ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Diagram It! Identifying, Comparing & Writing About Non Fiction
Introduce your students to the different types of non-fiction such as biographies, biographies, and informative books. Students will use graphic organizers, peer interaction, and hands-on experiences to further understanding of this lesson.
TES Global
Tes: Non Fiction Unit 4 Formal/impersonal Writing: Tourists
[Free Registration/Login Required] Young scholars will analyze tourism brochures to determine features related to nonfiction writing in this unit. Tourism websites may be used in lieu of the brochures. Cotswold and the North Leigh Roman...
Sonoma State University
Berkeley Education: List of Works by Jack London
Superb site from Berkeley Education for finding any work by Jack London. Included are plays, short stories, fiction, non-fiction, and essays.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Question and Answer Books From Genre Study to Report Writing
Contains plans for eight lessons that explore Question and Answer Books and ask students to do research in order to write their own. In addition to objectives and standards, these instructional plans contain links to sites used in the...
Online Writing Lab at Purdue University
Purdue University Owl: General Writing Resources
This helpful resource details the process of writing, including how to plan, write, and revise. Content also includes the different types or genres of writing, and exercises in grammar and mechanics.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Introducing the Essay: Twain, Douglass and American Non Fiction
This lesson plan serves as an introduction to American literary non-fiction writing and focuses primarily on teaching some basic approaches to recognizing rhetorical strategies adopted for persuasive effect in essays and non-fiction. The...
Wisc-Online
Wisc Online: Writing Effective Paraphrases
In this learning module, students practice paraphrasing brief, non-fiction passages.
University of Toronto (Canada)
University of Toronto: Critical Reading Towards Critical Writing
Aimed particularly towards writing about non-fiction, this site describes ways to think about what you read so you can write more clearly. Focuses on analyzing the "ways of thinking" that an author uses so you can evaluate the validity...
University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow: Critical Reviews
This site is designed to be used by psychology students at the university level, but it provides helpful instruction for anyone writing critical reviews of non-fiction. Instruction includes everything from how to be critical to...
Other
Advice for Young Writers: 10 Tips for Students in Writing Biographies
Children's author, Kathleen Krull, writer of many biographies, shares some tips for making biographies come alive. Perhaps her most interesting tips are to be nosy, and look for juicy details.
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: A Storm of Ideas
The first step in writing an informational text on the topic of students' choice is helping the student choose a topic of interest. Students will brainstorm ideas that will be possible final topics.
Scholastic
Scholastic: Nonfiction Writing Lessons
This series of nonfiction writing lessons was developed by Stuart Miller. Four activities include: Describing the Real World, The Interview, Writing a Profile, and Writing a Review.
The English Teacher
The English Teacher: Writing Analogies
Analogies are useful when communicating ideas that a reader wouldn't otherwise understand. This tutorial explains how to use analogy in writing.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Text Features: Non Fiction [Pdf]
Compare the printed page to an electronic web page and use this activity to discuss the similarities and differences. A cross-curricular tie-in with ecosystems. Could easily be adapted to another subject area.
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: What Did Jimmy's Boa Eat? 1 of 2
In this lesson plan, students will write an informational paper by comparing fictional text and a non fiction text about boa constrictors.
Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore
Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore
The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore has created one of the more thorough websites on Poe. It presents many essays on his life and various aspects of his works, as well as the texts of most of Poe's writings, including his poetry,...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Abc Bookmaking Builds Vocabulary in the Content Areas
Six 50-minute lessons build vocabulary through the content areas by making an ABC book. It can become a classroom resource. Links include a non-fiction book list, checklist, word list, rubric, and a storyboard chart. There is also a link...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Nonfiction Pyramid
A printable pyramid for use with nonfiction texts while students identify the main ideas and supporting details within a text. Students also determine author's purpose and key vocabulary words. Directions on how to use this type of...
Utah Education Network
Uen: One True Story, Told Two Ways
Analyze the different perspectives presented by two authors telling the same story.
Virginia Tech
Alan Review: Course Correction
Janet Bode wrote this article discussing why she writes, for whom she's writing, and the importance of non-fiction literature for young adults.
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Gettysburg Address [Pdf]
"The Gettysburg Address" by Abraham Lincoln is one page, non-fiction speech given at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on November 18, 1963. It is followed by an assignment asking students to...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Frederick Douglass [Pdf]
"Frederick Douglass on Women's Suffrage," a one page, non-fiction, reading passage, is an excerpt from a persuasive speech delivered by Frederick Douglass to the International Council of Women in Washington, D.C., April 1888 in support...
Other
Lib.ru: Classic Russian Literature
Great resource for finding online text for classic Russian literature in Russian. Features the most popular writers and their works. Valuable resource for students studying Russian. Russian-speaking ELL students might translate passages...
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Hyperbole and Understatement (English Ii Reading)
[Accessible by TX Educators. Free Registration/Login Required] In this lesson, you will learn to recognize hyperbole and understatement in nonfiction. Good examples also appear in other forms of writing such as fiction and poetry, but we...