Portuguese Year 1: What book is this?
Portuguese, Year 1 (Portugal): Guess what a text is about from its kind, its title, its cover and its pictures, and tell an invented story from a text about what is real.
Clues before listening
Before you listen, look at the book. The title, the cover, the name of who wrote it and the pictures are clues (they are called the paratext). They tell you what kind of text it is: a fairy tale that starts «Era uma vez…» (once upon a time), a poem with lines and rhymes, a rhyme to say, or a text that explains real things.
Invented or real?
Guessing before you listen helps you listen better, because you already know what to expect. There are two big families of texts: those that are invented, like a story with a talking dragon (fiction), and those that tell about real things, like how cats live (non-fiction). Knowing which one you have tells you if it is a story to enjoy or information to learn.
A case: two covers
Cover 1: «O dragão que tinha medo do fogo», a drawing of a dragon and a castle. Cover 2: «Como vivem os gatos», with photos of real cats. Step 1: read the title. Step 2: cover 1 shows a dragon: invented, so a fairy tale, fiction. Step 3: cover 2 has real photos and promises to explain: non-fiction. Step 4: guess: the first is about a scared dragon, the second about how cats live. Step 5: listen and check.
A clue is not proof
The cover is a clue, not proof. A real book can have drawings, and a made-up story can have a photo. If you guessed wrong, no problem: listen and change your idea. Also, «fiction» does not mean a lie. It is a story invented to entertain us or to make us think, and nobody is fooled.
At the library
In the school library, story books sit on one shelf and books that explain things sit on another. You pick a book by its cover and title. On television it is the same: a cartoon is invented, and a nature programme shows things that are real. Asking “invented or real?” always helps.
Test what you learned
You hear: «Era uma vez uma princesa e um dragão…» What kind of text is coming?
- a) A text that explains how cats live
- b) A poem with lines and rhymes
- c) A rhyme to skip rope to
- d) A fairy tale
Correct answer: d) A fairy tale — Yes: “Era uma vez” opens tales, and princesses and dragons are invented characters.
The cover has photos of dolphins and the title «Como vivem os golfinhos». What book is it?
- a) A book that gives real information (non-fiction)
- b) A fairy tale with talking dolphins
- c) A poem with rhymes
Correct answer: a) A book that gives real information (non-fiction) — Yes: real photos and a title that promises to explain how they live point to non-fiction.
Which sentence is true?
- a) A book with drawings is always invented
- b) The cover is a clue: then I listen to check
- c) Fiction means it is a lie
Correct answer: b) The cover is a clue: then I listen to check — Yes: a clue helps you guess, and listening tells you if you were right.
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