Young scholars will read samples of informative writing and highlight examples of how tone and style are used by the authors. Students will then apply this knowledge by writing their own informative text. Multiple examples of student...

CommonLit.org is a wonderful resource to use in a Language Arts classroom. Each story or article is accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. In addition, students can click on words to see...

In this lesson, 8th graders analyze and compare the propaganda techniques used in informational texts, with a particular focus on the use of testimonials. Includes links to recommended resources, scaffolding suggestions, and an...

This slideshow focuses on text structures for informational texts including how the author's purpose helps determine the organizational pattern to use and how the reader can use clues to identify the text structure used. Five...

Students will plan a paragraph that states their opinion and cites evidence to justify their opinion about an informational text. This lesson uses biographies since students can easily be able to write down factual information from the...

CommonLit.org is a wonderful resource to use in a Language Arts classroom. Each story or article is accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. In addition, students can click on words to see...

[Free Registration/Login Required] Students will learn to compare and contrast texts about life cycles using a Venn diagram. Then, using the Venn diagram, students will write an expository paragraph including an introductory sentence,...

A lesson plan in which students look through a book to identify text features and complete a graphic organizer. Materials are included.

[Free Registration/Login Required] Students will compare two informational texts about two extinct birds, the Great Auk and the Dodo. A Venn Diagram is provided to be used when comparing an contrasting tests.

Students compare and contrast two animals to recall learned information so they can share two facts using the informational text "The Best Nest". Included is a video explanation, a printable graphic organizer, samples of student work,...

Want to improve your students' reading skills? This is a good place to find the types of directed activities, using a definition text, reconstruction/analysis activities, and advantages of using DARTs.

In an expository essay, a type of informational text, the writer clarifies or explains something by using facts, details, and examples in a clear and concise way. To write an effective expository essay, students need a basic...

This reference from the McGraw-Hill CCCS Literacy eHandbook discusses the importance of recalling explicit details. The importance of inferencing skills with a how-to graphic organizer for making inferences are included. Students may...

A learning module that begins with "Men and Women Use Different Scales to Weigh Moral Dilemmas" by Poncie Rutsch, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF...

This is a summary of the lessons on integrating credible sources using paraphrase, summary, and quotations and citing sources. Click on the Next button on the bottom right to learn about Why It Matters: Multimodality; you will have the...

In this learning module, students learn how to: use Michigan eLibrary, boolean logic, and dictionary.com; use search engines; choose reputable websites; cite sources; and differentiate between real and fake information. Includes an...

[Free Registration/Login Required] A series of three lesson plans designed to teach students to identify main ideas through headings and chapter titles, and then to write appropriate titles of their own. Lessons are based on the books...

[Free Registration/Login Required] This passage focuses on Antibiotics including who invented them, how they work, how germs can become resistant to them, and how to take them. It is followed by a comprehension question set.

Students will be able to identify similarities and differences between two texts about the polar habitats by using a Venn diagram. Included in this lesson are guided questions to use while reading, a printable Venn Diagram, and pictures...

What kinds of evidence best support the points you make in a paper? Where can you find the evidence you need? This handout answers all these questions and more, including the difference between primary and secondary sources. You'll also...

Students will use the illustrations and details in the text to describe how plants grow. This lesson uses a complex text to allow students to analyze the pictures in From Seed to Plant and From Seed to Pumpkin. Included are videos and...

Using the book "Is My Dog a Wolf?" students will find "connections or similarities" in two animals. Included is a printable graphic organizer.

In this activity, students will be able to gather information from provided resources to answer a question. Using the book "Owls", the teacher will read the book while asking guiding questions. After the book, the students will have to...

As Alma explores, she appreciates all the great things about her neighborhood. How can we make observations and celebrate our communities? Students will use a printable Alma's Way My Neighborhood Notebook to observe the people, places,...