Cluster 2: Craft and StructureArchived

This is a close reading lesson that uses the book From Egg To Chicken By Gerald Legg. Students will identify nonfiction text features, answer text-dependent questions, and sequence main events. They will write an informative piece about what they've learned in the lesson.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will explore what living things need to survive. This lesson utilizes a read aloud of the text The Magic School Bus Hops Home: A Book about Animal Habitats. Through this book, and a PowerPoint that has been included with the lesson, students will read about animals and their habitats and the needs of living things. Students will also determine the meanings of key vocabulary words and then write about what they've learned. A graphic organizer to help students with their writing and a writing rubric have also been included with the lesson.

Type: Lesson Plan

Using nonfiction text, students will be able to identify and locate text features and explain how they help the reader understand the text. They will engage in a variety of activities to search for and use text features.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson focuses on using text features to understand nonfiction text, specifically the Scholastic News Nonfiction Reader: Helping Out by Peggy Hock, 650L. The students will ask and answer questions about the text, examine the particular text features found within the text and will organize the information read in a concept map. They will then use the concept map to write an informative paragraph about ways they can protect Earth.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, the role of five community helpers will be explored. The teacher will use A Day With Librarians, 550L, to model for students how to utilize text features to better understand text and how to take notes on key details found in the book. In groups of four to five, students will be assigned a book on a community helper (A Day With Police Officers, 510L, A Day With Mail Carriers, 470L, A Day With Firefighters, 390L, A Day With Doctors, 490L). They will ask and answer text-dependent questions, complete a text feature chart, and will utilize a note taking sheet to record key details on each section of their text. They will find the main idea of each section and then utilize that information to determine the main topic of their book. That information will then be utilized to write an informative book on the job of their community helper.

Type: Lesson Plan

This unit focuses on using text features to understand non-fiction text, specifically National Geographic Reader: Frogs!, (ATOS 2.6, 410L) by Elizabeth Carney. The students will participate in a whole group activity where a portion of text will be analyzed for its main topic and main idea, a graphic organizer will be modeled to show the relationship between key details and the main idea, and a shared writing activity will be conducted. They will then apply the skills learned as they create their own main idea table and write an informational paragraph. They will answer questions about the text and will participate in class discussions and work cooperatively to complete a variety of activities.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students, will read three informational texts about fruit. Students will identify key ideas and details in each text and use illustrations to help them identify the key ideas. This lesson also incorporates a science standard that asks students to sort objects by color, shape, and size. After reading each text, students will participate in several hands-on activities to sort fruit.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will identify the text features of non-fiction books and use several informational texts on meat-eating plants to answer text dependent questions. Students will become "text detectives" and learn how to use the text to find the evidence to prove that their answers to questions are right. The students will learn to use evidence from informational texts to write explanatory paragraphs.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will work with two texts, Starfish by Edith Thacher Hurd and Discovering Starfish by Lorijo Metz. They will ask and answer questions about key details. They will also identify and retell key details about starfish. They will be able to compare and contrast the texts. The students will also be able to distinguish between information from pictures and information from texts. The students will write an informative paragraph about starfish.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson focuses on using text features to understand nonfiction text, specifically the National Geographic Reader: Polar Bears, by Laura Marsh, ATOS level 2.6. The students will participate in a lesson utilizing a PowerPoint presentation explaining text features. They will answer questions about the text, take notes to answer specific questions about the text, and will use the notes to write a paragraph about polar bears. They will participate in class discussions and work cooperatively to complete a variety of activities, including identifying the main topic of the informational text.

Type: Lesson Plan

Explore the parts of a book in this interactive tutorial. Join Li as she learns to locate and use the text features on the title page, table of contents, and glossary in informational books.

This is part 2 of a 2-part series. Click HERE to open Part 1.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Explore the parts of a book in this interactive tutorial. Join Li as she learns to locate and use the text features on the title page and table of contents in informational books.

This is part 1 of a 2-part series. Click HERE to open Part 2.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Use titles and headings to predict the topic of informational text and to find specific information within the text in this interactive tutorial. 

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Use titles, headings, illustrations, and photographs to predict and confirm the topics of texts in this interactive tutorial. Join Jose' as he explores the text features of informational text in his search for new books on a variety of topics.

This is part 2 of a 2-part series. Click HERE to open What's the Topic? Part 1: Titles and Headings. 

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Use titles and headings to predict and confirm the topics of texts in this interactive tutorial. Join Jose' as he reviews the parts of a book and explores the text features of informational text in his search for new books on a variety of topics.

This is part 1 of a 2-part series. Click HERE to open What's the Topic? Part 2: Illustrations and Photographs.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Identify information found in the illustrations and the words in a text with this interactive ocean-themed tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

In this activity, students will brainstorm words related to a topic and use books and/or reference materials to answer questions about unknown words on a semantic map.

Type: Student Center Activity

In this activity, students will describe a vocabulary word using a four square map.

Type: Student Center Activity

In this activity, students will locate specific text features in an informational text.

Type: Student Center Activity

In this activity, students will locate text features and explain how they help the reader understand the text.

Type: Student Center Activity

In this activity, students will determine the meaning of words of interest in text.

Type: Student Center Activity

In this activity, students will describe a target word using a graphic organizer.

Type: Student Center Activity

In this activity, students will write simple definitions, sentences, and synonyms of targeted words found in content-area text.

Type: Student Center Activity