Nonfiction Study Guide
The assessment for the nonfiction unit we have just completed will be a test made up of a combination of multiple choice questions and open response questions.
Here are some topics that may be on the test:
· general comprehension questions from the following reading selections:
· “Conversational Ballgames”
· “Fragment on Slavery, 1854”
· “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July”
· “Apologies for Past Actions are Still Appropriate”
· “Frederick Douglass: Fighter for Freedom”
· “Picking Strawberries”
· “The Circuit”
· “Cesar Chavez”
· “The United States vs. Susan B. Anthony”
· “Eleanor Roosevelt: On Her Own”
· Preamble to the Constitution
· Bill of Rights
· “Don’t Know Much About Liberty”
· Making inferences
o Drawing a conclusion based on clues
o Example:
§ The teacher told us that “we did much better on our test this week than we did last week.”
§ Based on her quote, what can you tell about last week’s quiz?
· The class must have struggled for her to now point out how much more successful they were this week.
· Key vocabulary
· Words that are essential to understand after reading this unit.
· For example: after reading the story “Lincoln is Shot,” you should know what the
word assassin means. It is a key vocabulary term.
· Cause and effect
o One event leads to another.
o Example:
§ Cause: A child gets a bad grade.
§ Effect: The child cries.
· Proposition and support
o Proposition: The author’s opinion
o Support: The evidence the author uses to back up their claims.
· Author’s tone towards a subject through word choice
o Author’s can show bias based on their word choice
o Example:
§ A woman was robbed outside of a local store yesterday. The woman, a grandmother of four, lost all the money she planned to deposit at the bank.
· Notice that the author tells you she was a grandmother of four. This creates an emotional appeal and makes us feel bad for the woman.
· Sources of information for nonfiction works
o Sources that can be verified (encyclopedias, interviews, diaries, letters, etc.)
· Chronological order
o When topics are organized in order of when they happened
o Makes it easier for the reader to follow since the events are presented in the order in which they happened.
· Characteristics of biographical works
o The story of a real person or people
o Contain actual facts from their lives
· Difference between fact and opinion
o Facts can be verified as true, where opinions cannot.
· Treatment, Scope, and Organization
o Treatment
§ How a topic is presented (or treated)
· Lighthearted/Serious
· Casual/Formal
· Favorable/Unfavorable
· Subjective/Objective
o Scope
§ The information that is presented
· Broad
o Lots of information or a long period of time
· Limited (Narrow)
o Just a few ideas or a short amount of time
o Organization
§ Chronological order (time)
§ Sequential order (point by point)
§ Order of importance (grocery list)