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Reproducible Page
Reading for Fun and Information
| Workshop 5
Guide to Nonfiction
What is Nonfiction?
Nonfiction text is factual and generally written to teach or convey specific information. Nonfiction pieces contain
different structural, organizational, graphical, and textual cues that help guide where the reader’s primary focus should
.
be Examples of nonfiction text include:
• textbooks
• newspaper articles
• menus
• maps
• travel guides
Features of Nonfiction Text
Below is a list of common nonfiction text features that will help children interpret and process the information they are
reading.
Different Fonts and Text Changes
When authors want you to pay attention to a specific detail, they make the text:
Bigger
Darker (or Bolder)
Slanted (or italicized)
Different colors
Headings and Labels
Often nonfiction texts will use:
— Headings
• There is a heading on this page – Guide to Nonfiction. This heading lets the reader know that the text on this
page is about nonfiction text.
— Labels
• Labels draw the reader’s attention to significant parts of a picture or diagram.
proboscis
Anatomy of
a Butterfly
thorax
antenna
forewing
compound eye
wing veins
hindwing
abdomen
Family Literacy Workshops
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Workshop 5
| Reading for Fun and Information
Reproducible Page
Illustrations and Photographs u
Pictures and photographs can give you a better
understanding of what you are reading by providing
enhanced details. If, for example, you were reading
about the Washington Monument, this picture could
help you see what it looks like and how big it is.
p Charts and Diagrams
Imagine you had to count all the students in your class. Then, you had to count how
many are boys and how many are girls. Let’s pretend this is what you found:
There are 35 students total. There are 25 girls and 10 boys. Those two statements can be
made into a chart, which would help you understand what the numbers mean.
Learning to Play Baseball
Table of Contents
page
Introduction.......................................... 1
History of baseball............................... 2
Rules of baseball................................. 6
Pitching................................................. 9
Hitting...................................................11
Fielding................................................ 16
Scoring................................................ 20
Index.................................................... 22
Glossary.............................................. 24
t Table of Contents
The table of contents provides an overview of the whole book or
magazine. It tells you what each chapter or section will be about, and
where that information can be found. The table of contents is located at
the beginning of a book or magazine (and is found in both fiction and
nonfiction work).
Index u
The index lists key terms and topics
mentioned in a book, and tells you where
that information is located. It is similar to a
table of contents but much more detailed.
Also, the index is found at the end of a book,
rather than the front.
Bat: used to hit the baseball, usually made of wood or
aluminum.
Home Run: ball is hit out of the area of play; batter scores a run.
Inning: the way a baseball game is divided; each team has
nine opportunities to attempt to score runs.
Walk: when four pitches fall outside of the strike zone, the batter
moves to first base without hitting.
Base: where players need to run to when they get a hit. The four
bases are first, second, third, and home plate.
Outfield: the outfield is the playing area beyond the bases, and
includes left, center, and right field.
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Family Literacy Workshops
Index
bases - 3, 14
bat - 1, 20, 22
curveball - 10
fastball - 10
Learning to Play Baseball
Glossary
Learning to
Play Baseball
first base - 7, 11
t Glossary
The glossary is like
a dictionary. It lists
definitions of important
words found in the text.
It is usually located at
the end of a book.
glove - 6, 17
home plate - 8
home run - 7, 21
out - 21
outfield - 6, 16, 17
second base - 8, 17
third base - 8, 12
walk - 6, 11
Reproducible Page
Reading for Fun and Information
| Workshop 5
Workshop Activity Handout
Our Solar System
(Factual Information for the Nonfiction Workshop Activity)
The Sun is a star. It is made up of hot, moving gases. The main gas is hydrogen. The Sun gives Earth
light and heat. There are many stars in space, but the Sun is the closest star to Earth. It is about 93
million miles away from Earth. Eight planets, including Earth, revolve around the Sun.
Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. There is no water or air on Mercury. It is very hot on the sunny
side and freezing cold on the dark side. Mercury is gray and has many craters. It takes Mercury about
88 days to travel around the Sun.
Venus is the planet second closest to the Sun. It is a little bit smaller than Earth in size. There are many
yellow, poisonous clouds that surround this planet. It is very hot on Venus because the clouds keep
the heat trapped there. There is no oxygen or water on Venus. It takes Venus about 225 days to go
around the Sun.
Earth is the planet third closest to the Sun. It is the only planet that we know of that has water, plants,
animals, and people. It is about 93 million miles away from the Sun. There are seasons on Earth
because it rotates on an axis. It takes Earth about 24 hours to rotate on its axis. It takes Earth about
365 days (1 year) to go around the Sun.
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. Mars is composed of red iron oxide that looks like red sand.
Because of this, Mars is sometimes called “The Red Planet.” There are canyons, volcanoes, big rocks,
craters, and red dust on Mars. It takes Mars 687 days (1.9 years) to go around the Sun.
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun. It is the largest of the eight planets and has a diameter of more
than 88,000 miles. It takes Jupiter 4,329 days (11.86 years) to go around the Sun.
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun. It is the second largest of the eight planets. Saturn is the only
planet with prominent and visible rings around it. These rings are made up of ice and rock. It takes
Saturn 10,759 days (29.5 years) to go around the Sun.
Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. It is the third largest planet and has a diameter of more
than 51,000 miles. Uranus was the first planet discovered in modern times. It takes Uranus 30,660 days
(84 years) to travel around the Sun.
Neptune is the eighth and furthest planet from the Sun. It is the third largest planet by mass and the
fourth largest planet by diameter. It has a diameter of 30,800 miles. It takes Neptune almost 60,225
days (165 years) to go around the Sun. Neptune cannot been seen from Earth without a telescope
or binoculars.
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