Joanne Kaminski Increasing Non-fiction Reading Levels the Easy Way

Non-Fiction Book Features

Bold Headings Captions Cut-away diagrams Glossary Table of Contents Non-Fiction Features

Ask Questions Title Table of Contents Headings Glossary

Types of Questions kids are expected to answer.

How to Teach Kids to Ask Questions Teach the difference between a statement and a question. Start with who, what, when, where, why, how – These questions will require the reader to write down more details than just yes or no. Don’t start with is, are, or do. – These questions will simply give a yes or no answer.

Types of questions kids can ask from the front cover Turn the title into a question. Ask a question about something in the picture. If a child does not know the meaning of a word, they can ask – What does _____ mean? (Only have the child come up with 2 or 3 questions from the front cover) Think about whether the question you are asking would get answered in a book like this.

Books about Animals How they have babies? What they eat? Where they live? How long they stay with their mothers? Who are their prey? How do they protect themselves?

Books about Holidays Where it originated? Who celebrates it? How long have people been celebrating it? What customs or traditions are part of the holiday?

Books about people Where they were born Who they married Where they lived What great thing they are famous about How they became famous for it When they did the famous thing they are known for.

Books about places When was it established? Who founded it? Who lives there? What kind of animals live there? What kind of plants can you find there? Why do people travel there? Why do people live there? What is that area famous for? What kind of food is grown there?

Types of questions to ask from the Table of Contents Take 4 of the headings and turn them into questions using who, what, when, where, why, or how. If there is a heading that is already in question form, you can use that. If there is a vocabulary word the child does not know, they can write what does ___mean?

How to unpack difficult vocabulary before reading 1.Go to the glossary 2.Write down three unknown words. 3.Write down the definition. 4.Draw a picture of that word so that you can remember it when you come across it. 5.Write the sentence that the word appears in. 6.Write a summary of the book and use the vocabulary words as many times as you can without being redundant.

Benefits after the intervention Learn how to take notes. Learn how to skim and scan. Learn how to go back to the text to find information they need. Dig deeper into unknown vocabulary without being prompted to do so. Learn how to highlight properly. More purposeful reading. Be able to take any non- fiction passage test at the appropriate reading level and ace it.

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