Literacy Strategies for
Non-Fiction Texts
An Overview of Non-Fiction Texts
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Rationale for Non-Fiction Texts
Strategies for Non-Fiction Texts
Vocabulary Development
Rationale: Why Should We Teach
Non-Fiction/Informational Texts?
Six reasons to teach Non-Fiction/Informational Text:
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Increases student success in later schooling.
Real world is full of informational text.
Some students prefer informational text.
Addresses students’ interests and questions.
Builds knowledge of the natural and social world.
Includes many important text features.
Resource: Hoyt, Linda, Margaret Mooney, and Brenda Parkes, eds. 2003. Exploring Informational Texts.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Teaching Non-Fiction/Informational Texts
Addresses the 21st Century Learner
Teaching Non-Fiction/Informational Texts Aligns
with HCPS III Reading Standards and Benchmarks:
Standard 1: Reading: Conventions and Skills: Use knowledge of the
conventions of language and texts to construct meaning for a range of
literary and informational texts for a variety of purposes.
Benchmark Topics: Vocabulary and Concept Development
Locating Sources/Gathering Information
Standard 2: Reading: Reading Comprehension: Use reading
strategies to construct meaning from a variety of texts.
Benchmark Topics: Understanding Text Structures
Constructing Meaning
Compare & Contrast the Differences
between Fiction and Non-Fiction Texts
Using a Venn Diagram, discuss with a partner or
Table Group the similarities and differences between
Fiction and Non-Fiction texts.
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Share in Large Group
Establishing a
Shared Understanding
of Non-Fiction Texts
Non-Fiction Text Features
Text Organizers
Fonts & Effects
Index
Preface
Table of Contents
Glossary
Appendix
Bibliography
Footnote
Titles
Headings
Subheadings
Boldface print
Photo Credit
Color, Size
Italics
Bullets
Captions
Labels
Font Style
Graphics
Diagrams
Cutaways
Cross Sections
Overlays
Tables
Graphs
Charts
Word Bubbles
Timelines
Distribution
Maps
Flow Charts
Illustrations and Photographs
Illustrations
Photographs
Icons
Visual Layout
2006
© Angela Maiers,
Non-Fiction Text Structures
Text structure can change any number of times in a given reading,
yet most structures fall into six basic formats:
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Comparison Structures – examine the similarities and differences
between two or more events, ideas, concepts, people, and so on.
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Timeline or Sequence Structures – present the chronological order
of events or place a list of procedures or steps in a comprehensible order.
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Topic Description Structures – relate facts, ideas, events, and so on in
simple lists, one after the other, often in order of importance.
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Cycle Structures – represent patterns or trends in ideas, events, or concepts
that often end where they began.
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Problem-Solution Structures – set up problems, explain their solutions,
and discuss the effects of the solution.
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Cause-and-Effect Structures – present the causal relationship between a
given event, idea, or concept and the events, ideas, or concepts that follow.
Resource: Strong, Richard W., Matthew J. Perini, Harvey F. Silver, and Gregory M. Tuculescu. 2002.
Reading for Academic Success. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc.
What Works?
Research into Practice
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Read the May 2008 “Content Literacy” article,
Research Monograph #13 from What Works? Research into
Practice
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Save the Last Word for Me
After reading the article, participants select a passage they like and copy
that passage on an index card. On reverse side of card, participants write
why they chose passage. In groups of three or four, each person takes turn
reading his/her passage one person at a time. After the passage is read,
others in the group individually share their comments on the passage. The
person who read the passage then shares why he/she chose that passage.
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Optional: Share important ideas in large group.
Literacy Strategies: Before Reading
Activate prior knowledge, identify new vocabulary, and engage
students.
Brainstorm/Categorize
 Skim/Preview Text
 Anticipation Guide
 K-W-L
 Ask Questions
 Pre-teach Vocabulary
 Visualize/Recall sensory experiences
 Quick Write
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Literacy Strategies: During Reading
Enable students to interact with text, construct meaning, and
monitor comprehension.
 Make
Personal Connections (T-S, T-T, T-W)
 Use Prior Knowledge
 Say Something
 Double-Entry Journals
 Make Inferences
 Visualize
 Summarize
 Synthesize
 Self-Monitor for Understanding
Literacy Strategies: After Reading
Deepen understanding and extend meaning with and beyond text.
 Question
 Visualize
 Evaluate and Adjust
Predictions
 Organize Thinking
 Reflect
through Discussion, Writing, Illustrations
 Make Inferences
 Summarize
 Synthesize
Best Practices in Vocabulary
Instruction
Build a word-rich environment that develops
“word awareness.”
 Help students develop as independent word
learners.
 Use instructional strategies that model good
word learning behaviors.
 Provide explicit instruction for important
content and concept vocabulary.
 Use assessment that matches the goal of
instruction.
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Resource: Gambrell, Linda B., Lesley M. Morrow, and Michael Pressley. 2007.
Best Practices in Literacy Instruction. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.