Fact or Fiction? By Ellen Weber, Ed.S., CCC-SLP, 2011

Fact or Fiction? If a story tells us about something that is true or real, we say it is a fact or non-fiction. If a story tells us about something that is not real or true, we say it is fiction. Pictures in our story can be photographs or drawings. How the pictures are made does not make the story fact or fiction.

You will read many books. Some books are fact and have photographs. Some books are fact and have drawings. Fiction books also can have photographs or drawings. Just because the picture looks like a cartoon doesn’t mean the story is not real or true. It is the words of the story that will make it FACT or FICTION. Even if most of the story sounds real, if even one little thing is not real, the whole story is not real, it is FICTION.

Let’s look at some pictures. Look closely at what is shown in the picture, then tell if it is fact or fiction.

Does a REAL cat do this? YES Does a REAL cat do this? YES These are both pictures from non-fiction books.

Does a REAL cat do this? NO This picture comes from a FICTIONAL story.

Does a real tree have leaves and a trunk? Does a real tree have a face? YES NO

Does a real tree have leaves, and a trunk and a face? NO Remember, if any part is not true, then the whole thing is not true. It is FICTION.

Which trees are FICTIONAL? 123 Non-Fiction Fiction Fiction

Now can you tell which dog is from a FICTIONAL story ? Ask yourself these questions: Do REAL dogs wear a collar? Do REAL dogs wear glasses ? Do REAL dogs read the newspaper?

Now can you tell which dog is from a FICTIONAL story ? FICTION

Let’s try some more. Which house is fictional? Tell why you think that FICTION

Which car is FICTIONAL? 123 FICTION

What about Braidy? We can still use Braidy to retell the story, whether it is fiction or non-fiction most of the time. Informative text still answers the questions Who, What, Where, When, Why and How. Those are all related to Braidy’s story elements.

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The Mitten Brett Tresselt