Lesson 7: Reading Nonfiction

Read and Practice

Sequence: First, Next, and Last

Begin by reading the unit overview on page 95 and the top of page 96 in the Daybook. There are several types of sequencing (sometimes called ordering). Although we will be working mainly with time-order sequencing, it is valuable to know the other types. Some common forms of sequencing are listed below:

• Chronological (time-order): You see a form of this type of sequencing used in how-to directions, like a recipe.
• Most important to least important (or vice-versa): The author decides which information is most important and places it in a specific order for effect.
• Spatial: This type of ordering is used most often when describing things. It might be head-to-toe, top-to-bottom, inside-to-outside, etc.
• Cause/effect: Authors use this type of ordering when they want the reader to recognize the relationship between ideas or events.
• Comparison: Comparisons allow an author to analyze and evaluate two or more concepts.

In this unit, you will be looking mainly at chronological (time-order) and cause and effect ordering.

Adding to your working vocabulary helps you become a better reader, writer, and speaker. On pages 96–98, there are several words that may be new to you:

• ovation
• drape
• lunged
• spurs
• motto

Be careful to look for these words in their contexts (how they are used in the sentence). For example, in this story “drape” is being used as a verb, not a noun. Check a dictionary to be sure of any words that you cannot figure out by using context clues. You can have your parent/teacher quiz you over the words before you check your answers. You should also jot down in your journal any other words that are new to you.

As you read pages 95–98 and complete the activities, ask yourself these questions.

1. What are the main events in the sequence (how things happen)?
2. What were the key events that determined whether Lincoln would be shot?

Sometimes making a timeline can be an effective way to remember how events happen. You and your parent/teacher might make a timeline of the events in this story. Since they are presented chronologically, it should be fairly easy.

Sometimes an author might mix up events or include flashback. Flashback occurs when an author goes back in time to include an important event. An author might want to present this event out of order for emphasis or to avoid dealing with all the events between the flashback time and the events in the story. However, that specific event might be important to help the reader understand why a character behaves a certain way, says a certain thing, or has chosen a certain path in life. Authors must be careful to present flashbacks in a way that makes sense to the reader to avoid confusion.

On page 98, you are asked to track five key events on a chart. You will recognize the “peak event” as the climax. Since narrative nonfiction tells a story, it will often have many of the same literary elements as the fictional stories you studied earlier.

Summarizing: In Your Own Words

The story of Lincoln’s assassination continues in this section (pages 99–102). You will use the skill of summarizing to help keep track of what you are reading. When you write down key events, you are often summarizing. It is very much like taking notes and then writing from those notes.

You will also be looking for the peak (most important event or climax) of this part of the story. After you have identified the peak of this section, locate the climax of the whole story. Would it be the event you identified in the first part of the story or the event you identified from the second half of the story? Remember that the climax is usually tied to the main conflict of the story.

As you read this section, you will need to know the following vocabulary words:

• consciousness
• hovered
• diagonally
• contracted

Check a dictionary to help you with pronunciation of any word that is hard for you to pronounce or have your parent/teacher pronounce the word for you. Once you have found the definition for each word, check your answers.

Self-Check: As you complete the activities, think about how you can tell that people cared about Lincoln based on their actions during the events. Then write your own summary of the event by reporting on the death of President Lincoln. Remember that a summary contains only the key events. You are not “rewriting” the story. Although you will write in your own words, this type of writing should have a formal tone and use formal language. You would not want to use casual words such as “stuff” or general words such as “a lot.” After you are finished, check your answers.

Examining Cause and Effect

In this activity based on an excerpt from A River Ran Wild (pages 103–107), you will take a look at cause and effect. This is an important concept in understanding not only language arts but also social studies and science. Reading nonfiction requires that you look at events and then ask yourself what caused them to happen. In the time-order sequencing used in the story of Lincoln’s assassination, the cause came before the effect in chronological order.

In this story about the Nashua River, there will be some words that may be new to you. Once you have determined their definitions, check your answers.

• quench
• dwellings
• generations
• trespass
• current
• vision

As you read this story, make notes about the different events. Using the skill of highlighting can help you to identify the cause and effect relationship. You could highlight events in one color and then highlight the causes for those events in another color. If you are taking notes in your journal, use the two-column note taking strategy. In one column, list the events, and in the other, list their causes. That way you can easily see how they relate to each other.

You may recognize that the chart on page 106 is actually very much like your two-column note taking. When you complete the drawing on page 107, you might consider doing a “storyboard.” This is sort of like a cartoon in which you place the events in the order they occurred. Scriptwriters for movies and TV start out with a storyboard when they plan their scenes.

Cause and effect is important in many types of writing, from commercials to news articles. Here are some questions to consider and discuss with your parent/teacher:

• Could an effect also become a cause?
• Might one effect have more than one cause?
• Would it be possible to have something seem to cause an effect, but not actually end up being the true cause?
• Can you think of events in your own life that you could divide into cause and effect?

Narrative Nonfiction: Fiction Based on Fact

Narrative nonfiction combines many of the elements of both nonfiction and fiction to present information in an interesting way. As a reader, it is important to be able to pick out the factual information from the fictional elements that have been added, such as dialogue, description, etc. Narrative nonfiction is different from historical fiction, because it is about real people and events. Historical fiction usually places fictional people and events into an historical setting.

This part of the lesson (pages 108–112) is important to the novel study you will do in lesson 8. You will practice identifying fictional and nonfictional elements in “At-mun,” a narrative about an African prince brought to America as a slave.

On pages 108–112, there are some words to be sure you understand. Once you have determined their definitions, check your answers.

• impaired
• trousers
• specimen
• defects

Activity: While you are reading, make a list of things that are factual and things that you think are fictional. A character’s inner thoughts are usually made up, although they may seem real. It would be difficult for anyone to know what someone else was thinking at a particular time, unless that person wrote it down. One test of whether something is fact or fiction is to ask yourself, “Can this be proven?” You are not concerned at this point whether or not something is true or false, only whether it can be proven. Facts can be proven correct or incorrect; opinions cannot.

You can use two-column note taking again, making one column “fact” and the other column “fiction.” You can use the Fact or Fiction Chart, if you find that helpful. If you are writing in your book, you could highlight facts with one color highlighter and fictional elements with another color highlighter.

Activity: On page 111, you will summarize the beginning, middle, and end of the story (narrative). That is always a good guideline for doing a summary. You may use both fiction and facts in your summary.

Activity: On page 112, you will use your inferring skills to identify At-mun’s thoughts and feelings. This is what an author of narrative nonfiction does as he or she writes. This is what connects the story to the reader and gives it a “narrative” quality rather than a “textbook” quality.