McGraw Hill
Mc Graw Hill: How to Teach Close Reading With Complex Texts
This instructional video demonstrates ways to incorporate "close reading" with complex text. [56:53]
International Literacy Association
Ila: Unlocking the Power of Informational Text With Five Creative Ideas
Five easy ways to help unlock the power of informational text for all students.
Other
Literacy Design Collaborative: Partner Retelling of Narrative Text
For this lesson, the teacher reads a story aloud and students work with a partner to retell the story using sentence starters. Includes downloadable poster.
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: W.4.2b: Develop the Topic With Facts
Links to 40 lessons and activities that build student skills in standard W.4.2b: Develop the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples related to the topic.
Education.com
Education.com: W.4.2.b Worksheets: Develop the Topic With Facts
[Free Registration/Login Required] A site with links to 11 worksheets that can be downloaded and printed for student use while building skills with standard W.4.2.B: Develop the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details,...
Education.com
Education.com: W.4.1 Worksheets: Write Opinion Pieces on Topics or Texts
[Free Registration/Login Required] A site with links to 29 worksheets that can be downloaded and printed for student use while building skills with standard W.4.1: Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with...
Education.com
Education.com: W.4.9.b Worksheets: Apply Grade 4 Reading Standards to Info Texts
[Free Registration/Login Required] A site with links to 4 worksheets that can be downloaded and printed for student use while building skills with standard W.4.9.B: Apply grade 4 reading standards to information texts (e.g., Explain how...
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: Sl.4.4: Orally Report on a Topic or Text
Links to 75 lessons and activities that build student skills in standard SL.4.4: Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to...
Education.com
Education.com: Sl.4.4 Worksheets: Orally Report on a Topic or Text
[Free Registration/Login Required] A site with links to 2 worksheets and 6 lessons that can be downloaded and printed for student use while building skills with standard SL.4.4: Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an...
Reading Rockets
Reading Rockets: Teach Expository Text Structure to Facilitate Comprehension
Expository text can be challenging to young readers because of the unfamiliar concepts and vocabulary it presents. Discover ways to help your students analyze expository text structures and pull apart the text to uncover the main idea...
Other
Eastport Elementary School: Mrs. Donahue's Site: Identifying the Main Idea
Information, examples, and practice passages to use while learning how to identify the main idea of an informational text.
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: What Does the Reader Want to Know? Creating Research Questions
In this instructional activity, students will change a research topic into questions that they will specifically answer while doing their research.
Florida Center for Reading Research
Florida Center for Reading Research: Expository Text Structure: Research Roundup
A lesson plan in which students complete graphic organizers as they gather research information. Materials are included.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: Story Add Ons
This is a technology-rich lesson plan which allows students to explore proper language conventions while utilizing portable keyboards for word processing.
Scholastic
Scholastic: Keep Your Own Field Journal
This site, which offers templates for field journals, is part of a larger, interdisciplinary site about New Zealand. Walks you through the process and purpose of a field journal for scientific observation.
Robin L. Simmons
Grammar Bytes: Subject
Clear information about sentence subject, including definition, explanation of how to find subject, distinction between complete subject and simple subject, and other helpful points.
ACT360 Media
Writing Den: Supporting Details
A short explanation and example of supporting sentences, what they do, and how to write them.
Other
Ccss Literacy E Handbook: Informational Text: Use Details and Examples
A short explanation of how to use explicit details in an informational text to make inferences. Click on Model at the bottom right to see a model with examples.
Other
Ccss Literacy E Handbook: Informational Text: Summarize
A short explanation of how summarize an informational text. Click on the Model link to see an example summary with explanation.
Other
Ccss Literacy E Handbook: Informational Text: Describe Text Structure
A short explanation of informational text structures. Follow links for more information on: chronological text structure, comparison and contrast text structure, cause and effect text structure, and problem and solution text structure....
Other
Ccss Literacy E Handbook: Informational Text: Compare Perspectives
A short explanation of the difference between a firsthand account and a secondhand account.
Other
Hickman Community Charter District: Informative Writing
Sample topics in informative writing for K-3rd grades and 4th-8th grades. CSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.2. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.9 Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Curated OER
Mc Graw Hill: Informational Text: Compare Text Structures
This learning module focuses on comparing organizational patterns in informational texts including chronological order, compare and contrast, cause and effect, and problem and solutions. Click on each text structure for an explanation.
Scholastic
Scholastic: Teaching With Nonfiction: Teach Text Features
A brief lesson plan, this site offers an example of non-fiction text and a graphic organizer to help orient students to the features they need to use when reading for information.