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Non-Fiction Text Features
Distinguish between textual features of non-fiction in the book The Lewis and Clark Expedition and in the non-fiction story "Ta-Na-e-Ka." Third graders create posters and participate in group discussions to show their understanding of...
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The History of Mathematics
Research the interrelationship between math and science. Search the Internet to discover the history of several branches of mathematics and make text-to-world connections between the concepts covered in each branch with related...
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Build a Connection
Learners discuss their personal connections with stories they've read in the past and identify techniques to connect with more stories. They create illustrations, construct task cards, and complete sentence stems based on books they read...
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Cartoons in the Classroom: The Stimulus Package
A large pig labeled "Stimulus Package" wrapped in an American flag is the primary image on this political cartoon. Ready for analysis, this instructional activity provides learners with the opportunity to understand the pros and cons of...
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Cartoons in the Classroom: Conserve or Drill
To drill or to conserve? This question is the foundation of the political cartoons up for critical analysis in this well-composed worksheet. Learners will analyze two cartoons guided by background information and excellent questions for...
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Cartoons for the Classroom: Human Rights
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a political cartoon is like reading an essay. Have your critical thinkers examine three cartoons to read between the lines, gaining insight and information. They analyze how these cartoons...
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The Who's Who of Quantum Physics
This wonderful recap of powerful figures in scientific history includes pictures, important dates, and the information about their inventions or impact. Atomic structure and the photoelectric effect are introduced. The first slide gives...
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Day and Night
Inform your elementary scientists why we experience day and night. They are provided with facts and explanation as to why the day and night cycle occur, discuss what they've learned with a partner, and are then given the task of writing...
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When Is a Noun a Verb? Examining Double Duty Words
The New York Times' Learning Network provides great lessons! This one uses articles from the paper to help readers understand homonyms like mail (verb and noun). It also includes an exercise in reading informational text. Links to the...
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On the Dots
If you want your class to practice reading informational texts and answering related questions, this short exercise from The New York Times' "Learning Network" might be helpful. It includes an article on Dippin' Dots and uses...
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Taking Stock Before Iowa
As scholars take in the constant ambush of current events, help them develop media literacy skills by extracting important details from hard news articles. This story from December 2011 presents information on the Republican primaries...
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Do You Prefer Your Children's Book Characters Obedient or Contrary? Opinion Writing
With this New York Times "Learning Network" exercise, high schoolers read an article about the death of Maurice Sendak, author of Where the Wild Things Are and then respond to several prompts that require them to shape their own opinions...
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Student Opinion: What Are You Afraid Of?
A great resource for informational texts as well as writing topics, the New York Times website provides writing prompts about various news articles through The Learning Network. This particular worksheet provides a very short reading...
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Comprehension: Compare and Contrast Topics in Two Texts
A scripted lesson can be a big help for new teachers. This fully scripted three-day learning activity provides teachers with the means to demonstrate how to compare and contrast two topics in two texts. Learners will work as a class to...
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Comprehension Instructional Routine: Sequence of Events in Text
If you're looking for a detailed lesson on event sequencing from informational text, you've found it. There is an entire script for you to draw from as you explore order of events and sequence words. Scaffolding is key here; learners...
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Reading Comprehension: Guinness Book of World Records
If your learners are curious about human achievement, superlatives, or esoteric trivia, the Guinness Book of Records is a way to tap into instrinsic motivation and relevance. Here's an informational reading that will grab their attention...
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Glossaries
Explore text structure with a focus on the glossary feature in informational texts. Learners read a brief introduction before examining a glossary from a text about plants. They reference it while completing four comprehension questions....
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Fact or Fantasy?
Are we alone in the universe? This brief informational text on extraterrestrial theory has been split into seven sections to help scholars practice note taking. They read the statements, underlining key words. Then, using the graphic...
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Shortened Words
Shorten names and words with different activities. Nicknames, acronyms, and shortened words (fridge instead of refrigerator, for example) are ways for third graders to build their vocabulary and differentiate between formal and informal...
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Introduce Vocabulary: An Earthworm's Life (Himmelman)
Explore some tier-two vocabulary using John Himmelman's informational text An Earthworm's Life. Recommended words for this slimy text are: bulge, burrow, journey, soil, and underground. After introducing these words, help kids utilize...
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Introduce Vocabulary: Are Trees Alive? (Miller)
Explore the life inside trees as scholars learn vocabulary through Debbie Miller's informational text Are Trees Alive? Familiarize pupils with the new words they will hear like anchor, disease, awaken, harsh, and swell before reading....
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Introduce Vocabulary: Dinosaur Bones (Barner)
Dig into some prehistoric vocabulary in Bob Barner's informative book Dinosaur Bones. This works best if you introduce the primitive words before reading the story. These are the focus terms in the text: ancient, climate, extinct,...
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Introduce Vocabulary: Dolphin's First Day (Zoehfeld)
Travel out to sea as scholars learn vocabulary in context through Kathleen Zoehfeld's informational book Dolphin's First Day. Go over the new words scholars will hear before reading: approach, coast, expert, feeble, gaze, murky, propel,...
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Introduce Vocabulary: Have You Seen Bugs? (Oppenheim)
Are your scholars interested in bugs? Get future entomologists excited about vocabulary through Joanne Oppenheim's colorful book Have You Seen Bugs? They use the informational text (although this strategy is useful for any book) to learn...
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