Week 11-12 Flashcards
(20 cards)
give factual information about or explain any aspect of the biological, social, or physical world, including what is known of outer space.
Informational books
Writing in informational books is often referred to as
Expository writing
or writing that explains, whereas fiction writing is called —–, or writing that tells a story.
Narrative writing
Some countries now recognize a type of literature that has elements of both fiction and nonfiction, called
Faction
presents accurate factual information on an entertaining ribbon of fiction. The popular, science-based Magic School Bus books by Joanna Cole are excellent examples of faction. In North America, faction is treated as a part of informational literature.
Faction
has to do with how the author organizes the information to be presented
Structured
The author gives the characteristics of the topic (e.g., Spiders by Nic Bishop).
Description
The author lists items in order, usually chronologically or numerically (e.g., All Stations! Distress! April 15, 1912: The Day the Titanic Sank by Don Brown).
Sequence
The author juxtaposes two or more entities and lists their similarities and differences (e.g., Wild Tracks! A Guide to Nature’s Footprints by Jim Arnosky).
Comparison
The author states an action and then shows the effect, or result, of this action (e.g., Blizzard! The Storm That Changed America by Jim Murphy).
Cause and Effect
(also referred to as Question and Answer). The author states a problem and its solution or solutions (e.g., What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page).
Some informational books will employ a single text structure; others, particularly longer works, will employ several.
Problem and Solutions
the main point made in the work. Although an informational book may communicate hundreds of facts about a topic, the theme of the work will answer the question “What’s the point?” (Colman, 1999, p. 221). Sometimes the theme will be a cognitive concept, such as the way viruses multiply; in other cases it will be an emotional insight, such as a new or deepened awareness of the social injustices that are a part of the history of the United States (e.g., slavery, child labor), as revealed in Deborah Hopkinson’s Up Before Daybreak: Cotton and People in America.
Theme
is how authors and illustrators, with their readers in mind, express themselves in their respective media. Sentence length and complexity, word choice, and formal versus conversational tone are part of the expository style, as are use of technical vocabulary, captions, and graphic elements such as tables, charts, illustrations, photographs, diagrams, maps, and indexes. Shelley Tanaka’s colorful language and use of large, richly colored photographs, maps, sidebars, and a time line in Mummies: The Newest, Coolest, and Creepiest from Around the World demonstrate how style can make informational literature more interesting.
Style
Two award programs offer sources of good informational titles.
The NCTE’s Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding
Nonfiction for Children and the ALA’s Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal spotlight what are considered to be the best works of nonfiction published in the preceding year.
This format features a large amount of text that is organized into chapters. Graphics and illustrations are common in the more recent nonfiction chapter books but are still less important than the text. Examples include Blizzard! The Storm
Informational Chapter Book
This format features large, uncomplicated illustrations and brief text. The illustrations help to convey the information as discussed in Chapter 5. Examples include Ox, House, Stick: The History of Our Alphabet by Don Robb, illustrated by Anne Smith, and The Story of Salt by Mark Kurlansky, illustrated by S. D. Schindler.
Informational picturebook
Originally conceived for 4- to 8-year-olds, this type of book presents one or two scientific or social concepts via brief, uncomplicated text accompanied by numerous, large illustrations. It also encourages participation by including an experiment or hands-on activity.
Science and Social Science Concept Picture Book
Presentation of information in the photo essay is equally balanced between text and illustration. Excellent, information-bearing photographs and crisp, condensed writing style are hallmarks of this format. Photo essays are generally written for children in the intermediate grades and up. A good example is Sneeze! by Alexandra Siy, with photographs by Dennis Kunkel.
Photo Essay
Presentation of information in these books is mainly through lists, charts, and tables. Examples include almanacs, books of world records, and sports trivia and
Fact Books
These consist of a number of titles that all share a general topic (e.g., world cultures), format, writing style, and reading level. A few series, such as the Eye witness Books published by Dorling Kindersley, take an omnibus approach and include a wide range of topics. A series can have a sole author–illustrator team, as is the case with Scholastic’s wellknown Magic Schoolbus series by Joanna Cole, illustrated by Bruce Degen; or each book in the series can be created by a different author–illustrator team, as in Houghton Mifflin’s Scientists in the Field series. Informational series are published for all age groups and on topics tailored to school curricula. S
Informational Book Series
