Grade by Grade
A. Literacy Connections and Applications / C. Comprehension: Understanding and Responding to Texts · Understanding and Responding to Texts

Kinds of Texts and Why We Read Them

C1.1 C1.2 C2.2 A3.1About 35 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can tell if a text is literary (made up to entertain) or informational (gives facts).
  • I can name some text forms, like fables, poems, fact texts and how-to texts.
  • I can describe what makes each kind of text special.
  • I can say why I am reading: for fun, or to find information.

Words to know

text
Anything we read, listen to or view that shares ideas: a book, a poem, a sign, a video, a recipe.
literary text
A text that tells a story or plays with words, like a fairy tale, a fable or a poem. It is mostly for enjoyment.
informational text
A text that gives true facts or teaches how to do something, like a fact book, a recipe or a sign.
text form
The kind of text, such as a poem, a fable, a letter, a list or a how-to text.
genre
A group of texts that are alike in some way, such as mystery, fairy tale, adventure or animal fact books.
fable
A short story, often with talking animals, that teaches a lesson.
purpose
The reason for doing something. Your purpose for reading might be to enjoy it or to find information.

Remember from Grade 1

In Grade 1 you learned that some books tell stories and some books tell facts. This year we will look closer. There are many kinds of stories and many kinds of fact texts. Each kind has its own special parts, like each kind of tree has its own special leaves.

Two big families of texts

Literary texts are made up by a writer. They tell stories or play with words. We read them mostly for enjoyment.

Informational texts give true facts or teach us how to do something. We read them to find information.

Inside each family there are many text forms.

TextsLITERARYmade up, read for funINFORMATIONALtrue facts, how-tofairy talefablepoemadventure or mysteryfact text (report)how-to textsign or posterBoth!letter or journal
Two big families of texts, and some forms in each. A letter or a journal can belong to both.
FamilyText formClues to look for
LiteraryFairy tale"Once upon a time", magic, a happy ending
LiteraryFableShort, talking animals, teaches a lesson
LiteraryPoemShort lines, rhythm, sometimes rhyme, fun sounds
LiteraryAdventure or mystery storyCharacters, a problem to solve, an exciting middle
InformationalFact text (report)True facts, headings, photos, labels
InformationalHow-to text (procedure)Materials list, numbered steps, bossy verbs like mix and cut
InformationalSign or posterFew words, big letters, tells you something quickly
Both!Letter or journalDate, greeting or "Dear...", written by one person
Some text forms and their clues

Read-aloud 1: The Squirrel and the Chickadee

All autumn, Squirrel ran up and down the maple tree. He hid acorns under the leaves and in a hole in the trunk.

Chickadee laughed. "Why work so hard? Come and play in the sunshine!"

"Winter is coming," said Squirrel. "I am getting ready."

Then the snow came. It covered the ground. It covered the bushes. Chickadee was hungry and cold.

Squirrel peeked out of his hole. "Come in, friend," he said. "I have plenty to share."

Chickadee ate and ate. "Thank you," she said. "Next fall, I will get ready too."

Lesson: Plan ahead, and be kind enough to share.

All autumn, Squirrelhides acorns.Snow comes. Chickadeeis hungry and cold.Come in, friend!Squirrel shareshis food.Lesson: Plan ahead, and be kind enough to share.
The Squirrel and the Chickadee in three pictures. A fable is short, has talking animals and ends with a lesson.

Read-aloud 2: Monarch Butterflies

What do monarchs look like? Monarch butterflies have orange wings with black lines and white dots.

What do they eat? Monarch caterpillars eat only the leaves of one kind of plant: milkweed. Grown-up monarchs drink sweet nectar from flowers.

Where do they go in the fall? Monarchs cannot live through a Canadian winter. In the fall, many monarchs fly all the way from Canada to Mexico. That is thousands of kilometres!

Worked example

Let's sort the two texts

Is each read-aloud literary or informational? What text form is it? How do you know?

  1. Look at The Squirrel and the Chickadee. The animals talk. That can't happen in real life, so a writer made it up. It is literary.
  2. It is short, has talking animals and ends with a lesson. So the text form is a fable.
  3. Now look at Monarch Butterflies. It has true facts about real butterflies. It is informational.
  4. It has headings written as questions and gives facts, so it is a fact text.
  5. Think about purpose: I would read the fable to enjoy a story and think about its lesson. I would read the fact text to find information, like what monarchs eat.

The Squirrel and the Chickadee is a literary text (a fable). Monarch Butterflies is an informational text (a fact text).

Worked example

Let's figure out a how-to text

Read this text. What form is it?

How to Make a Bird Feeder

You need: a pine cone, sunflower butter, birdseed, string.

  1. Tie the string to the top of the pine cone.
  2. Spread sunflower butter on the pine cone.
  3. Roll it in birdseed.
  4. Hang it on a tree branch.
  1. It has a title that starts with "How to".
  2. It has a list of things you need (materials).
  3. It has numbered steps in order.
  4. The steps start with bossy verbs: tie, spread, roll, hang.

It is a how-to text (also called a procedure). It is informational, because it teaches you how to do something real.

Using what you know to read

When you read, you use everything you know: the sounds letters make, the words you know, how sentences work, and what you already know about the world. Little words like then and but (we call them linking words), and words like he, she and it, tie sentences together. In the fable, he means Squirrel and she means Chickadee.

Just for fun

Real chickadees get ready for winter too! They hide seeds in hundreds of different spots and remember where many of them are. Squirrel would be impressed.

Hands-on activity

Text hunt at home

You need: 10 minutes and a grown-up.

  1. Walk around your home and find 6 different texts. Look for a storybook, a cereal box, a recipe, a calendar, a toy instruction sheet, a poem, a birthday card, a sign or a magazine.
  2. For each text, say: Is it literary or informational? What form is it?
  3. Say why someone would read it. For fun? To learn how to do something? To find a date?
  4. Make two piles (or two lists): Literary and Informational.

Talk: "Which text did you find that was the hardest to sort? Why?"

Your turn

1

Is a recipe for pancakes literary or informational?

2

In the fable, what did Squirrel do all autumn?

3

What lesson does the fable teach?

4

What do monarch caterpillars eat?

5

Name two clues that tell you a text is a poem.

6

You want to know when the library opens. Would you read for enjoyment or to find information?

7

Name a text form that you could read for fun.

More practice: warm-up

1

What are the two big families of texts?

2

Which family gives true facts?

3

What kind of story often has talking animals and teaches a lesson?

4

How does a fairy tale often begin?

5

Where do monarchs fly in the fall?

More practice: on your own

1

Is a birthday card literary or informational? Explain.

2

Which words in the bird feeder text are bossy verbs?

3

Why does the monarch text use questions as headings?

4

In the sentence "Squirrel peeked out of his hole," who does his mean?

5

Sort these: a poem about snow, a map of the park, a fairy tale about a dragon, a list of rules for the pool.

Challenge

1

A book has talking animals, but it also teaches true facts about how bears get ready for winter. Is it literary or informational? Explain.

2

Turn the fable into an informational sentence. Write one true fact about squirrels.

3

Why might the same person read a fact text about monarchs for two purposes?

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which text is informational?

2.

What does a fable usually have?

3.

Why would you read a recipe?

4.

Which is a clue that a text is a how-to text?

5.

In the fable, why did Chickadee get hungry?

6.

What do grown-up monarch butterflies drink?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: In Grade 2, children learn that texts belong to families (literary and informational) and come in many forms (fable, poem, fairy tale, fact text, how-to text, letter, sign). Each form has clues. Knowing the form helps a reader know what to expect and why they are reading.

How to help at home:

  • Point out texts during the day: "This is a recipe. Why do we read it?" "This is a poem. How can you tell?"
  • Before reading, ask: "Are we reading this for fun or to find out something?"
  • Use real texts from your home: flyers, cereal boxes, mail, picture books.

Common difficulties:

  • Thinking every book with pictures is a story. Show a fact book with photos to compare.
  • Mixed texts. Some books mix a story with facts. That is fine. Praise any answer with a good reason.
  • Linking words. Some children lose track of who he, she, it or they means. Stop and ask, "Who is he?"

This lesson also shows how reading skills help in other subjects and in everyday life (A3.1), like reading a recipe or a science fact book.