Non-Fiction+Resources

=Diagram It! Identifying, Comparing, and Writing About Nonfiction Texts= This lesson introduces students to different types of nonfiction writing. Students explore a variety of nonfiction books and compare them to fiction. Students also learn about different categories of nonfiction writing and practice identifying books that fall into these categories. Peer interaction, hands-on experiences with nonfiction books, and the use of graphic organizers facilitate student understanding of the texts. Students record their thinking and new learning and discuss them as a class.

=Predicting and Gathering Information With Nonfiction Texts= The reading community recognizes nonfiction as vital to early learners. This concept is relatively new, and most primary teachers have little experience with how to introduce nonfiction to their students and use it as part of the reading curriculum. This lesson supports teachers in introducing nonfiction to their students and using it for informational purposes. Students develop an understanding of nonfiction through peer interaction and hands-on experiences with books. They use graphic organizers to record their thinking and new learning.

=Using Science Texts to Teach the Organizational Features of Nonfiction= Science captures even the most reluctant readers and writers. Students are naturally drawn to the colorful photographs and layouts of nonfiction science texts. This lesson supports students in grades 3–5 as they explore the organizational features of nonfiction texts, such as labels, captions, headings, fonts, and so on. Students then have an opportunity to work together with their classmates to create a two-page spread using those features to present information about their local environment (as gathered for the Square of Life Internet project). This resource includes links to student and teacher materials and to related websites. Several pieces of literature appropriate for use with this lesson are suggested.

=Blending Fiction and Nonfiction to Improve Comprehension and Writing Skills= This lesson supports the use of a text set (paired fiction and nonfiction texts on a similar topic) to increase student interest in and understanding of content area material and to develop critical writing skills. The more familiar format of narrative fiction introduces the topic and generates confidence in exploring the less familiar genre of nonfiction. Students then demonstrate what they have learned about the topic and about genre by writing an original piece that blends together narrative and expository elements.

=Critical Perspectives: Reading and Writing About Slavery= In this lesson, students critically examine the perspectives of slaves and slave owners. Students begin by reading fiction and nonfiction texts about slavery. Through discussion and a K-W-L chart, students monitor their learning. Next, students analyze the K-W-L information and create a T-chart to compare the two perspectives using this question as a springboard: "Why would each group have a different perspective, and is it justified to say that one perspective was right or wrong considering the historical context?" Finally, students choose one of three writing projects to synthesize their learning and demonstrate comprehension of the critical perspectives surrounding slavery.

=Traveling Terrain: Comprehending Nonfiction Text on the Web= Strategic instruction and explicit teaching of targeted comprehension strategies can allow students to integrate skills into their current competencies, thus improving their overall reading ability. This lesson identifies three skills (i.e., identifying text features of nonfiction text in a Web format, locating specific information, and generalizing information) to be taught in strategic lessons that build upon each other and allow for scaffolding of skills when necessary.

=Reading and Writing About Pollution to Understand Cause and Effect= In this lesson, third grade students access prior knowledge about water pollution before exploring the topic further using read-alouds. They then complete a sequencing graphic organizer using a story of a fish and its journey from the mountains to a polluted waterway. Finally, students' understanding of cause and effect is reinforced using a hands-on experiment, art project, and graphic organizer.

=[|Exploring How Section Headings Support Understanding of Expository Texts]= Writers use section headings for a variety of reasons: to help readers figure out what to expect in an upcoming section, to hint at a main idea, or to organize the article's idea. Understanding section headings can help students become strategic content-area readers. In this lesson, students preview an article and are guided to identify the section headings in the article. As a class, students read the article and then discuss why writers might include section headings in a text. In subsequent sessions, students are given articles with the section headings removed and act as detectives to fill in the missing section headings. This lesson requires students to work together to explore their understanding of section headings and solve problems presented to them. For extension activities, students can write their own expository text using three to five section headings and apply the strategy to the outline format.

=Looking for the History in Historical Fiction: An Epidemic for Reading= Students brainstorm what they know about communicable disease and epidemics. They are then introduced to historical fiction and select a historical fiction novel to read from a booklist. They use a set of guiding questions to prompt critical thinking as they read. After they finish the novel, students use nonfiction books and Websites to gather facts about the infectious disease, illness, or epidemic discussed in their piece of historical fiction. Students then find examples of both verifiable fact and fiction in the historical fiction novels they read and write a reflection paper. Finally, students complete a project of their choice from a list of possible projects, including literary analysis, plot analysis, research about disease outbreaks, a disease prevention poster, and more.