Types of Informational Media6th Grade English

Books Books are used to find more in-depth information about a topic.

They are considered more credible than other sources because they have gone through a revision and publishing process.

The author is usually an expert in his/her field.

Auto-Biography A type of book where the author tells the reader about his/her life.

It is a first-hand account from one perspective.

Biography A type of book where the author tells the reader about ANOTHER person’s

life.

The author has done lots of research to find out more about that person.

Chart A visual representation of statistical data.

Charts are used to give numerical information about different topics.

Charts are considered credible because of the use of factual data.

Newspaper A periodical publication that informs readers of events happening in their

world.

Newspapers are considered credible sources because they require that educated journalists or reporters write stories that are revised before being published.

Editorial A page in a newspaper filled with comments that can be written by anyone.

Editorials are not usually seen as credible because anyone can write them and they do not have to be edited.

Sometimes they are in the form of cartoons.

Magazines A periodical publishing that informs readers on a wide variety of topics,

including health, sports, news, politics, and almost anything you can think of.

When compared to newspapers, magazines are usually less credible.

They also usually have more pictures and visuals than books do.

Informational Pamphlet A small packet, that can be one sheet or multiple sheets, that gives the

reader information on a topic.

You may have been given a pamphlet while walking on the street.

Interview A person responds to a set of questions from a reporter.

Quotes are usually pulled from interviews and used in other sources, such as newspapers and books.

Internet Search Have you ever heard of Google? It is one of the most popular search

engines, where you can type the name of a topic and find matches on other websites on the internet.

A search engine is not a good place to find credible information. You must go to a credible website to find credible information.

PRACTICE CHALLENGE TIME! On the next few slides, there will be questions about different types of

informational media.

Using your whiteboard, write the name of the informational media that would be the BEST to use.

READY?

Name one highly credible source of information. You could have named any of the following:

BOOKS

NEWSPAPERS

AUTO-BIOGRAPHY

CHARTS

Where would be the best place to look to find a visual representation of data? CHARTS

Where would I look to find information on a person’s life, written by that person? AUTO-BIOGRAPHY

If I was looking for info on sports and I wanted pictures, where would I look? MAGAZINE

What if I’m looking for quotes from a person? Where can I find them? Mainly in an INTERVIEW

Can also be found in a NEWSPAPER or BOOK or even a MAGAZINE

What is more credible? An informational pamphlet or a book? BOOK

What’s more credible? A newspaper or an editorial page? NEWSPAPER

What’s more credible? An internet search or a biography? BIOGRAPHY

What’s more credible? A chart or a magazine? CHART

TRUE or FALSE: Sources have + or - credibility according to the kind of media. TRUE

Now it’s your turn! For each type of media, write one sentence describing how you would use

it.

Example: I can use an internet search to find my topic discussed on other websites.

Use the next page of your journal for your work. You have 15 minutes to finish.