R EADING NONFICTION

N ONFICTION IS ABOUT REAL PEOPLE, PLACES, IDEAS & EXPERIENCES. T HE TWO MAIN TYPES ARE : LITERARY NONFICTION & INFORMATIONAL TEXTS.

C OMMON EXAMPLES OF LITERARY NONFICTION Diaries, journals and letters- contain personal thoughts and reflections Biographies & Autobiographies- life stories

C OMMON EXAMPLES OF LITERARY NONFICTION Essays & Articles- short nonfiction works about a particular subject. Can be literary or informational.

E SSAYS & ARTICLES MAY C ONTAIN : Reflection: the writer’s insights about an event’s importance Humor: observations that are meant to entertain and evoke laughter. Narration: stories about real-life experiences Description: use of vivid words, images, figurative language that appeals to 5 senses.

T YPES OF N ONFICTION W RITING Expository: presents facts, discusses ideas, or explains a process Persuasive: meant to convince the reader to adopt a particular point of view or to take a course of action Procedural: gives instructions on how to complete a task, solve a problem or perform a procedure Analytical: breaks a large idea into parts to help the reader see how they work together as a whole

E LEMENTS OF NONFICTION: O RGANIZATION Chronological: presents details in time order from first to last- sometimes from last to first Comparison and contrast: shows the ways in which two or more subjects are similar and different Cause-and-effect: shows the relationship among events Problem-and-solution: identifies a problem and then proposes a solution

ELEMENTS OF NONFICTION

T HE “T ABLE OF C ONTENTS ” IS A LIST OF INFORMATION. I T IS IN THE BEGINNING OF A BOOK. I T TELLS US THE ORDER IN WHICH THE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND. Table of Contents Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter

T HE “G LOSSARY ” IS A DICTIONARY OF IMPORTANT WORDS FOUND IN A BOOK. T HE WORDS ARE ARRANGED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER.

T HE “I NDEX ” IS A LIST OF SUBJECTS. I T IS ARRANGED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER WITH PAGE NUMBERS. I T IS USUALLY FOUND IN THE BACK OF THE BOOK.

Titles and Subheadings tell readers what you will be reading about.

Maps help the reader understand where things are in the world.

Labels help the reader identify a picture or a photograph and its parts.

Photographs help the reader understand exactly what something looks like.

Captions help the reader better understand a picture or photograph. Alabama State Capital in Montgomery

BOLDED WORDS and Highlighted words show the reader that it is important.

Nonfiction reading is reading to learn.

W HEN R EADING NONFICTION …. Slow down so you can think about information.

Reading nonfiction is like a slideshow where you have to stop and think after each slide.

You have to stop frequently and take notes.

REREAD! This helps to clarify meaning.

Pay Attention to the FEATURES!

Think about and write down your facts, questions and responses to help you better understand what you are reading.

L ET ’ S PRACTICE !

W HERE WOULD YOU LOOK TO FIND THE MEANING OF THE WORD “ PERFORMANCE ”? Glossary A. Table of Contents B. Glossary C. Index

I F I WANTED TO KNOW IF THERE WAS INFORMATION ABOUT G EORGE W ASHINGTON IN A BOOK, WHERE WOULD I LOOK ? Index A. Table of Contents B. Glossary C. Index

I N WHAT PART OF THE BOOK WOULD YOU LOOK TO FIND OUT ON WHAT PAGE A CERTAIN CHAPTER BEGINS ON ? Table of Contents A. Table of Contents B. Glossary C. Index

W HAT IS A HEADING ? It is a title that comes before a new part of the story.

W HAT IS A TITLE ? It is the name of a book.