Blending Fiction and Nonfiction to Improve Comprehension and Writing Skills

Overview

Featured Resources

From Theory to Practice

 

OVERVIEW

This lesson supports the use of a text set (paired fiction and nonfiction texts on a similar topic) to increase student interest in and understanding of content area material and to develop critical writing skills. The more familiar format of narrative fiction introduces the topic and generates confidence in exploring the less familiar genre of nonfiction. Students then demonstrate what they have learned about the topic and about genre by writing an original piece that blends together narrative and expository elements.

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FEATURED RESOURCES

• Stapleless Book: Students will use this interactive tool to create a short story or diary.
  
  
• Comic Creator: Students will use this interactive tool to create a comic strip or cartoon.
  
  
• Letter Generator: Students will use this interactive tool to create a diary entry or letter.

 

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FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE

Camp, D. (2000). It takes two: Teaching with Twin Texts of fact and fiction. The Reading Teacher, 53(5), 400–408.

• Teachers can integrate language arts, science, social studies, and other content areas by using children's literature as a bridge.
  
  
• Beginning the lesson with fiction generates student interest and may facilitate subsequent understanding of nonfiction texts and content material.
  
  
• A creative writing activity is a natural extension from text sets.

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