Getting to Know Your Textbook

Everything you need to know about informational text features can be found in this resource. Recognizing these types of text features and how they are used in text allows readers to better understand information. Teachers...

What's the difference between medical marijuana and marijuana bought on the street? Not much. High schoolers learn more about marijuana with an informational booklet that focuses on the medical uses of THC, how marijuana affects the...

Learning to recognize the importance of the features of information text (i.e., titles, subtitles, endnotes, sidebars, etc.) is the focus of a reading activity designed for middle schoolers. Learners examine how these text features...

Prepare for a research project or just use this learning exercise on its own. Class members choose a topic, write a big question about it, and note down information they find about it. The final product is a longer written assignment in...

Focus on research skills, specifically identifying key words and concepts on a specific topic and evaluating information for relevance and authority. This is part of a multi-step lesson on Ancient Rome; however, it is useful for any...

3D printers, selfie sticks, smart watches. GPS, self-driving cars, YouTube. Imagine life without inventions. Believe it or not, these items were all invented in the last 10 years. Inventions, and the inventors responsible for them,...

How can you tell if the text you're reading is informational or narrative? Show your reading class this basic PowerPoint to illustrate the characteristics of an informational text. What makes this presentation especially effective is...

Investigate popular scientific claims and gather evidence to defend or argue against an author's stance. Writers synthesize information and compose their own "Really?" columns modeled after those found in the weekly "Science Times"...

Young readers work on evaluating claims in a piece of informational text with the article "In New York, It's Open Bag or Find Exits" from the New York Times. They analyze current search procedures implemented to fight terrorism...

Because the monsters Scylla, Charybdis, and Polyphemus in Homer's Odyssey are fictional, scholars may assume the Iliad is also entirely fictional. A carefully researched video describes Heinrich Schliemann's discovery of the...