Lesson Plan – Fiction and Nonfiction Lesson Map (Reader Strategies Series)
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In this lesson plan, students will explore the differences between fiction and nonfiction using a Venn diagram to visualize their comparison. Students will use a variety of nonfiction texts (like the Natural Inquirer Readers) and fiction texts. We have provided a supply list that we’ve designed to be as simple as possible, step-by-step instructions, extension and next steps activities, and standards alignments. This lesson plan is the first in a series of teaching strategies for using Natural Inquirer Readers in the classroom. See the related resources tab below for more lesson plans in the series.
This series was introduced in a series of blog posts on our educator blog. Check out the blog for step-by-step instructions for implementing this lesson plan and for other lesson plans that can be used in connection with this one.
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Standards addressed in this Lesson Plan:
Common Core Standards
The Common Core Standards are educational benchmarks in the United States that outline clear expectations for what students should know and be able to do in English language arts and mathematics from kindergarten through 12th grade, aiming to ensure consistency and coherence in education nationwide.
- Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
- With prompting and support, read informational texts appropriately complex for grade 1.
- Identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.
- Describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text.
- Know and use various text features (e.g., headings, tables of contents, glossaries, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text.
- Distinguish between information provided by pictures or other illustrations and information provided by the words in a text.
- Use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas.
- By the end of year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, in the grades 2–3 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
- Know and use various text features (e.g., captions, bold print, subheadings, glossaries, indexes, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text efficiently.
- Identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe.
- Explain how specific images (e.g., a diagram showing how a machine works) contribute to and clarify a text.
- With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
- Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.
- With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the text in which they appear (e.g., what person, place, thing, or idea in the text an illustration depicts).
- With prompting and support, identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, or procedures).
Education Files
Related Resources from the Natural Inquirer
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