Listening to nonfiction: topic and details (kindergarten) · lesson

What is it about?

💡 The main topic is what the whole book is about.

The title is a big clue.

Ask: what does each part tell about?

🧠 How to think about it

Busy Bees tells where bees live, what they eat, and what they make. So it is about bees.

topic: what a book is mostly about

🏡 Try it at home

Read the title of a book. Guess what it is about. Then check.

Facts to find

💡 Facts are true bits that tell more about the topic.

Bees live in a hive. That is a fact.

Listen for words that answer who, what, and where.

🧠 How to think about it

Where do bees live? Find the part that says live. It says in a hive.

fact: something that is true

🏡 Try it at home

Read a page about animals. Name one fact you learned.

How things go together

💡 Facts can link up to show how or why.

Bees drink nectar. Then they use it to make honey.

Penguins use wings to swim. That is how they catch fish.

🧠 How to think about it

Ask how or why. Then find the two facts that go together.

why: the reason something happens

🏡 Try it at home

Ask why questions at home. Why do we wear coats? Why do plants need water?

New words

💡 A book often tells you what a new word means.

Listen for the words is called.

The sweet juice is called nectar. So nectar is a sweet juice.

🧠 How to think about it

Find the new word. Look just before it. The clue is often there.

nectar: a sweet juice in flowers

🏡 Try it at home

When you hear a new word, stop and ask what it means. Look for clues.

Parts of a book

💡 A book has a front, a back, and a name.

The name of a book is the title. It is on the front.

One person writes the words. One person draws the pictures.

🧠 How to think about it

Words by Sam. Pictures by Lin. Sam wrote it. Lin drew it.

title: the name of a book
cover: the front and back of a book

🏡 Try it at home

Hold a book. Point to the front cover, the back cover, and the title.

What the picture shows

💡 A picture in a fact book helps you see a fact.

Look at each thing in the picture.

Then find the part of the book that tells about it.

🧠 How to think about it

The picture shows a bee and a flower. The book says bees fly from flower to flower.

photo: a picture made with a camera

🏡 Try it at home

Look at a picture in a fact book. Say one thing it shows.