What do we read?

Print(books, etc.)

Non print(websites)

fiction Non fiction fictionNon fiction

stories Non stories

General texts we read:

Book reviews/ reports Encyclopaedia- 100 Big Names in the British

History Film reviews Newspaper articles Manuals- How to set up a computer Cartoons

Advertisements Biographies- People profiles Brochures/pamphlets Dictionaries Maps Letters Recipes

Rules – e.g. Library rules News reports E-mails Comics Directions – on the road, in a mall,… Forms Menus – in restaurants

Posters Time-tables Product information- on package of goods Catalogues

Quick activity

Teacher shows some authentic texts to the class.

The class try to point out the names of the texts from the list of general texts taught above.

Non-fiction texts read for information:-

Non-fiction books in Nam Wah School Library (Teachers to supply)

What can you learn by reading informational texts?

1. Adults read a great deal of nonfiction, including informational text, and they read these texts on websites.

2. Reading and listening to informational text can develop students' knowledge of the world. Overall, the more background knowledge you have, the stronger you comprehension skills are likely to be.

3. Learning to read diagrams, tables, and other graphical devices that are often part of informational text may develop your visual literacy.

Adapted from Reading & Writing Informational Text in the Primary Grades by Nell K. Duke, Ed.D. and V. Susan Bennett-Ar

mistead (Scholastic, 2003).

In the library, if you come across some informational texts, how

will you read them?

1. To understand the meaning of texts with some degree of complexity

2. To extract and organize information and ideas from texts with some degree of complexity (KS)

3. To apply a range of reference skills for various purposes with the help of cues

How to make sure that I understand the reader?

It is important that you gather NEW information and learn about NEW things.

Ask yourself:

What do I want to know?

What do I know about t

he topic?

What did I learn?

What can you do to show that you understand?

I can prepare a notebook and write down 10 unfamiliar words.

I try to decide what's very important, somewhat important, and not so important to include in my notebook.

I try to create visual images based on the text, e.g. drawing a kind of trains based on the information I read.

I try to do what the book tells me, e.g. folding a paper house following the instruction, cooking a dish following a recipe.

What can I do to extract and organize information and ideas?

I may write an "All About…." or a "Question and Answer" book and share with your friends.

I may use a graphic organizer to present the main ideas of the reader (see the list given)

To practise the use of reference skills, you may do these:

1. Look at the illustrations before reading the text.

What do they tell you about the topic?

2. Look at the diagrams, and notice that arrows are used to label parts of a picture or model.

3. Look at the charts and graphs. What information do you get from them?

I then comment: Are the illustrations, graphs, charts and tables etc. useful for me to understand the topic?

To finish with the above, you may have improved you

r visual literacy.