Year 3 English · Reading non-fiction · Summary
Year 3 English Reading non-fiction: summary and key words
Part of the Year 3 English reading non-fiction chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Chapter summary
| Skill | Method |
|---|---|
| Purpose and audience | Ask why the text was written and who it is for. Look at the layout and the clue words. |
| Contents, headings and sub-headings | The contents page gives the page for each part. Headings name main parts; sub-headings name smaller parts. |
| Captions, labelled diagrams, bullet points and tables | A caption says what a picture shows. Labels name the parts. Read a table across a row, then up to the heading. |
| Index and glossary | The index gives topics and page numbers. The glossary gives key words and meanings. Both are in alphabetical order. |
| Dictionary | Use the first two or three letters to find a word quickly, and to check its spelling. |
| Fact and opinion | A fact can be checked. An opinion says what someone thinks; clue words include think, should and best. |
| Summary | Find the main idea of each paragraph, then write the main points in one or two sentences, in your own words. |
| Recording facts | Note facts in a table, with one column for each heading. |
| Discussion | Listen, take turns, and give a reason for your opinion. |
Can you…?
- I can say the purpose and the audience of a text
- I can use a contents page, headings and sub-headings to find a part of a book
- I can find facts in captions, labelled diagrams, bullet points and tables
- I can use an index, a glossary and a dictionary
- I can put words in alphabetical order, using the first two or three letters
- I can tell a fact from an opinion, and give the clue words that show an opinion
- I can summarise the main points of a text in my own words
- I can take turns and give a reason in a discussion
Key terms
- audience
- the people a writer wants to read a text
- purpose
- the reason a writer wrote a text, such as to inform, to instruct or to tell what happened
- contents page
- the list at the front of a book that gives the page where each part starts
- heading
- a word or line that names a main part of a text
- sub-heading
- a smaller heading inside a main part of a text
- caption
- a short sentence under a picture or a table that says what it shows
- labelled diagram
- a picture with names on lines that point to its parts
- bullet point
- a short point in a list, often with one fact in each point
- table
- information in rows and columns
- index
- the list at the back of a book, in alphabetical order, that gives the pages where topics are found
- glossary
- a list of key words in a book, in alphabetical order, with their meanings
- dictionary
- a book that lists words in alphabetical order and gives their meanings
- fact
- something that can be checked and is true
- opinion
- what someone thinks or feels, which other people may not share
- summary
- a short version of a text that gives its main points in your own words