Maryland Department of Education
The Concept of Diversity in World Literature Lesson 8: Nonfiction Close Reading
As part of their study of Things Fall Apart, class members conduct a close reading of a section of Chinua Achebe's essay, "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness." Jigsaw groups then compare the voice in the essay...
Curated OER
Using Text Features
Fourth graders read a nonfiction story that is presented to them with graphic features, and presented to them with only the text. In this text features lesson, 4th graders decide what the benefits of text organizers are and create their...
Curated OER
Analyzing Nonfiction Text Features - Graphs
Students examine the text features of non-fiction. In this literacy lesson plan, students practice reading graphs and discover the authors intent for using them in primary and secondary sources.
Curated OER
Using Social Studies in Five Shared Reading Lessons: Geography
After several short 15-minute mini-lessons, your learners will gain an understanding of the characteristics of a non-fiction text. Using the book Map It by Elspeth Leacock, your class will become acquainted with non-fiction terms such as...
Curated OER
Nonfiction Text elements
Learners research Lewis and Clark and use the information for a book. In this Lewis and Clark lesson, students gather information and complete worksheets in an activity to write a book. Learners use a variety of text features.
Curated OER
Lesson 3: Nonfiction
Introduce young readers to the word of non-fiction. They examine the features found in non-fiction books such as, facts, dates, and realistic pictures. They discuss how the images in the book Your Pet Dog depict real dogs doing real...
Curated OER
Creating a Newspaper
Get the scoop with a fun, engaging newspaper project. After analyzing the parts of a newspaper, including the headline, subtitles, and pictures or images, young journalists get to work by writing their own stories in a newspaper article...
Curated OER
The Learning Network: Poetry Pairing July, 21, 2011
Although not a complete lesson plan, this set of emotionally powerful texts could be used in a variety of lessons. From The New York Times' Learning Network site, the resource includes a poem, an excerpt from a New York Times article and...
Curated OER
Analyzing Nonfiction Text Elements - Editorials
Learners examine the text features of non-fiction. In this literacy lesson plan, students read editorial samples provided by their instructor and analyze the texts for word choice, details, and organization.
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Reviewing Features of Fiction Books
Learners identify the features of fiction books. In this genre study lesson, students are introduced to the book Armadillo Rodeo and identify the cover, title, author, illustrator and title page. Learners discuss how the book cover gives...
Curated OER
Who Would Win? Killer Whale vs. Great White Shark Storia Teaching Guide
Teacher guides are wonderful tools with tons of ideas that help you relate content in many different ways. Using the high-interest book, Who Would Win? Killer Whale vs. Great White Shark, learners hone their discussion and reading...
Curated OER
Anticipation Guides Improve Reading Comprehension
Beginning with anticipation guide strategies is a powerful method for improving reading comprehension. First, list initial ideas for a topic the class will be reading about. These ideas are formulated into statements, some of which are...
Curated OER
Analyzing Features of Consumer Text
Young scholars evaluate consumer information. In this written communication instructional activity, students read nutrition facts from different foods and determine the foods that have the most healthful benefits.
EngageNY
Introduction: The Ideas of Charles Darwin
Piece by piece ... Scholars read the text World without Fish by breaking the text into pieces. They identify challenging words and determine the gist of each section as they read. They then work together in triads to answer...
Curated OER
Organizing Information into an Outline
Learners explore outlines. In this nonfiction comprehension and study skills instructional activity, students complete a traditional outline for the book Animal Homes by Ann O. Squire following guided instruction as the teacher models...
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Writing Prompts for High School
Are you teaching a high school language arts class and stumped for writing topics? Five pages of writing prompts for all kinds of writing should help you out. Many of these prompts refer to texts that are not included in this resource,...
Curated OER
Blending Fiction and Nonfiction to Improve Comprehension and Writing Skills
Students explore a content area by reading both fiction and nonfiction texts on the topic. They do more research online about the topic. After comparing the texts, they create their own written original work, using both narrative and...
Curated OER
Is this the right book for me?
Sixth graders recognize strategies for selecting nonfiction texts. In this book selection instructional activity, 6th graders practice procedures for knowing if the book is just right for them. Students select from a variety of texts and...
Curated OER
Making Predictions by Analyzing Key Ideas and Details
Pupils make predictions. In this language arts instructional activity, students read nonfiction texts and make predictions about what they are going to read. Pupils confirm and revise their predictions as they read the text.
EngageNY
Reading Closely to Expand Understanding of Adaptations
Third graders work to determine the main idea, recall key details, and answer questions using an informational text on the topic of animal adaptations. Using the non-fiction text "Staying Alive: Animal Adaptations" (provided) the teacher...
Curated OER
Basil Heatter, "The Long Night of the Little Boats"
“It was a miracle.” Basil Heatter’s “The Long Night of the Little Boats,” which details the miraculous rescue of the British army from the shores of Dunkirk in 1940, is featured in a series of exercises that ask class members to read,...
Curated OER
Recognizing Text Features of Fiction, Poetry, and Drama
Students start reading the book The Sign of the Beaver and create a book mark glossary to define vocabulary for the book. In this reading lesson plan, students also respond to the text by completing a journal entry.
Curated OER
Lesson 3: Encyclopedias
After being introduced to non-fiction texts, second graders meet a different type of non-fiction text that can help them locate factual information. They discuss and examine all of the features found in typical encyclopedias such as,...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Candidate Book Report
After reading candidate biographies, class members select one candidate to research. They craft a report on the candidate's book, their position on issues, and the image the candidate wants to project.