Reader Strategies Blog Series
In this series, we will be walking through some strategies for using the Natural Inquirer Readers with children from kindergarten through 2nd grade. Each strategy will include a downloadable lesson map so you can take the blog post and put the plan in action in your classroom.
We’ve designed the blog series to progress from the first strategy to the next, but you can also use the strategies separately or in any order you’d like. We’ll provide supply lists that we’ve designed to be as simple as possible, step-by-step instructions, extension and next steps activities, and standards alignments.
TL;DR? Download the lesson map and get started right away!
What Is a Natural Inquirer Reader?
Each Reader in the Natural Inquirer Reader series introduces young kids to a scientist. In simple language, kids will learn about the work the scientist does, tools they use, and questions they try to answer. Each Reader includes questions for discussion, a glossary, and a fun activity.
The Differences Between Fiction and Nonfiction
Objective:
Some books tell stories, and some books give information. These two types of books have different structures, features, and purposes.
In this lesson plan, students will be able to identify some differences between fiction and nonfiction texts. They will be able to read a text and decide whether it is fiction or nonfiction.
To reach these objectives, you will guide them through a comparison between a fiction book and a nonfiction book, making a Venn diagram as you do so to highlight the differences between the two. Students will review a collection of different books and sort them into fiction or nonfiction categories.
Supplies:
- A selection of fiction and nonfiction books; you can use the Natural Inquirer Readers as nonfiction examples, but other examples from your classroom, school, or personal library would be helpful
- Large paper to make your Venn diagram (this could also be done on a smart board)
- Marker or other writing utensil to fill out the chart
- (Optional) Magnetic clips for the board, photocopies of book covers and tape, or hula hoops or chalk for marking out a Venn diagram on the floor (see Step 4 below)
Fiction and Nonfiction Lesson Map
Ready to put the plan in action? Download a pdf of the Fiction and Nonfiction Lesson Map, featuring all the key details you need to use this lesson plan in your classroom.
Instructions
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Sort Fiction and Nonfiction Books in Small Groups
- Arrange students in small groups and give each group an assortment of fiction and nonfiction texts.
- Ask students to sort the books into books that tell stories and books that give information.
- At this point, it is not important if their sorting is correct. Instead, the goal is to spark conversation about the differences between the two types of books.
Begin a Venn Diagram
- Explain what a Venn diagram is. (See the Background section of the lesson map for an activity to introduce Venn diagrams.)
- On your large paper or smartboard, draw a blank Venn diagram and label one side “books that tell stories” and the other side “books that give information.”
- Have students share which books they sorted into each category and ask what characteristics of the book helped them know which category they belonged in. Place those characteristics on the Venn diagram. Use language appropriate for your students’ grade and reading levels.
- Examples for books that tell stories: uses illustrations; has characters; has a problem to solve and a solution at the end; has a setting; uses dialogue; has a beginning, middle, and end
- Examples for books that give information: gives facts; teaches a topic; uses charts, maps, and diagrams; uses photographs with captions; has a table of contents; has a glossary; has headings or other organizational markers
- The Venn diagram will likely be incomplete at this point; you will add to the diagram in the next step.
A Guided Reading of Fiction and Nonfiction Books
- Choose a fiction book and read aloud with the class.
- As you read, make observations about the text to add to the “books that tell stories” side of your Venn diagram. This is where you can add any of the elements that students missed in the first version of the diagram.
- Now choose a nonfiction book and read it aloud together.
- As you read, make observations about the text to add to the “books that tell information” side of the Venn diagram, adding any elements they might have missed earlier.
- Add the Fiction and Nonfiction labels to the respective sides of the Venn diagram and discuss what those terms mean.
- For books that may fit in the overlap between the circles, see next step.
Re-examine the Initial Sorting
- Have the students look back at the books they sorted at the beginning. Do they want to recategorize any of the books? Were they correct initially?
- Have them share which books they sorted into which category and give some reasons why they did so.
- (Optional) Draw a second Venn diagram on the board or construct one on the floor using hula hoops, chalk, or another material to make large circles. Use magnetic clips to hang books on either side as students discuss their sorting. If hanging the books isn’t possible, you can print out copies of the books’ front covers and tape or clip them to the board in the Venn diagram. You could also have students place the books on the floor in the circles made by hula hoops or chalk.
- There may be some books that seem like they could fit in both fiction and nonfiction categories – like nonfiction books that have a narrative structure or fiction books that are structured to look like nonfiction texts with diagrams or illustrations with captions. You can discuss these as they come up and decide how they should be sorted.
Extension Activities
- Show and discuss how the books in your classroom or school library are organized. Talk about why it might be useful to sort books into fiction and nonfiction sections.
- Explore some of the common features of fiction and nonfiction texts and how they differ in each context. For example, fiction and nonfiction books may both use photographs, but in fiction they usually illustrate a part of the story, whereas in nonfiction they are usually accompanied by captions that explain their significance.
- For more advanced readers, you can introduce some texts that may blur the lines between fiction and nonfiction (like memoirs or nonfiction books that are written in more of a narrative or conversational style) and discuss how these could be classified.
Education Standards
We correlated this lesson plan to the Common Core standards for Reading – Informational Text. Download the standards correlations in the Educators Guide tab. This lesson plan will also likely satisfy subject-area-specific standards regarding reading for information and critical reading and thinking skills.
What's Next?
Next in our Reader Strategies series: Elements of Nonfiction. Help young readers explore the characteristics of nonfiction texts that help us make meaning. Organize their ideas with an Elements of Nonfiction anchor chart.
Amy Dover, Guest Contributor
This blog series was a collaboration between Amy Dover and the Natural Inquirer staff. We couldn’t have done it without you, Amy!
Hi! My name is Amy, and I am a guest blogger for the Natural Inquirer program. Before I retired, I wore several hats: Speech/Language Pathologist, Special Education Teacher, and Literacy Coach. I’ve always enjoyed investigating fun and creative ways to teach all subjects in interdisciplinary ways. In my spare time, I love to read, cook, walk, explore different crafts, and spend time with my family and friends.
