Other
Definition: Fiction v. Nonfiction
This writing and reading tutorial provides a detailed explanation of the difference between fiction and nonfiction in rhetoric.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: History Comes Alive: Developing Fluency and Comprehension
Let the power of imagination and inference serve as a "time machine" to bring Benjamin Franklin into the classroom! History and science come to life in a dialogue with Franklin the inventor, developed through lesson activities that...
Read Works
Read Works: Genre 2nd Grade Unit: Encyclopedias
[Free Registration/Login Required] A lesson in which students use the book Children's Illustrated Encyclopedia edited by Jayne Parsons to learn to locate information and find facts about a subject in an encyclopedia. Lesson includes...
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.
Education.com
Education.com: Compare and Contrast Texts on the Same Topic
[Free Registration/Login Required] Explain that even if two texts are written about the same topic, they can have different information depending on the author's perspective or the source of the information. When we compare two texts on...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
Depaul University: Center for Urban Education: Nonfiction Passage Questions[pdf]
This site contains questions for each passage are provided. Graphic organizers are available for these copyrighted materials that may be used for educational purposes.
Utah Education Network
Uen: Setting a Purpose for Reading Using Informational Text
This instructional activity engages students in using a two-column graphic organizer to take notes. Students will record titles and subtitles and list questions that will correspond with each one.
AdLit
Ad lit.org: For Middle Schoolers: Activities to Build College Level Reading Skills
ACT has developed this list of activities to help middle-school students improve their reading ability. Parents and educators can use this information to help ensure that these students are on target for college and career readiness.
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
Depaul University: Center for Urban Education: Evaluate Support for a Claim[pdf]
This resource provides a downloadable worksheet to use after reading a nonfiction text. Students will evaluate an author's support for a claim by answering the questions and prompts provided on the worksheet.
Reading Rockets
Reading Rockets: Content Area Literacy
Content area lessons require specific techniques and knowledge that help students navigate different types of texts. Here you will find articles, videos, teaching strategies, webcasts, and research reports.
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Literary Text: Hyperbole and Understatement
[Accessible by TX Educators. Free Registration/Login Required] In this lesson, you will learn to recognize hyperbole and understatement in nonfiction.
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Literary Text: Irony, Sarcasm, and Paradox
[Accessible by TX Educators. Free Registration/Login Required] In this lesson, you will learn to evaluate the role of irony, paradox, and sarcasm in literary nonfiction such as speeches and essays. Take a look at the chart; it contains...
English Zone
English Zone: Elephants
After reading this informative article about elephants, students will hone their reading comprehension skills by answering a series of related questions.
CommonLit
Common Lit: "America and I" by Anzia Yezierska
This is an essay about Anzia Yezierska, an immigrant from the Russian-Polish border, and her struggles adapting to living in America. A specific purpose for reading and vocabulary notes are provided. This site offers links to paired...
Curated OER
Study Guide for a Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'engle
This study guide provide activities for all chapters in Madeleine L'Engle's fantasy novel, A Wrinkle in Time. Connected text questions are provlded for Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch, and the...
TES Global
Blendspace: Nonfiction 2014 2015
A learning module with twenty-one links to images, websites, texts, slideshows, and videos about nonfiction and informational text reading skills.
Other
Super Teacher Worksheets: Reading Comprehension: Great White Sharks [Pdf]
Read the fifth-grade reading passage entitled "Great White Sharks" by Erin Ryan and answer the comprehension questions over the selection. PDF includes an answer key with explanations.
English Worksheets Land
English Worksheets Land: Relationships Between Illustrations and Texts Worksheet
When we are reading nonfiction or fiction we can often use a point of reference that drives us to make better conclusions. Illustrations are the perfect media to achieve this. This can help the reader attribute value to a setting, a...
Read Works
Read Works: Grade 2: Two Lesson Unit: Explicit Information
[Free Registration/Login Required] Designed to teach students to identify explicit information in nonfiction and fiction texts. Lessons are based on the books Deserts (A True Book-Ecosystems) by Darlene R. Stille and The Stories Huey...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Weather: A Journey in Nonfiction
Questions about weather clear up when students use what they learned from their books to create a presentation to share with the rest of the class.
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Literary Nonfiction (English 7 Reading)
[Accessible by TX Educators. Free Registration/Login Required] Learn how to describe the structural and substantive differences between an autobiography or diary and a fictional adaptation of it.
Starfall
Starfall: Plays, Fiction, Nonfiction
An index of links to six fiction storybooks, eight nonfiction books, and three plays. Each book has pictures and audio that will allow students to click to hear sentences or individual words as they read along. Links to three different...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Read to Learn About City Systems [Pdf]
"Read to Learn about City Systems" is a one page, nonfiction passage about government systems and workers that keep people safe including police officers, food inspectors, and water and sewer system workers. It is followed by an...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Read to Learn About Elections [Pdf]
"Read to Learn about Elections" is a one page, nonfiction passage about government systems and workers that keep people safe including police officers, food inspectors, and water and sewer workers. It is followed by an open-ended...