Nonfiction Terms

Nonfiction/ Informational Text

Middle School ELA

Horizon Science Academy Toledo

What is Nonfiction?

• Nonfiction deals only with real people, events, or ideas.

• Nonfiction is told from the point of view of the author, who is a real person.

• Nonfiction presents facts or discusses ideas.

What is Nonfiction for?

• To persuade you to do something

• To entertain and tell you an interesting story

• To give you information about something

• To describe an event, idea, or person

Multiple Choice

Writing that presents facts and ideas; only focuses on real people, events, or ideas is called:

• Fiction

• Nonfiction

Multiple Choice

Writing that is for entertainment and comes from the author's imagination is called:

• Fiction

• Nonfiction

Two Types of Nonfiction

• Informational

• Narrative

Informational Nonfiction

Narrative Nonfiction

What is narrative nonfiction?

Narrative nonfiction uses literary elements such as plot, setting and conflict to tell a story. However, unlike fiction, narrative nonfiction is true.

Literary Elements of Narrative Nonfiction

• Quotations from real people who experienced the event. Also called primary sources.

• gives factual information about a topic

• includes elements of fiction; setting, plot, foreshadowing, ect

How do these elements all work together?

"Everytime I see this volcano up close, I think about how it had roared like a lion back in 1944. The trembling earth shook buildings from miles around, and streams of scalding lava flowed down the sides. Like glowing red fingers, they stretched out to crush defenseless homes below."

Multiple Choice

What is the difference between informational and narrative nonfiction?

• Narrative tells a true story and Informational gives facts.

• Informational is real and Narrative is not.

• Fiction is fiction and Nonfiction is also fiction.

• Narrative tells a fake story and Informational gives facts.

Literary Devices

Nonfiction

Author Style

i.e. How someone writes.

Style refers to a writer’s unique way of communicating ideas. It's not about WHAT they say, it's about HOW they say it.

All sorts of literary elements, including word choice, sentence structure, imagery, point of view, voice, and tone make a writer's style unique.

Multiple Choice

What is not an element of narrative nonfiction?

• plot, setting, and conflict

• facts

• foreshadowing and suspense

• all can be elements of narrative nonfiction

How do you figure out an author's style?

• Fluency: How does the writing flow? Does the author use transitions?

• Variety: Are the sentences long and detailed or short and to the point?

• Word Choice: Did the author use descriptions or figurative language?

Paradise Destroyed

Moving so quickly that firefighters couldn't stop it, a wildfire quadrupled in size on Friday, November 9, after destroying several thousand buildings and leveling much of a Northern California town, authorities said. As of Sunday, 109,000 acres had been burned in the fire that destroyed the town of Paradise. That is three-fourths as big as the city of Chicago, Illinois. As of Sunday only 25 percent of the fire was contained. More than 8,000 firefighters in all battled three large wildfires burning across nearly 400 square miles in Northern and Southern California, with out-of-state crews continuing to arrive and gusty, blowtorch winds starting up again.

Open Ended

What does the primary source, Marta's quotation, tell us about the setting in the story?

Our Beautiful Town Is Gone

Paradise had been threatened before by wildfires. In 2008, about 10,000 people from the town had to evacuate when a huge fire closed in. The town was lucky that time. The fire stopped at the Feather River along the town’s border. The river protected Paradise like a watery shield. But the November 8 fire was different. It moved with alarming speed. Every second, it ate up a chunk of land the size of a football field. Even more dangerous, the strong wind was picking up pieces of burning trees. Like flaming birds, they flew across the river. Fires started wherever they landed. By 7:45 a.m., dozens of fires were burning in Paradise. And the main fire was closing in.

"It was quiet for now, but I knew it was only sleeping.............Did the others standing there with me know about the danger beneath their feet?"

Multiple Choice

An author's style is:

• The way an author uses metaphors and similes.

• An author's attitude toward what they are writing about.

• The special way an author writes that is particular to them.

Tone

• Tone is the writer's attitude or feeling about the subject of his/her text.

• Tone is created by the writer's word choices.

• The tone can be formal, informal, serious, comic, sarcastic, sad, cheerful...or it may be any other existing attitude. 

• ​When analyzing a text, don't write "the author uses tone," because that makes no sense. What kind of tone? Instead, you should write "The author creates a/an __________ tone...”

Multiple Select

In the previous passage, what literary technique did the author use to create suspense?

• Foreshadowing

• Setting

• Conflict

Open Ended

Consider this: The author could have written this as expository text, like "The Secret World of Caves" from last week. Why did he choose to write it as narrative nonfiction instead? Was it effective?

Tone

• In fiction, when the characters talk, they will use words that express how they feel: these words help show us the tone.

• When there is no dialogue, like in nonfiction, the author's descriptions of things include adjectives that help show us the tone. 

Open Ended

Could a narrative nonfiction text be written about the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD?

Tone Example

Read the first line-- the author/narrator says that he going to tell you something with a "sigh."

As the reader, we can assume that he is unhappy about the decision he has to make because you don't sigh when you're happy.

Multiple Choice

Tone can best described as

• The attitude of the reader toward what they are reading about

• The overall feeling in a story

• The author's attitude toward the subject they is writing about

• The reader's point of view

Now, Let's Practice!

Get ready!

Multiple Choice

My brother sometimes drives me crazy. When we have chores and he acts lazy. But, even when he's being a pest,he often says, "Sissy, you're the best!" At those words, my annoyance usually ends,For we're not just siblings; we are friends.

What is the author's attitude toward the person addressed in the poem?

• The author would like to be lazy like her brother.

• The author is jealous of her brother's ability to whine.

• The author finds her brother both annoying and lovable.

• The author wants to replace her brother with another.

Multiple Choice

We must do something about the trash that floats in the Trinity River. The trash floats to the surface and makes the water unsafe so that nothing can survive in it. No person and no living thing deserve the effects that the trash does to the river. It is our responsibility to keep what our community holds dear free from harm.

What best describes the tone throughout the passage?

• amused

• scared

• earnest

• nervous

Multiple Choice

My legs are about to give in. The strain from the sprint has pushed them to their breaking point. My breathing has become short—now, it is too difficult to breathe. My arms have dropped to my side as my body droops ever so slightly.

Why does the author choose to use the words "strain," and "droops" to describe the effect of the sprint?

• to describe how exhausting a sprint can be

• to demonstrate the correct way to win any race

• to show that a person's legs are always weak

• to explain how the body needs oxygen to work

Multiple Choice

Hush! Be mindful of where you are, Be careful where you tread,

For you don't want to go too far, Too far ahead.

Beware! Look all around, Look everywhere.

Frightful things can be found, So please take care.

What best describes the tone throughout the poem?

• formal

• cautious

• sincere

• scornful

Multiple Choice

Cory's head laughably jerked forward as he fell asleep at his desk. All the other students could see the spectacle. Comically, Cory lifted his head and looked fiercely into the teacher's eyes. She raised her eyebrows and asked, "Is there something wrong, Cory?" Fumbling for words, Cory answered, "No, nothing's wrong. Your lesson is just too interesting." The teacher flashed a pleased smile and continued on to the next lesson. Cory sighed in relief.

What words in the passage reveal the author's attitude toward Cory?

• spectacle and comically

• jerked and lesson

• fumbling and raised

• fumbling and relief