Reading Nonfiction
Background Information & Activities

Nonfiction books present facts about subjects, like real people, places, and events. Biographies, autobiographies, newspaper and magazine articles, personal and persuasive essays, histories, and textbooks are just a few examples of nonfiction writing. Many of the books your children will encounter during his or her education will be nonfiction. Thus, it is important for your children to learn how to read nonfiction in a constructive manner.

Though there are many kinds of nonfiction books, many have similar parts. A table of contents is in the front of the book and lists chapter titles or section headings and their page numbers. Some books have a glossary at the back of the book; a glossary contains key words that are related to the topic and their definitions. After the glossary, there is usually an index. This lists all the big ideas and key words in the book and the page numbers where they are explored. An index can contain multiple entries for the same concept so the user can search for the concept in several different ways. Many nonfiction books have pictures, photographs, charts, or graphs. Remind your children that reading the captions underneath them are an important. Some images or diagrams also have labels, which call attention to a specific part.

It is important for your children to understand that they cannot remember everything they read. Taking notes as they read is an excellent way to keep track of important information. Graphic organizers such as word webs, T-charts, lists, outlines, and timelines can help comprehension and can be used as study aids later. When children encounter a difficult word, they can write it down in their notebooks and look it up in the glossary or in a dictionary.

Not all books are appropriate for everyone. Some will be above the level of a child’s reading abilities. Others will be below level. Encourage your children to choose books that are just right. You can watch the “Choosing a Book” movie to review how to choose the right book. Explain that if a book is too hard, they shouldn’t get discouraged. There are plenty of books that are appropriate and as a result, more fun to read.

Reading Nonfiction Teacher Activities – Click Here!

Reading Nonfiction Family Activities – Click Here!

Reading Nonfiction Teacher Activities

Parts of a Book

Remind students that nonfiction is writing shares facts and information. Then have students collect several nonfiction books. How do they know that the book is nonfiction? Have students describe their book to the class and point out different parts of the book: table of contents, glossary, index, captions, photographs, labels, etc. Have students compare and contrast different nonfiction books. Which books have glossaries? Which books have photographs with labels? Write students’ ideas on the board and discuss them together.

Fiction and Nonfiction

Together as a class, pick a topic that everyone is interested in such as a particular animal, a national park, a historical figure, or even a distant country. Then pick a nonfiction and a fiction book about the same topic. For example, if the class were interested in bears, then the students could read “The Three Little Bears” and read a nonfiction book about bears in the wild. Have students compare and contrast the books. How did they know that it was nonfiction or fiction? How are the books alike? How are they different? Have students write their ideas down in a Venn diagram or other graphic organizer to collect and organize their ideas.

Authors Research to Write!

Have students choose a topic they are interested in, such as a specific animal, place they would like to visit, a historical figure or event, or even an important person in their life. Have students write their own nonfiction piece about their subject. Help them research their topic in the library or on the internet and help them create an outline before they begin writing. Students may want to have their partners serve as fact checkers, to help them make sure the information they recorded was accurate. Have students title their book and add a table of contents and glossary. They may wish to add photographs and pictures to their books and write captions and labels for each. Add the works to your library so students and have students discuss the nonfiction writing process.

Reading Nonfiction Family Activities

Classify your Home Library

Have your child organize the books in your home into fiction and nonfiction books. Have him or her label each book and alphabetize the collection. As your child labels each book, ask him or her to explain how they know it is fiction or nonfiction. If the book is nonfiction, have your child look through the book and describe each part.

Reading Goal

Because most children prefer to read fiction, it is important to foster a love of nonfiction. Together with your child, visit your local library and browse the nonfiction section. Pick out nonfiction book to read together. Set up a goal to read five nonfiction books a month and keep track of how many books your child read. If he or she meets the goal, reward your child with more free choices. They may start to choose nonfiction!

Reading List

Have your child put together a nonfiction reading list. He or she can ask friends, family members, librarians, and his or her teacher to collect nonfiction titles. Even book clubs have recommended nonfiction reading lists. Have your child write the titles down and whenever he or she is in need of a book to read, they can consult their list.

Dear Diary

Journals and diaries are examples of nonfiction writing. Encourage your child to keep a journal or diary and write in it everyday. Not only will this help your child improve his or her writing skills, but also it will give an opportunity for your child to look back and see how he or she has grown personally. Diaries and journals allow children to see their progress and record important experiences. Think of different topics for your child to write about, such as their daily activities, their hopes and dreams, what they would like to do when they grow up, etc.