Activity
College Board

Evaluating Sources: How Credible Are They?

For Teachers 7th Standards
How can learners evaluate research sources for authority, accuracy, and credibility? By completing readings, discussions, and graphic organizers, scholars learn how to properly evaluate sources to find credible information. Additionally,...
Lesson Plan
Better Lesson

Better Lesson: Comparing and Contrasting With "Then and Now"

For Teachers K - 1st Standards
This lesson plan is a great small group reading lesson plan that has a social studies connection. In this lesson plan, students will be comparing and contrasting schools from long ago and schools of today using informational texts....
Professional Doc
Texas Education Agency

Texas Gateway: Using Features of Literary & Informational Text to Guide Reading

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
A learning module that teaches students about using text features to guide reading in three mini lessons: Engaging with Text, Literary Think-Aloud, and Informational Think-Aloud. Download a PDF with lesson plans and printable handouts...
Lesson Plan
Utah Education Network

Uen: Graphic Organizers Bring About Good Science Read/writing

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
This lesson uses graphic organizers to engage students in reading comprehension strategies for informational text in science. Venn Diagram, Hierarchy, Time Line, Cluster Diagram, and Flow Chart reproducible pages are included with the...
Lesson Plan
Read Works

Read Works: Genre Studies: Informational Text Kindergarten Unit: Labeled Diagrams

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] Lesson uses Bats by Gail Gibbons to teach students how to identify facts learned from labeled diagrams within an informational text. Ideas for direct teaching, guided practice, and independent practice...
Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Building Word Knowledge Through Informational Websites

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
A lesson plan through which learners identify, understand and work with important vocabulary words found in an online article on biodiversity. Based on the "Ten Important Words Plus" strategy that teachers can employ as part of...
Lesson Plan
Read Works

Readworks: Read Aloud Lesson: Stellaluna

For Teachers K - 1st Standards
Compare Stellaluna's experience of living like a bird with her experience of living like a bat. Included in this activity are a detailed lesson plan, a graphic organizer, and a student worksheet.
Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Oral Storytelling and Dramatization

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
Students begin this lesson by discussing what makes a good, vivid story and creating a working checklist of the criteria for a good story. They explore background information about the Mercury Theatre production of the "War of the...
Unit Plan
National Endowment for the Arts

National Endowment for the Arts: The Big Read: A Farewell to Arms

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Guide to Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms, with historical information, author biography, discussion questions, and a ten-lesson unit of study with activities, assignments, project ideas, and essay topics. A radio show, with...
Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Bridging Literature and Mathematics

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Contains plans for five 50-minute interdisciplinary lessons that ask students to write about math-related, informational books such as "Actual Size" (Jenkins, 2004) and "If You Hopped Like a Frog" (Schwartz, 1999). Students use books...
Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Playing With Genre Through Newspapers and Short Stories

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Contains plans for three lessons that ask students to compare narrative writing (short stories) to expository writing (news articles) in order to understand what makes each genre unique. In addition to objectives and standards, this...
Lesson Plan
Better Lesson

Better Lesson: There Is Something in Common: Finding Common Themes

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Students will synthesize information from multiple historical fiction books to find common themes and support them with evidence from the text. Working with a partner who has read a different book, they will share their theme from their...
Lesson Plan
Better Lesson

Better Lesson: It's a Process. Day 1 of 5

For Students 1st - 2nd Standards
SWBAT collaborate in writing step by step directions for writing an informational paragraph.
Lesson Plan
Better Lesson

Better Lesson: "Sticky Note Reading" the Art of Questioning While Reading

For Teachers 3rd Standards
Third graders will learn the importance questioning has on comprehension of a text. Students will use sticky notes and an interactive reading notebook while working with an informational text.
Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Guided Comprehension: Summarizing

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
Lesson that introduces students to the comprehension technique of summarizing. Students learn using the QuIP (questions into paragraphs) method which involves organizing information and putting it in writing.
Article
Scholastic

Scholastic: Investigating Nonfiction Part 3: Independent and Guided Reading

For Teachers 1st - 5th Standards
This article provides tips for using nonfiction with guided reading and independent reading. The following strategies are shared: ways to help kids select "just right" nonfiction books; lessons to use with nonfiction in guided reading...
Lesson Plan
Varsity Tutors

Varsity Tutors: Web English Teacher: Jean Craighead George Lesson Plans

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
This site features several links to information and lesson plans on the life and work of Jean Craighead George.
Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Background for the Graphic Novel Persepolis: A Web Quest on Iran

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
This instructional activity focuses on students researching and learning about Iran's culture, society, and leadership before and after the 1979 Revolution in preparation for reading the graphic novel Persepolis. Students work in small...
Lesson Plan
Florida Center for Reading Research

Florida Center for Reading Research: Expository Exploration [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd Standards
A lesson plan in which students read a text and complete a graphic organizer to identify the main idea and supporting details. Materials are included.
Lesson Plan
Florida Center for Reading Research

Florida Center for Reading Research: Text Analysis: Compare and Contrast [Pdf]

For Teachers K - 1st Standards
A lesson plan in which students use graphic organizers to compare and contrast topics within a text. Materials are included.
Website
EL Education

El Education: Learning to Read Informational Texts: Building Background

For Teachers 1st - 2nd Standards
In this comprehensive unit, students launch their learning about birds by using informational texts. As students read these texts, they build background knowledge and develop their skills as readers of informational texts. Included are...
Lesson Plan
Read Works

Read Works: Organizing Information Into an Outline

For Teachers 3rd - 4th Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] In this activity, young scholars will take notes as they read Animal Homes by Ann O. Squire. This information will then be organized into an outline. Includes printable materials for teacher and students.
Lesson Plan
Read Works

Read Works: Genre Studies: Biography Kindergarten Unit: Important Person

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
[Free Registration/Login Required] Lesson uses A Picture Book of George Washington by David A. Adler to teach students what biography is and why the subjects of biographies are important people. Ideas for direct teaching, guided...
Study Guide
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Catalog of Question Types Reading Comprehension

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource from Khan Academy provides a catalog of question types for the LSAT. This section provides information about the "Reading Comprehension" section.