Focus Skill: Fiction or Nonfiction

There are two main kinds of writing, fiction and nonfiction.

All categories of books or stories can be called either fiction or non-fiction. Fiction A made up story Can tell about things that could happen Is read for fun Characters may be like real people or imaginary Non-Fiction Has facts that can be checked and proven The author is an expert on this information.

Fiction or Nonfiction? Fiction Story is created from the author’s imagination Stories are pretend Animals or objects can talk, wear clothes, have jobs People in the story can do things people cannot really do Story might have funny pictures

Forms of Fiction There are three main forms of fiction. 1)Novel: long work of fiction; contains the basic elements of fiction; may contain subplots along with the main plot Subplots: independent related stories 2)Novella: shorter than a novel but longer than a short story 3)Short Story: brief work of fiction; contains basic elements of fiction; one main plot; one conflict; most can be read in one sitting

What is Fiction? Fiction is a story that is not real. Picture books Chapter books Comics Story books

Genres of Fiction Mystery (Nancy Drew)Nancy Drew Horror (Goosebumps)Goosebumps Fantasy (Harry Potter)Harry Potter Science-fiction (Star Wars)Star Wars Myths, Fairytales, Legends (Cinderella)Cinderella Historical Fiction (Letters from Rifka)Letters from Rifka Can you name any others?

Elements of Fiction Setting Character Plot Point of View Theme Symbolism Other

Fiction or Nonfiction? Nonfiction Story is true and factual Stories are about real people Book gives information Might have maps or real pictures Pictures have captions describing the photograph An index in the back helps find information Might have a glossary which defines some words

What is Non-Fiction? Text that is TRUE and based on REAL information Forms of Non-Fiction Text: NewspapersDictionaries Encyclopedias Scholastic News TextbooksMagazines Non-Fiction Books

Two broad categories of nonfiction are literary nonfiction and functional texts. 1)Literary Nonfiction: has elements of fiction; For example it might use vivid descriptions, a dramatic writing style, or poetic language. 2)Functional Texts: give instructions, show directions, explain rules, provide other information that helps you complete procedures; often use illustrations or graphics Forms of Nonfiction

Autobiographies and memoirs: tell the story of the author’s life Biographies: tell the story of someone’s life from the perspective of another writer Letters: written communications from person to person Literary Nonfiction

Essays and Articles: brief works about a specific topic Reviews: tell what is good and what is bad about a work of art or performance. Reports: give information about a topic explored through research

Recipes: tell how to prepare food Directions: tell how to operate or assemble equipment Schedules: tell when events take place Menus: tell which foods are available and their cost Brochures: use pictures and text to advertise places or events Maps: are diagrams that show areas of land Applications: are written requests to an authority Functional Texts

Features of Non-Fiction Table of Contents Glossary Index Headings Bold Print Photographs/Real Pictures Charts, Graphs, and Maps Captions Fact and Opinion

Let’s practice.

Lauren stared at the shiny red go- cart. “Hello Lauren,” said the cart. “Where would you like to go today?” “How about the moon?” asked Lauren. “Can you take me there?” “No problem!” said the cart. “Jump on and put on your seat belt.” Is this story fiction or nonfiction? fiction

How did you know the story was fiction ? A. Real go-carts aren’t red. B. Real people aren’t named Lauren. C. People can’t go to the moon. D. Go-carts can’t talk. Go-carts can’t talk.

Did you know objects can move in four different ways? An object, such as a basketball, can roll in a straight line. Objects can move up and down. They can also move around in a circle. In addition, objects can go back and forth. In conclusion, these are the four different ways an object can move positions. Is this story fiction or nonfiction? nonfiction

How did you know the story was nonfiction ? A. The story had make-believe characters. B. The story gave you information. C. The story had pretend events. D. The story had rhyming words. The story gave you information.

Which one is most likely fiction? A. a book about how to fix a broken car B. a book about a friendly shark C. a book of maps D. a book about magnets A book about a friendly shark would be fiction because sharks are not friendly.

Which one is most likely nonfiction? A. a book about a cat that speaks Spanish B. a book about a flying carpet C. a book about a dinosaur that brushes his teeth D. a book about facts of different types of sea animals A book about different types of sea animals would be a nonfiction book because it would give us facts about those animals.