Non-Fiction Writing

Goals

  • review the genre of nonfiction writing by examining the characteristics of expository writing
  • view a media sample in the form of a video and determine important information
  • read an example of expository writing and identify the characteristics of expository writing within it

The Learning Task

Last week our literacy prompts focused on generating our personal writing territories* or ideas that we can return to for writing inspiration (heart maps, hands, life map, awesome ideas).

This week we will explore different genres of writing beginning with nonfiction. Genre is the form that a piece of writing takes. Each form of writing has its own unique characteristics or traits.

Writing that is not poetry is prose. Prose is writing that is made of sentences and paragraphs and poetry is made up of lines and stanzas.

Non-fiction writing provides factual information about a subject; often uses exposition but may include narration, description, or persuasion.

Expository text exposes you to facts: plain and simple. View this video to learn how to understand and identify expository text:

Here is an example of expository writing. Read the piece of expository writing and identify the unique characteristics of the genre found within it: Josephine Mandamin: The Water Walker.

What is an idea from your writing territories that you may want to develop into a piece of expository writing? After you have considered your topic and form (expository writing) think about who your audience is? How does that consideration help you to generate thinking?

Daily task! Don’t forget to engage with your Writer’s Notebook: Creating a Place for Reflection

Note: please see the information in this lesson for guidance.