Students will analyze the similarities and discrepancies between informational and literary nonfiction. At the end of the lesson, students are able to:
- Identify the text structures of informative nonfiction.
- Examine and contrast the goals and writing styles of literary and informational nonfiction authors.
- Provide evidence from a text to back up any claims they make about the genre.

- How can readers decide which information from what they hear, read, and see to believe?
- How do literary and informational texts become meaningful to strategic readers?
- How does interaction with text elicit thought and response?
- What is the true purpose of this text? 

- Author’s Purpose: The author’s intent is either to inform or teach someone about something, to entertain people, or to persuade or convince the audience to do or not do something.
- Climax: The turning point in a narrative, the moment when the conflict is at its most intense. Typically, the structure of stories, novels, and plays is one of rising action, in which tension builds to the climax.
- Conflict/Problem: A struggle or clash between opposing characters, forces, or emotions.
- Summarize: To capture all the most important parts of the original text (paragraph, story, poem), but express them in a much shorter space, and—as much as possible—in the reader’s own words.
- Characterization: The method an author uses to reveal characters and their various personalities.
- Literary Elements: The essential techniques used in literature (e.g., characterization, setting, plot, theme).
- Rising Action: The part of a story where the plot becomes increasingly complicated. Rising action leads up to the climax, or turning point.
- Plot: The structure of a story. The sequence in which the author arranges events in a story. The structure often includes the rising action, the climax, the falling action, and the resolution. The plot may have a protagonist who is opposed by an antagonist, creating what is called conflict.
- Resolution: The portion of a story following the climax, in which the conflict is resolved.
- Setting: The time and place in which a story unfolds.
- Theme: A topic of discussion or writing; a major idea broad enough to cover the entire scope of a literary work.
- Text Structure: The author’s method of organizing a text.
+ Literary Structure: An organizational structure found in fiction or literary nonfiction (e.g., foreshadowing, flashback).
+ Nonfiction Structure: An organizational structure found in nonfiction (e.g., chronology, question/answer, cause/effect, problem/solution, comparison).

The following informational nonfiction pieces were selected to provide a range of texts. They vary in format (one uses numbered points, one uses subheadings, and one uses question/answer), but all offer clear contrasts with fiction texts that students can identify and discuss.
- “20 steps to being a good pet owner” on Cats.com.au, 2008.
- “Where Rivers Run Uphill” by Douglas Fox. In Science News for Kids. 23 July 2008. Society for Science & the Public, 2008.
- “Sally Ride Interview: First American Woman in Space.” Academy of Achievement. 2 June 2006. Copyright 1996–2009 by American Academy of Achievement.
- “Year Round Education: Pros and Cons” by Melissa Kelly. About.com, a part of The New York Times Company, 2009.
- Teachers may substitute other texts to provide a range of reading and level of text complexity.
- a response journal for each student.

- Maintain the focus of the lesson on the use of literary elements in literary nonfiction, followed by the differences between literary nonfiction and informational nonfiction texts. Students' written responses to "Across the Plains" will reveal their comprehension of how fictional elements are used in literary nonfiction. If students struggle to distinguish between literary and informational nonfiction, it will be evident from the group discussion of traits of an informational nonfiction text about the same topic.
- How well students comprehend the elements of an informational nonfiction text will be demonstrated by the group presentations, as well as by their questions and comments. Individual responses for "Year Round Education" will assist in identifying students who are having difficulty distinguishing between literary nonfiction and informational nonfiction. Make appropriate reteaching focus.

Explicit instruction, modeling, scaffolding, and active engagement 
W: Assist students in analyzing how literary and informational nonfiction texts differ from one another. 
H: Give students a chance to express and debate what they believe to be the most significant literary device in "Across the Plains" (see Lesson 2). 
E: Assign students to work in groups, reading and analyzing three selections to categorize as literary or informational nonfiction and compiling a list of supporting details. 
R: Assign students to work in groups to distinguish between the qualities of informational and literary nonfiction. 
E: Encourage students to contribute their own ideas and determine whether they grasp the points being made by having them discuss literary nonfiction and informational nonfiction features in groups and in class. 
T: Hold class discussions to give students a chance to voice their opinions, offer support for them, and gain insight into each other's perspectives by analyzing their thoughts and responses. 
O: Ask students to respond to a literary nonfiction reading on their own first, then talk about how literary devices are used in the reading. Use what they've learned about the characteristics of literary nonfiction to examine three selections and determine whether they're literary nonfiction or informational nonfiction. Ask them to compare and contrast the two types of text using the evidence they have gathered. 

Main Question: What distinguishes informative nonfiction from literary nonfiction?

Part 1

Talk about the literary component that students believe is most significant in Stevenson's passage, "Across the Plains." Say, "Remember that you are arguing for your position. There's no "correct" response, but you should provide your justification for why you believe a certain passage in this reading is crucial." Setting, characterization, plot, and theme are examples of possible student responses. Stevenson frequently and vividly describes the setting, which serves as the inspiration for his reflections. Students should discuss the narrator's characteristics (lack of familiarity with America, high level of literacy, people-observing skills) and how the narrator portrays the characters of those he meets to complete the characterization assignment. Remind students that the text contains information about characters' words and deeds as well as the narrator's assessment of them. A foreigner in a new country, the sense of being uprooted, culture shock, disappointment with human nature, and the harshness and injustice of poverty are a few examples of potential themes. If the plot is discussed, have the students quickly plot the text to see if they believe there is a true narrative structure. Assist students in understanding that a literary nonfiction work might or might not have a true narrative structure.

Instruct students to write a sentence in their response journal explaining what they believe the author is trying to accomplish (for example, describing a horrible experience or documenting his travelogue so he won't forget it). Ask students how they know this is nonfiction rather than fiction. Some may argue that it is nonfiction because it is narrated in the first person, but many novels and short stories are told in this manner. Since the author published it in a book based on his own experiences, students will probably assume that it is nonfiction. Otherwise, because of the literary elements used, this could be an excerpt from a short story or novel.

Consider the following: "How might the literary nonfiction account of crossing the plains in the late 1800s differ from an informational nonfiction text about it?" (It would present facts or statistics devoid of opinions.) On the provided list of literary elements, make a second column. Put "Nonfiction Text Structures" as the column's title. Ask, "What are some instances of text structures in nonfiction?" Put the students' answers on the list. (The following are some examples: cause-and-effect, chronology, question-and-answer, problem-solution, and comparison.) Take the time to reteach the text structures with examples if students need to be reminded of them.

Part 2

Set up small groups of students to work. Say, "Let's read three more selections. As you finish each, please classify it as literary or informational nonfiction. Once everyone in your group has reached a consensus on all three options, consider how you can bolster your position. After you've compiled a list of arguments in favor of your position, we can discuss it together."

Ask one group to give a summary of "20 steps to being a good pet owner" along with evidence to back them up. Evidence that this is informational nonfiction includes the following: it lacks literary elements; it is mainly factual and procedural; it follows a numbered format; and the author explains how to be a responsible pet owner.

Have a discussion about "Where rivers run uphill" with another group. The author intends to describe, explain, and report on scientific research about what is happening beneath the surface of Antarctica; real people are taking part in a scientific endeavor; the description of the setting is largely factual; the text is organized and uses subheadings to support the opinion that this is informational nonfiction.

Ask a third group to talk about the interview with Sally Ride. The question/answer format, lack of a plot structure, information about the real Sally Ride, and the author's intention to provide a character sketch of her are all arguments in favor of the claim that this is informational nonfiction.

When the discussion comes to an end, have the students outline the key distinctions between informational and literary nonfiction. Write a summary of their answers on the interactive whiteboard or board.

Content: Distinguishing between factual information and that is imagined
Text structure: problem/solution, question/answer, and plot versus numbered list
Students should talk about similarities between informational and literary nonfiction.

Similarity: both deal with "real" content, such as individuals, events, and facts.
Distinctions: literary nonfiction employs literary devices, occasionally incorporating a storyline.
You might want to save the responses that are displayed so that students can review them and refer to them. Invite students to contribute literary and informative nonfiction examples.

Extension:

Give students "Year Round Education: Pros and Cons" to read as extra practice. Request that they complete a minimum of one-half-page entries in their response journals indicating whether the chosen material is informational or literary nonfiction and outlining supporting details for their conclusions. Ask students to describe the author's intention as well.
Hold a collection of succinct literary and informational nonfiction texts. Help students distinguish between literary and informational nonfiction by having them choose and read an article or story, then identify the type of nonfiction by listing the supporting details. Next, ask each student to present what they have read, describe the type of work, and provide supporting details. This provides the chance to gain firsthand knowledge and support from fellow students.