Blog #9: Fiction/Non-Fiction Texts

For this assignment, I chose The Girl and the Wolf (fiction) and Journey of the Kon-Tiki (non-fiction), both of which were written by Katrina Van Horn. 

1. Fiction: 

• The text tells a story with  the recognizeable beginning of "Once upon a time". Most cultures have similar fables or cultural stories to compare the story to.
• The graphic features/illustrations complement the text on the pages and make it easier for ELL students to understand the action going on in the story.
• Key vocabulary words are highlighted for the students so they know special emphasis will be put on these words.

     2.  Non-Fiction:

• The text is more specific, with more difficult vocabulary.  Most students, let alone ELL students may not have any background knowledge of this story. 
• Text features like headings, captions, italics, and table of contents are available for the students to use.  These could be used as clues by the students.  Seeing them within the book could tell them that there is special emphasis on the particular sections they are reading about; this is helpful to them, especially when they are trying to grasp such important concepts as main ideas.
• There are graphic features such as maps and photographs.  ELL students would gain a better understanding of where the story took place, and who the important characters were.