about past events and places

Graphs – a drawing used to represent numerical information. The information is condensed and can be read quick and easily.

·  Circle graph – also called a pie graph shows how something can be divided into parts or slices; shows how each part fits into the whole.

·  Line graph – shows changes over time.


TEACHING GRAPHIC AIDS:

Diagram: gives the reader a picture of how a process or a relationships works.

·  Read the title

·  Read the deck

·  Read the steps in the correct order

·  Read the label and caption

·  Study the illustrations

Chart: organizes information in a way that is clear and easy to understand.

·  Start with the title to learn the topic of the chart

·  Read the column headings and the labels for the rows

·  Read the caption

·  Use the information to make comparisons and draw conclusions.

Reading Tools: Nonfiction text
·  Look over the whole article (think of it as a preview)
·  Read the title (it tells the topic of the article)
·  Read the deck or introduction and the headings to find out the main ideas you are going to be reading about.
·  Notice the special features. Are there any diagrams? Maps? Charts? These graphic aids illustrate what you’ve read or add new information. Don’t skip them. Make sure you read the captions that go along with the illustrations.
·  Read the article. Look for helpful features like bolded words (they signal important vocabulary) and pronunciation keys.
Reading Tools: Magazine article
·  Preview the article to see what you are going to be reading about
·  Read the title (it tells the topic of the article)
·  Read the deck heading or introduction and the headings
·  Predict what you are going to be learning
·  Notice the special features. Are there any diagrams? Maps? Charts? These graphic aids illustrate what you’ve read or add new information. Don’t skip them. Make sure you read the captions that go along with the illustrations.
·  Read the article. Look for helpful features like bolded words (they signal important vocabulary) and pronunciation keys.
Reading Tools: How to Read a Map
·  Read the Map Title
·  Find the symbols on the map (a picture that stands for a real thing)
·  Look at the map key (know what the symbols mean)
·  Read the labels on the map (names geographic places)
·  Find the map scale (show the relationship between distance)
·  Find the compass (shows direction –north, south, east, west)
Reading Tools: How to Read a Circle graph
·  Read the graph title
·  Look at each slice
·  Read the label (it tells what each section represents)
Reading Tools: How to Read a Line graph
·  Read the graph title
·  Read the labels on the graph (they tell what the set of numbers represents)
·  The dots in a line graph record an amount for a particular time
·  The dots are connected by a line which shows how something changes over time
·  To read the graph, use your finger to trace from the dot to the number at the side and time at the bottom
·  Follow the line to see how something increased or decreased