Non-fiction features

Non-fiction features: I can find information in a non-fiction book, tell a fact from an opinion, and say what a text is for.

1. Non-fiction books give us true information. This is the contents page from a book about bees.

   A contents page is at the front of a book. It lists the chapter headings in order, with page numbers.

   Each heading tells us what a chapter is about. How bees make honey starts on page 8.

   So to read about honey, we can turn straight to page 8.

   Picture: A table called "Contents". What is a bee?: 2; A bee's body: 4; Inside the hive: 6; How bees make honey: 8.

2. Your turn: Here is the same contents page from the bee book. Tom wants to find out about the parts of a bee's body. Which page should he turn to?

   Picture: A table called "Contents". What is a bee?: 2; A bee's body: 4; Inside the hive: 6; How bees make honey: 8.

   Type a number.

   Answer

   The answer: 4

   A bee's body starts on page 4, so Tom should turn to page 4.

3. At the back of many non-fiction books are a glossary and an index. Both are in alphabetical order, so words are quick to find.

   A glossary tells us what special words mean. An index lists key words with their page numbers.

   Look at nectar. The glossary tells us what it means. The index tells us it is on page 8.

   Picture: A short text called "At the back of the bee book" with a picture of a pile of books: "Glossary / hive: the home of a group of bees / nectar: a sweet juice made by flowers / pollen: a fine yellow powder made by flowers / Index / eggs 7 / honey 9 / nectar 8 / pollen 3 / wings 4". "nectar: a sweet juice made by flowers" and "nectar 8" are underlined.

Words to know

contents page:

A list at the front of a book of its chapters and the pages they start on.

index:

A list of key words at the back of a book, in alphabetical order, with their page numbers.

glossary:

A list of special words in a book and what they mean, in alphabetical order.