Non-Fiction for the Literacy Hour

Book excerpt: This book offers practical guidance for teachers using the National Literacy Strategy at Key Stages 1 and 2, based on the six categories of non-fiction outlined in the Strategy. It gives an accessible introduction to the features of each of these text types. Many teachers now feel confident in working with fiction and poetry, whereas the non-fiction objectives have been more challenging. The book includes new subject knowledge, such as understanding the linguistic features of different text types, and the need to find authentic reading material; practical classroom examples; high-quality photocopiable texts and activity sheets; and detailed guidance on how to work with the material at text, sentence and word level. Each chapter consists of a description of the genre, a text example, a photocopiable double-page spread giving an annotated version of the text, details of the classroom resources for developing the ideas and activity sheets for each text. The book will appeal to all teachers and student teachers working at Key Stages 1 and 2, English and Literacy advisers in LEAs, and providers of initial and in-service training.