organization Archives - Page 3 of 9

Goodnight Already!
by Jory John (Author) and Benji Davies (Illustrator)

Notice the shiny E.B. WHITE READ-ALOUD HONOR AWARD sticker on the cover!

Booktalk: Meet Bear. He’s exhausted. All he wants is to go to sleep. Meet Duck, Bear’s persistent next-door neighbor. All he wants is to hang out . . . with Bear.

Snippet:
“I’ve never been so tired. I could sleep for weeks. Months, even!”

Six Traits Mini Lesson

Trait: Organization In this fiction picture book, the dialogue at the beginning of a story sets up the ending perfectly. As the story begins, we hear from Bear:

“I’ve never been so tired. I could sleep for weeks. Months, even!”

What Bear wants is clear, but this is the very first page of the story, so we know that Bear won’t get what he wants. Fiction stories have problems to solve, so once we know what the main character wants, it’s the writer’s job to keep that from happening for as long as possible. That’s why readers turn the page–to see what happens next!

Who or what will that problem be? In this story it is Bear’s neighbor, Duck. Duck is wide awake and he wants company. Throughout the book, Duck wakes up Bear again and again.

Ideally, the end of a story is the opposite of the beginning. So what does Bear say on the last page of the book?

“I’ve never been so awake.”

On the previous page, Duck complains that Bear’s grumpiness has worn him out. Duck finally goes home and falls asleep. The ending for both story characters is the opposite of the beginning. The book begins and ends with Bear because he is the main character.

TIP: Allow your main story character to have the last word.

Watch the book trailer.

Family Money
By William Whitehead (Author) and Mark Beech (Illustrator)

Booktalk: How does a family get and spend its money? Just time for the back-to-school spending, this book looks at many of the expenses families have and how money is spent on utilities, services, health, food, transportation, and more. The concepts of budgeting, borrowing, spending, fiscal responsibility, and financial literacy are discussed in an easy to understand, accessible manner.

Snippet:

Money Talk
How many times have you heard your dad or mom say there’s just not enough money to do this or that? They just can’t afford it! The subject of money and how it’s spent is always around because it’s money that buys everything a family needs. And this matters to you in a lot of ways.

Why do families talk about money so much?
Very simply–it’s money that decides the comfort and the way in which you live. Money gets talked about a lot because whether there’s enough or not enough, everyone in the family seems to need some.

Six Traits Mini Lesson

Trait: Organization This short excerpt from the first page of the book has a chapter title and a subhead (both shown here in bold). These nonfiction text features help organize the ideas in a book.

The chapter title shows readers an overview of the topics that will be discussed.

Money Talk

Under the chapter title, the topic is introduced:

How many times have you heard your dad or mom say there’s just not enough money to do this or that? They just can’t afford it! The subject of money and how it’s spent is always around because it’s money that buys everything a family needs. And this matters to you in a lot of ways.

The rest of the chapter will add more details. These details are divided into smaller sections. Each small section of text will also have a title, called a subhead.

Why do families talk about money so much?

This subhead asks a question. The text below the subhead answers the question, giving the book a “question and answer” organizational pattern.

Very simply–it’s money that decides the comfort and the way in which you live. Money gets talked about a lot because whether there’s enough or not enough, everyone in the family seems to need some.

It’s Nonfiction Monday!