Entry #9

Genre Differences

Text Features to Support ELL

Non-Fiction:

-captions

-headings/subheadings

-bold font vocabulary words

-realistic illustrations/photographs

-definitions frequently embedded in the sentence

-focus on similar topics

-glossary/text boxes with definitions often provided

Fiction:

-content can help make meaning of words

-connections can often be made to story lines

-predictable sentence structures

-wide variety of leveled text

-illustrations can support the story line

Challenging Text Features for ELL

Non-Fiction: 
-lack of schema for subject matter
-difficult/high lever vocabulary
-without a strong foundation in reading text features, could be confusing to understand the text arrangement
-often has challenging/technical vocabulary

Fiction:
-use of figurative language
-upper grade novels lack often lack visuals
-inference skills often required to understand story
-literary devices such as flashbacks could be confusing


I think it is vital for ELL teachers to help create common background knowledge and provide vocabulary support for the class before reading either fiction or non-fiction.  With this background knowledge, vocabulary support, and previous teacher modeling for how to use/read text features, the non-fiction texts seem to support ELL students more than fiction, especially at the upper grades when many fiction texts do not have visuals to support the story line.