Non Fiction Book Plan

Name: ___________________________________________________

My Non Fiction book topic is: _______________________________________

Tentative teacher approval: _____________________________________

Parent approval: _______________________________________

In order to get final teacher approval, you must present at least 3

books about your topic to the teacher. You must have final approval
by: __________________________________

Final teacher approval: ______________________________________

After final teacher approval, please divide your main topic into
6 to 8 subtopics. You must have your subtopics approved
by:_______________________________

Think carefully about how you are going to be able to show all of the
non fiction conventions in your book.

1. ________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________
4. ________________________________________________
5. ________________________________________________
6. ________________________________________________
7. ________________________________________________
8. ________________________________________________

Parent approval of sub topics: ______________________________

Teacher approval of sub topics: _________________________________

 Non Fiction Book Plan Part 2
INFORMATION GATHERING

Name: ___________________________________________________
My Non Fiction book topic is: _______________________________________
My sub topics are:
1. ________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________
4. ________________________________________________
5. ________________________________________________
6. ________________________________________________
7. ________________________________________________
8. ________________________________________________
Now that you have identified your sub topics, it’s time to begin gathering
information. You will begin using your resources to find facts about your sub
topics. You will need to organize your information in a way that will make it
easy to find what you are looking for.
You will need to get one sheet of lined paper for each of your sub topics.
You will also need to add 2 extra sheets of lined paper. Staple all the sheets
together along with this page on top. (Or, you can put them in a booklet.)
At the top of each page, put the title of one sub topic. (Use both sides of the
sheet for one topic.) As you read through your resources, you will find
information about your sub topics. Make jot notes on the proper pages so that
by the time you are finished, you will have lots of jot notes about each of the
sub topics. You should be making from 10 to 20 notes about each sub topic.
The last 2 pages will be titled: SOURCES. This is where you will write down
what sources you used, including books, magazines, websites and anything
else. Eventually you will use these sheets to make your bibliography, but for
now you don’t need to organize the sources in any particular way.
Information gathering is one of the most important parts of writing your
book, because it will decide whether you have lots of good information to
work with.
Your INFORMATION GATHERING booklet will make up a part of your final
mark, so it must be completed well.
Your booklet is due to be handed in on: __________________________________________

A parent needs to sign to say they have read these instructions, and has heard
about your plan to complete this part on time: _________________________________

A parent needs to approve that your booklet is complete:______________________

Teacher approval: _____________________________

 Non Fiction Book Plan Part 3
ROUGH COPY OF TEXT

Name: ___________________________________________________
My Non Fiction book topic is: _______________________________________
My sub topics are:
1. ________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________
4. ________________________________________________
5. ________________________________________________
6. ________________________________________________
7. ________________________________________________
8. ________________________________________________
Now that you have your jot notes of information, it’s time to write the first
draft of your book. Your book will be written in chapters, so think about how
you will organize and sequence your information.
At this point you are only writing the text, (words) but you should be
thinking about the illustrations and non fiction conventions you will
eventually be putting into your book. This way you can write in such a way to
make it easy to put in the conventions later.
You will be writing at about a grade 4 level. This means you need to be
aware of new vocabulary, and write in a fashion that can be clearly
understood without getting too technical. You will definitely need to explain
new terms and ideas. However, remember that grade fours have solid reading
skills and shouldn’t be spoken down to.
Your first draft can be written or typed, it’s up to you. However, it’s easier
to edit and fix your work if it’s already on the computer. I suggest you do it on
the computer so you can make changes much easier when it comes time to do
your final copy.
Remember, this is not your final copy. You are organizing your jot notes
into logical sentences and paragraphs for the chapters of your book.

***Be sure to attach this sheet to the front of your rough copy.***

Your rough copy is due on: ________________________________________

A parent needs to sign to say they have read these instructions, and has heard
about your plan to complete this part on time: _________________________________

Parent approval of rough copy: ___________________________________

Teacher approval of rough copy: _________________________________

 Non Fiction Book Plan Part 4
FINAL COPY

Name: _____________________________________________

Now that your rough copy is done, it’s time to complete your good copy.
Spend some time reading through your rough copy, making sure it makes
sense. Then have 2 or 3 people read it through. Ask them to make
suggestions as to how you can improve your book. Don’t forget to check for
spelling and grammar.
After you’ve done all that, work on the good copy of your text, and at the
same time put in the non-fiction conventions. You have been given a list of the
non-fiction conventions. Make sure you include an appropriate amount of
each. For example, you may only need one CUTAWAY, but there should be at
least 2 choices from TABLES, CHARTS or GRAPHS. Of course there will be lots
of colour pictures.
You need to draw your own pictures and illustrations. You may trace if
you would like, but make sure you tell the sources where you got your
pictures from. PHOTOGRAPHS may be printed on the computer, done by
camera, or cut out of magazines since they are photographs.
Make sure to plan your space for each page so that there isn’t a lot of
empty space, but also so that there isn’t too much crowded onto a page.
Remember, this is GOOD COPY WORK. That means there will not be
any work left in pencil.
You’ve been given a rubric to let you know how your final copy will be
evaluated. Make sure you read it well so you know what is expected.
You have also been given a CHECKLIST. Make sure you fill it out and
hand it in with your good copy.
Have fun and don’t save this until the last day. Work on it a little bit at a
time. Make a plan and then work the plan.

****** REMEMBER, YOU NEED TO HAND IN THE WHOLE PACKAGE

INCLUDING: THIS PAGE, YOUR INFORMATION GATHERING BOOKLET,
YOUR ROUGH COPY, THE NON-FICTION BOOKLET, AND THE FINAL COPY.

Your whole package is due on: _______________________________________________

A parent needs to sign to say they have read these instructions, and has heard
about your plan to complete this part on time: _________________________________

A parent needs to sign to say they have seen the final package to make sure
everything is complete:
__________________________________________