Nonfiction Text Structures
Lesson 3 - Different Types of Main Characters
Today, I want to teach you that you can use ways of reading narrative even if you don't have a traditional main character in your text.
You can stretch the definition of main character to apply to the main presence in the text. You can regard a ant colony or a Venus flytrap or a whole group of people, like the pilgrims, as the main character of your nonfiction narrative.
Let's read Everglades.
Listen to me read, and as you listen, ask...
Is this a story?
Might it be narrative nonfiction?
And if you decide that it is narrative nonfiction, ask...
Who it is about and what are some traits of that main character?
What does the character want?
What are its motivations?
What are its needs?
Like many narrative nonfiction texts, this does not seem to be a story — there is not even a person as the main character, but this is a narrative nonfiction text... only the character is not a person,
Let's use this chart to help us retell Everglades.
Now you try it. Use the Reading Narrative Nonfiction Chart to help you retell a narrative nonfiction book. You can use a narrative nonfiction book from the classroom or click here for some online.
You can read for the remainder of the time. For this unit you must be reading nonfiction. If you do not have a physical nonfiction book go to www.getepic.com/students and enter our class code: bzr3899. Select your name and go to your mailbox located near the top right. I have placed 40+ nonfiction books for you to read there in the three different categories.