Lesson Plan
Better Lesson

Better Lesson: Bats, Friend or Foe. An Argument Writing Activity

For Teachers 3rd - 4th Standards
Students will state an argument with evidence, for or against, bats being removed from their environment by writing a letter to the editor and citing evidence for your claim.
Lesson Plan
British Library

British Library: 19th Century Non Fiction Texts: Work & Welfare

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
This thematic collection will allow students to read and understand 19th-century non-fiction texts, and support them in identifying key features for a range of genres, audiences, and purposes. Each source is accompanied by original...
Lesson Plan
British Library

British Library: 19th Century Non Fiction Texts: Gender, Behaviour & Etiquette

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
This thematic collection will allow young scholars to read and understand 19th-century non-fiction texts, and support them in identifying key features for a range of genres, audiences, and purposes. Each source is accompanied by original...
Website
Authors Calendar

Author's Calendar: Sir Henry Morton Stanley

For Students 9th - 10th
A good look at the life of Sir Henry Morton Stanley. Contains information on his expeditions in Africa and his non-fictional/fictional works. Contains a complete bibliography of his works.
Lesson Plan
Read Works

Read Works: Explicit Information 3rd Grade Unit

For Teachers 2nd - 4th Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] A two-lesson unit in which students learn how to identify explicit information in non-fiction text by creating questions and then reading the text to find answers. Students also use explicit information...
Lesson Plan
Read Works

Read Works: Cause and Effect 3rd Grade Unit

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
[Free Registration/Login Required] A three-instructional activity unit on cause and effect. Learners learn to use signal words to identify cause and effect relationships and to describe possible effects when given a cause in fiction....
Lesson Plan
Better Lesson

Better Lesson: What Did Jimmy's Boa Eat? 1 of 2

For Teachers K
In this lesson, students will write an informational paper by comparing fictional text and a non fiction text about boa constrictors.
Article
Hartford Web Publishing

World History Archives: The Butcher of Congo

For Students 9th - 10th
An extremely informative review of a non-fiction book, King Leopold's Ghost, by Adam Hochschild. The review contains specific quotes from the book and accurate historical research.
Lesson Plan
Writing Fix

Writing Fix: All About Posters

For Teachers K - 1st Standards
As young writers become more skilled through the Writers Workshop lessons, they can begin working to become more skilled with non-fiction writing. A series of mini-lessons, graphic organizers, and samples of student work are all provided.
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: After the Chicago Fire [Pdf]

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
"After the Chicago Fire" is a one page, non-fiction, reading passage about how Chicago was rebuilt after the great fire. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: American Explorers [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 4th Standards
"American Explorers" is a one page, non-fiction, reading passage about the Lewis and Clark Expedition. They traveled from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean with the help of Native Americans and made maps along the way. It is followed by...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Block Clubs [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd Standards
"Block Clubs" is a one page, non-fiction, reading passage about block clubs, which are groups of neighbors who work together to make rules and solve problems in their neighborhoods. It is followed by constructed-response questions which...
Article
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

Depaul University: Center for Urban Education: Native Americans: Potawatomi[pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
"Native American Life--Potawatomi Profile" is a one page, non-fiction, first person reading/thinking passage about the Potawatomi Native American tribe. It includes information about what they did during each of the seasons of the year.
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: A Garden in Lawndale [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th
"A Garden in Lawndale" is a one page, non-fiction, reading passage about an eighth grade class who planted a garden in a vacant lot by their school and maintained it to improve their neighborhood. It is followed by constructed-response...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Breaking the Food Chain [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th
"Breaking the Food Chain" is a one page, non-fiction, reading passage about the food chain which links plants and animals. If the food chain is disrupted, it can cause plants and animals to disappear. It is followed by...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: American Explorers [Pdf]

For Teachers 5th
"American Explorers" is a one page, non-fiction, reading passage about the Lewis and Clark Expedition from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean. Along the way they drew maps for future travels. It is followed by constructed-response questions...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Before Chicago [Pdf]

For Teachers 6th
"Before Chicago" is a one page, non-fiction, reading passage about Native Americans who lived in what is now Chicago. It describes what life was like for them and tells how Chicago got its name. It is followed by constructed-response...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Gettysburg Address [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
"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...
Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Abc Bookmaking Builds Vocabulary in the Content Areas

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
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...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Frederick Douglass [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th
"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...
Handout
University of Toronto (Canada)

University of Toronto: Critical Reading Towards Critical Writing

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
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...
Lesson Plan
Read Works

Read Works: Fact and Opinion 1st Grade Unit

For Teachers 1st
[Free Registration/Login Required] A three-lesson unit on fact and opinion through which students learn how to identify opinions through signal words, identify facts in a non-fiction text, and use facts to help them formulate opinions of...
Lesson Plan
Read Works

Read Works: Fourth Grade: Three Lesson Unit: Compare and Contrast

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] A three-lesson plan unit on comparing and contrasting through which students compare and contrast two non-fiction articles and two editorials, and write a compare and contrast essay. With free login,...
Unit Plan
Curated OER

Glenco Online: Teaching Today: Reading Comprehension and Considerate Text

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st Standards
Learn the features of "considerate text" and ways to teach students to use these features to increase their comprehension as they read. These features generally apply to non-fiction, especially textbooks.

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