CH 9 Non Fiction

Non fiction = Real life
I love non fiction books because they tell real life stories. I have always wanted to write a book about my life and many people told me I should, especially when I was a teenager. I would love to read books that tell stories about different people I know. We have to be able to teach the children the fascinating light that we can see when reading non fictional books. I went over Chapter 9 briefly, reading about the different elements of fiction. I thought it was interesting that the design teams put in more effort in designing the covers of non fiction books to make them more appealing to the eye. I had no idea that visual materials were important to non fiction books. The pictures are there to help tie up or clarify the reader's questions. I didn't realize that the table of contents, glossaries, etc. were known as "access features," either. The element of accuracy approaches and is something we, as educators, need to take time to check. In the jacket flap, usually in the back of the book, there is a section that says, "About the Author," and will list the credentials. If it was written by someone who is not a recognized expert, it helps us check who the author talked to get the actual facts. The copyright page is also a main source of where the author lists acknowledgments and a list of sources the author consulted, you can also see if the author has out of date facts as well.
The next element was style, in which is how the author grabs the reader's attention. The book states, "The first paragraph is essential. It introduces the subject, provides the flavor and sets the mood." I like that, because it is so true, and most of us know how hard it is to write the intro paragraphs to our paper. The thesis sentence and the last sentence of the paper are the hardest. Part of style are Leads & Conclusions, which I had no idea what it was about. After reading I found that it is a way for the writers to engage the readers by posing a question that is answered in subsequent text. They also draw conclusions that either leave the reader satisfied or wanting more. Then there's language and sentence structure along with vocabulary, in which we all should know about. In non fiction books the writer should write with grace, using elegant language. It's like how Professor Pickett tells us to learn the language of Education, it complements our character as teachers, well it's the same thing. Writers should use the language of the subject, writing with gracefulness. Then there is Figurative Language, where non fiction writers use analogies or figurative language. Analogy is basically a comparison between two things that are sort of similar, like a heart and a pump. Figurative language means to compare two things. All of these are parts of style.
The last element was Organization. This is very important because it's how it holds, not only the reader's attention, but also comprehension.
As for selecting our non fictional books for our classroom, we need to make sure they have the most up to date information. We also want to make sure the information is accurate because we do not want them to remember misconceptions or in accurate information, because when you are a child, it is hard to train yourself to forget what you have learned. The children can also claim that it is true because it is in a book and then you have to explain to them why it is not and they can give up on reading non fiction books and we don't want that at all! So like I said before, we need to make sure to check our author's sources, dates and credentials to give our students the best information possible.

"Author Study"

My author study is not about non fiction books. Rather than that, I am going to share some awesome books that I found at the San Antonio's children's Library.

"Tonight is Carnaval," by Arthur Dorros, is illustrated using real life felt pictures and cloth. Now we cannot touch the cloth or felt, but the pictures are of it. It is so cool, I even tested it out in my 1st grade field class to see if they thought the same and the first words were, "Aww...cool!" The actual felt pictures are called arpilleras and were created by people in Lima, Peru. So please look this book up at your local library. It is about a family who lives in South America, and tells about the life of the people who live in the high Andes Mountains. Carnaval is an event where the town gathers once a year to enjoy games and music. This book is for your older readers, maybe 4th or 5th grade. It has a glossary and lists all of the different instruments used to play at Carnaval and it has a section with real life pictures showing how the arpilleras are made.

"Hands," by Virginia L. Kroll, is about the different things we can do with our hands and what they mean. It is illustrated using all cultures and the last page shows that all cultures can be friends no matter what color you are. I used this with my 1st grade field base and they liked it a lot.

"Knick Knack Paddy Wack," is a counting book for your Pre K. This book is also culturally diverse. I got this book at the library and I read it fast and slow. It was a fun book just to read, but it also comes with a CD that you can use to teach the children the song to the book and the library even lends that to you! We can find great things at our local library.