Lesson 14 — Activity 3: Nonfiction and Non-narrative Texts

You have learned that nonfiction narratives are stories about real people, places, and events.

Here are some examples of nonfiction genres:

Biography:
the story of a person’s life written by someone else

Autobiography:
the story of a person’s life written by that person

Historical Accounts:
historical stories about events of the past

Essays:
a short piece of writing on a particular topic; can express an author’s feelings

Periodicals:
writing that is produced daily, weekly, or monthly (newspapers, magazines)

Island Kids is a collection of short stories by Tara Saracuse that tells the history of children who have lived on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands of British Columbia. This is an example of a nonfiction narrative.

This is an example of a nonfiction narrative.

The Metis Alphabet Book by Joseph Jean Fauchon provides readers with a reference book about being Metis.

This is an example of a non-narrative text.

This is an example of a non-narrative text.

You have also learned that non-narrative texts are texts whose usual purpose is to give information.

Here are some examples of non-narrative text genres:

Periodicals may fall into this category, as can essays.

Other examples:

Reference Books:
writing that is used to look up specific information

Manuals:
writing that explains the steps, rules, or processes involved in doing tasks

Fact Books:
writing that includes a great deal of information on a specific topic

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Now that you have learned about fictional narratives, nonfiction narratives, and non-narrative texts, click here to try this "Who Wants to be a Millionaire Game" on identifying genres.