Informational Focus

Objectives
Students will
• analyze workplace, public, and con-
sumer documents as well as infor-
mational materials
• analyze technical directions
Motivate Tell students that even
on days when they do not pick up
a book, they are constantly reading.
They may read a job application, use
an instruction manual, study a bus
schedule, or follow a recipe. Explain
that every time they read a work-
place, consumer, or public document
or follow directions, they are apply-
ing their reading skills to real-world
situations.
Guided Practice
Informational Text Focus by Carol Jago
What Kinds of Documents
Will I Read in Real Life?
Let’s say you want to see a movie. Besides finding out the time
and place, you might want to read reviews, get information
about the cast and director, and reserve seats. You’ll be reading
many types of informational documents, such as the ones below.
Workplace Documents Public Documents
The odds are good that in the next thirty years Public documents contain information about
you will hold a variety of jobs. The job you vol- public agencies and community groups. They
unteer for at age thirteen will probably be very can be about voting issues, health concerns, and
different from the one you accept at age forty. many other subjects. They tell about situations,
Whether you are taking orders at a restaurant or decisions, responsibilities, schedules, occasions,
giving orders to a staff of a thousand, your job will and interesting events. You’ll use public docu-
likely require you to read for information. When ments if you work with a government agency,
earning a living is involved, that information is school, park, or library. Public documents inform
important. The workplace documents you will people what is happening in their community,
read serve two basic functions: communication city, state, nation, and even on the planet.
and instruction.

Workplace Documents Communication E-mails, memorandums

NON SEQUITUR © 2005 Wiley Miller. Dist. by UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE.

■ Have students read the section
about workplace documents.
■ Explain to students that communi-
cation documents can be informal
since they are for a specific person
(memos), and reports will tell you about upcom-
ing meetings, changes in policy, and other impor-
tant information you need to know in order to do
your job. Letters of application and résumés will
help you find a job.

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

and elaborate or modify existing
Instruction
information. Instruction docu- memos
Employee manuals
ments are formal because they letters reports
tell what is expected
provide strict training and are writ- of you on the job. Workplace
ten to educate numerous people. User guides teach you Documents
how to operate the résumés manuals
equipment you use. guides

pp. 598–599
Informational Skills
Resources Differentiating Instruction
■ Analyze workplace documents.
■ Analyze public documents/informational materials. Collection 6 Resources, Info Text Focus English-Language Learners/
■ Analyze consumer documents. Skill Builder, p. 3 Readers Gaining Proficiency
■ Analyze technical directions. PowerNotes, interactive
e9nas8_c06cfm_01.indd 598 lesson Organize students into pairs and have them look at various docu- 10/5/07 10:12:46

presentations with activities
Teacher One Stop™, on-level lesson
plans and all print resources
ments, such as contracts, television manuals, computer warran-
ties, furniture assembly instructions, feature sheets for products,
or résumés. Then, have them classify each document using the
bold words on these two pages. Make sure that students discuss
their reasoning and point out examples from the documents that
back up their choices. Have each group share one of their docu-
ments with the class.

598 Unit 2 • Collection 6


Consumer Documents
A consumer is someone who buys something or
uses what someone else buys. That covers just
about everyone: you, your friends—even a baby.
The things consumers buy fall into two basic cat-
egories: goods (stuff ) and services (help).
Many goods are simple to use. You don’t need
an instruction manual to figure out what to do
with a candy bar! More complicated goods may
not be so easy to use. Let’s say you buy a com-
puter. Now what? You’ll need some information
to get your computer up and running. Therefore,
the computer package will include consumer
documents to give you the information you need
to set up and operate your computer. The docu-
ments also define legal rights and responsibili-
ties—yours, those of the company that made the
computer, and those of the company that sold it.
• Product information on the box or label will
tell you if an item is what you want. Is the shirt
washable? Does the CD player have the fea-
tures you want? Read to find out.
• Contracts spell out exactly what services will
and will not be provided. Contracts are gener-
ally binding once you or your parent or guard-
ian sign them. So read carefully before you do.
• Warranties guarantee that a product will
work for a specified period of time. They also
spell out what happens if it doesn’t work
properly and what you have to do to receive
service.
• Instruction manuals tell how to set up
and use a product. If you break the product
because you didn’t read the instructions care-
fully, you’ll be responsible for the damage.
• Technical directions give precise technical
information about installing and assembling
a product.
As a follow up, ask students the following questions to
gauge their understanding of each document type.
• What599type of document would give the date and time of
e9nas8_c06cfm_01.indd
Technical Directions
Directions are important for many activities. You
may need to follow them when you cook, dance,
exercise, play sports, sing, or play music. Technical
directions are the kind you follow when you
assemble or operate any kind of scientific,
mechanical, or electronic device. If you skip a step
or perform one out of order, the device may not
work or may even break, so read the directions
carefully. When following technical directions,
it is a good idea to
• read the directions all the way through
before you begin
• check off the steps one by one as you
complete them
• compare your work with the diagrams
and drawings for each step
Your Turn Analyze Documents
In your Reader/Writer Notebook, write four
headings at the top of two pages: Workplace
Documents and Public Documents on one
page, and Consumer Documents and Technical
Directions on the other page. Under each
heading, list all the documents of that type you
think you might need to use sometime soon.
Put check marks next to any you have already
used or can find in your home or classroom.
Add items (and check marks) as you think of
them and as you read the documents in this
collection.
Learn It Online
Try the PowerNotes version of this lesson on:
go.hrw.com L8-599
Advanced Learners
Acceleration Provide students with an example of a
consumer document, such as a warranty or a set1/31/08
of techni-
Guided Practice
Public Documents
■ Use or create a flyer that gives
information about a school event
to model reading a public
document.
■ You might point out that when
reading a flyer about Drama Club
tryouts, the most important infor-
mation is when and where the
tryouts are being held and how to
prepare.
Consumer Documents
■ Have students read the section
about consumer documents.
■ Then, ask the class the following
questions: Which document would
you use to set up a new alarm
clock? Which would you read if the
alarm clock broke soon after you
purchased it?
Technical Directions
■ Discuss with students the mean-
ing of the saying “Always read the
fine print.” Tell students that savvy
consumers carefully read product
information, warranties, and the
terms and conditions of special
offers before making purchases.
Independent Practice
Your Turn
Possible responses: Workplace
Documents: employee handbooks,
Go
work schedules; Public Documents:
flyers, public health fact sheets;
Consumer Documents: warran-
ties, product descriptions; Technical
Directions: recipes, product manuals
8:19:04 PM

an employee meeting? [memorandum]
• What would you bring to a job interview? [resume]
• What provides information or instructions in a written or
printed format? [document]
• What specific type of document is needed to assemble a
computer or other piece of highly technological equip-
ment? [technical]
cal directions. Assign each student a small section of the
document and have him or her paraphrase the text in his
or her Reader/Writer Notebooks. Have students discuss
the challenges and benefits of paraphrasing this type of
Learn It Online
document. For a multimedia version of the instruction found
on this page, use the PowerNotes Literary Focus
presentation. Preview at go.hrw.com.
go.hrw.com L8-599 Go

Informational Text Focus 599