USING+DOCUMENTARIES+TO+TEACH+NON-FICTION

 __The Real Stuff: Using Documentaries to Teach Non-Fiction Writing__ by Bernice Barry

 This article deals with using non-fiction documentaries to teach different components of non-fiction writing. By using non-fiction documentaries, students are able to see clear examples of how information can be sequenced to help the audience understand. It also provides scaffolding through visual and aural elements which helps students process and categorize the information (Barry,2009, p.1) Teachers may choose specific elements such as the chronlogy of a autobiographical account, the verb tense used during science documentaries, the organization of a non-chronological report, and the steps used in process writing. For teachers with reluctant writers, documentaries may also help to pique the interest of students and motivate them to write pieces. It also helpful to accomodate the needs of students through visual, aural, and kinestetic modalities. Non-fiction documentaries can be used across the curriculum and can deal with topics in science, math, social studies, and language arts. The author had two examples of non-fiction documentaries: __Wild China__ and __Deadly Yarns__.  Wild China is a documentary about the southern region of China and highlights the non-chronological report. __Deadly Yarns__ is a series of short films made by indigenous Australian filmmakers.



__Wild China__  __Deadly Yarns__