Third grade children learn to determine from reading a story whether it is fiction or nonfiction. Explain that fictional stories are made up by the writer and nonfiction stories describe events that happened in real life -- such as newspaper articles -- or factual information about a topic. Make sure your child can identify whether a piece of writing is fiction or nonfiction.
Third grade children should understand that all pieces of writing -- fiction and nonfiction -- generally start with an introduction to the topic and then move on to a more in-depth look at it before the conclusion. Explain that the section between the introduction and the conclusion can be referred to as the body of the story. Students should be able to identify the sequence of introduction, body and conclusion in the stories they read.
In third grade, children begin to identify the different purposes of writing. Ask your child to read a story and determine whether the purpose of it is to describe, persuade or tell a story. Ask them which sections of the story were useful in determining the purpose of the writing. Point out that the main body of the story contains information relating to the purpose of the text.
As comprehension of the overall message of written works increases in third grade, children should become adept at determining the main idea of a piece of writing. The main idea of a piece of nonfiction is given in the introduction but discussed in detail in the main body of the story; in fiction the characters and setting are offered in the introduction and then the body tells the main events of the story. Ask your third grader to identify the body of a piece of writing and the main idea it explains.