Celebrate Nonfiction

Exploring the Joy of Nonfiction Reading and Writing

In the Classroom: Language Devices in Expository Literature

The best way for young writers to get a feel
for the flow of rich text full of language devices is to type out a finely
crafted mentor text and analyze it by highlighting different features with
colors.

After each child has typed out the text of
one of the picture books listed below, small groups can work together to color
the text in the computer file, or they can print out the text and mark it up
with colored pencils or highlighting markers.

Recommended
Books
Frog Song by Brenda Z. Guiberson (2013)
Planting the Wild Garden by Kathryn
O. Galbraith (2011)
Feathers: Not Just for Flying by
Melissa Stewart (2014)
An Egg Is Quiet by Dianna Hutts Aston
(2006)
Lightship by Brian Floca (2007)
Mammoths on the Move by Lisa Wheeler
(2006)

The following color codes work well for this
activity:
red = alliteration/assonance
blue = repetition
green = onomatopoeia
purple = sensory details

 

CCSS.ELA—Literacy.CCRA.R.4: Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text,
including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and
analyze how specific word choices shape meaning.

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