LitLinks: Fact or fiction? How to help children tell the difference

GUEST BLOGGER KARI ANN GONZALEZ

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As a reader sometimes it can be challenging to determine whether a book is fact or fiction. Take my book How To Hatch A Reader for example. My book features a girl, a fox, a farmer, and chickens. While people, foxes, and chickens exist, the particular characters in this book are fictional. In the book, the farmer teaches the chickens to read–another fictional concept. Chickens enjoying a b-b-b-book was featured solely to add humor to the story and for the enjoyment of the reader. But even though How To Hatch A Reader is fiction, there are plenty of opportunities for students learn facts about chickens.

1^st activity

Materials

• Access to the library, books about chickens, or computers for research.

Steps

• Read How To Hatch A Reader to your students.
• Ask your students if the story is based on fact or fiction and ask for examples.
• Once students establish it is fiction, ask them to research facts about chickens.
  • Have students break into small groups and assign each group one of the following statements* to research by computer or library to determine if the statement is True or False.
  • Select one volunteer to share the group’s research with the class.
  • Statements (with answer key)
    • Chickens can lay blue, green, and yellow eggs. TRUE
    • Chickens can fly long distances. FALSE
    • Chickens can live in the snow. TRUE
    • Chickens can read. FALSE
    • Chickens give live birth. FALSE
    • Chickens eat bugs. TRUE

2^nd activity

Materials

• Paper and pencil

Steps

• Introduce the term informational story to students- a story that is fiction but with several facts included.
• Ask students to individually write a four-sentence informational story using their group’s statement as a theme.
• If the statement is a fact, ask students to support the fact and expand on the topic from their research. If the topic is not a fact, ask students to debunk it by correcting the statement and expanding upon it based on their research.
• Ask students to brainstorm ideas for the story.
  • Each story must have a beginning, middle, and end.
  • Each story must have a compelling opening and a satisfying closing
• Ask students to create a title for their informational story.

3^rd activity

Materials

• Paper and pencil

Steps

• Ask students to draw a cover for their informational story. Cover image must reflect the theme and include the title and author/illustrator.

4^th activity

Materials

• Paper (or sticky notes) and pencil

Steps

• Ask students to break out into small groups and read their stories aloud in their group.
• After reading each story, ask students to provide feedback to each group member by writing two compliments and one gentle suggestion to improve the story.
• Have students discuss how their stories are similar and different.
• Ask students to consider voice, tense, humor etc.
• As with any project or milestone, always make the time to celebrate each other’s accomplishments!

Featured image: “White chickens” by www.thegoodlifefrance.com is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

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Kari Ann Gonzalez is a children’s writer and loves to tend to her tiny hobby farm. Her debut picture book HOW TO HATCH A READER won the Northern Lights Picture Book award for humor and she is eagerly awaiting her next picture books HOW TO HATCH A WRITER and IF YOU LIVE ON A FARM along with 3 more titles to be announced soon! Kari loves writing funny and lyrical picture books. She also writes middle-grade and young adult novels-in-verse. ​Seven plucky chickens are kind enough to share their home with Kari, her husband, and their two little girls. For more information, please visit Kari’s website at: https://www.karianngonzalez.com/ or follow her on social media at the following social media handles:

• Twitter: @karianngonzale1
• Instagram: Kari_Gonzalez_Writes
• Facebook: Kari Gonzalez
• Bluesky: @karigonzalezwrites

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