Nonfiction Unit - Okeelah and Tammy Updated 12.15.09

Reading Workshop Unit of StudyThird – Fifth Grade

Moving From Fiction to Nonfiction Reading

Written by

Okeelah McBride Fifth Grade TeacherMuskegon Public Schools

&

Tammy PetersonThird Grade Teacher

Oakridge Public Schools

Sponsored by

Reading Workshop Unit of Study – Moving From Fiction to Nonfiction Reading

Content Area: Reading Workshop Grade Level: Grades 3-5

Unit Title: Moving From Fiction to Nonfiction Reading Duration: 4-5 Weeks

Concepts: Bend 1: Readers of narrative nonfiction apply what they know about fiction. Bend 2: Readers use comprehension strategies, text features, and text structures to aid in the understanding of expository and narrative nonfiction. Bend 3: Readers use a variety of skills to comprehend expository and narrative nonfiction text.

Structures

Physical Structure Classroom library with a variety of nonfiction texts at different levels Meeting Area

Other Structures Read Aloud Conferring Mini-Lessons Independent Reading Time Small Group Work (optional) Partner Work

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Resources and Materials

Mentor Texts Amazing Animals by Kate Beohm Jerome Any Book by Seymour Simon Assortment of Biographies The Bee by Sabrina Crewe Big Talkers by Peter Winkler in National Geographic for Kids The Bravest Dog Ever: The True Story of Balto by Natalie Strandiford DK Amazing Animal Facts by Jacqui Bailey A Drop of Water by Walter Wick Erica’s Story by Ruth VanderZee From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons The Life and Times of the Honeybee by Charles Micucci Life in a Rainforest by Lucy Baker Look to the North: A Wolf Pup Diary by Jean Craighead Many Thousand Gone: African Americans from Slavery to Freedom by Virginia Hamilton The Most Beautiful Roof in the World by Kathryn Lasky Once a Wolf: How Wildlife Biologists Fought to Bring Back the Gray Wolf by Stephen

Swinburne Pompeii: Nightmare at Midday by Kathryn Long Humphrey A River Ran Wild by Lynne Cherry Salmon Summer by Bruce McMillan Slinky Scaly Snakes! By Jennifer Dussling Spiders by Deborah Merrians Spiders by Gail Gibbons Tales of Famous Americans by Connie and Peter Roop Titanic by Sean Price in Kids Discover Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion by Loree Griffin Burns Wolf Pack: Tracking Wolves by Sylvia Johnson and Alice Aamodt Zoobooks 2: Spiders by Wildlife Education, Ltd.

Materials Anchor Charts Plenty of “easy” nonfiction

texts for students to read Reader’s Notebook Reading Logs Sticky Notes Texts that include books,

magazines, current event articles, recipes, how-to-directions, downloadable articles, phone books, maps, and menus.

Teacher References The Art of Teaching

Reading by Lucy Calkins Growing Readers by

Kathy Collins Guided Reader’s and

Writer’s Grades 3-6 by Irene C. Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell

Nonfiction Toolkit by Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis

Teacher’s College Reading and Writing Project Curriculum Calendar

Teaching Students to Read Nonfiction by Alice Boynton and Wiley Blevin

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Content Area: Reading Workshop Grade Level: Grades 3-5

Unit Title: Moving From Fiction to Nonfiction Reading Duration: 4 Weeks

Bend 1 Assessment Instruction

Readers of narrative nonfiction apply what they know about fiction.

See Readers… Engrossed in biographies during independent reading time. In partnerships to discuss the WHO and WHAT in their

biographies. Share stop and jots about what they have learned from their

texts. Write about the big ideas or life lessons they learned from

biographies.

1. Readers of nonfiction explore types of narrative nonfiction through biographies.

2. Readers of nonfiction use what they already know to determine the WHO and WHAT of their reading.

3. Readers of nonfiction grow big ideas about their character.

4. Readers of nonfiction understand what they can learn from biographies.

5. Readers of biographies ask themselves, “What big lessons could I learn from the life of this person

6. Readers of nonfiction also read narrative nonfiction stories other than biographies to learn more about a topic.

Hear Readers. . . Talk about the difference between types of narrative

nonfiction texts. Say, “How does this kind of nonfiction text usually go?” Talk about information they have learned from reading a

biography. Talk about the big ideas or life lessons they learned from

biographies.

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Bend 2 Assessment Instruction

Readers use comprehension strategies, text features, and text structures to aid in the understanding of expository and narrative nonfiction.

See Readers… Read expository nonfiction text for information. Skim nonfiction text for information. Talk to their peers about learning new information. Rely upon text structures to aid in the comprehension of expository and

narrative nonfiction. For example, cause/effect, problem/solution, compare/contrast, sequence, and description.

Rely upon text features to aid in the comprehension of expository nonfiction. For example: glossaries, indexes, illustrations, and a table of contents.

Use context clues and other supports to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words.

Use “Stop and Think” strategies while reading nonfiction.

1. Readers of nonfiction will explore the different types of nonfiction texts.

2. Readers of nonfiction learn from reading nonfiction texts.

3. Readers of nonfiction work to infer meanings of words using information that comes before and after the words in surrounding sentences.

4. Readers of nonfiction use “fix up” strategies to support comprehension when meaning breaks down.

5. Readers of nonfiction learn about nonfiction text features.

6. Readers of nonfiction identify descriptive language in nonfiction texts.

7. Readers of nonfiction identify sequence and time order in nonfiction texts.

8. Readers of nonfiction use text structures and features to compare and contrast within expository nonfiction.

9. Readers of nonfiction identify the cause and effect within a text to continue learning ways nonfiction text structures can help them comprehend and quickly locate information.

10. Readers of nonfiction use text structures and features to identify the problem and solution within a text.

Hear Readers… Say, “What can I add to what I already know about this topic?” Say, “Wow, I didn’t know that!” Discuss the difference between narrative and expository nonfiction texts. Talk about what they have learned while reading different nonfiction texts. Say, “You could look that up in the index (or table of contents).” Say, “Wow! Look at all these cool pictures (or graphics).” Discuss text structures, cause/effect, problem/solution, compare/contrast,

sequence, and description. For example, “Frogs hatch into tadpoles.” “How is the Sahara different from the Kalahari?”

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Bend 3 Assessment InstructionReaders will use a variety of skills to comprehend expository and narrative nonfiction text.

See Readers… Utilize a variety of skills before, during, and after

reading to deepen their understanding. Talk to their peers/teacher about how the different skills

they have learned have helped them with their comprehension.

Read nonfiction text with a purpose. Stop and jot questions about the text as they read

1. Readers of nonfiction connect what they are learning about a topic with what they already know.

2. Readers of nonfiction ask questions as they read and understand that good readers question the text.

3. Readers of nonfiction monitor their understanding as they read by pausing to retell to themselves or with a partner

4. Readers of nonfiction use what they already know about a topic and what they read in the text to infer ideas about the text.

5. Readers of nonfiction distinguish the difference between interesting information and important information.

6. Readers of nonfiction text use structures, text features and their comprehension skills to determine the main idea of the text.

Hear readers… Make connections and activate prior knowledge about a

topic before reading. Say, “Wow I knew _____ about _____, but I didn’t

know _____.” Stop and pause during reading to retell important parts

of their text to themselves or a partner.

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Reading Workshop Unit of Study – Moving From Fiction to Nonfiction ReadingReading Unit of Study Instructional Learning Plan – Bend 1

Bend Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4Bend 1Readers of narrative nonfiction apply what they know about fiction.

TeachReaders of nonfiction explore the types of narrative nonfiction through biographies. Biographies are a great way to learn about a person. One type tells about a character’s lifetime and the other tells of a specific time period.

Active Engagement: Introduce nonfiction text. A biography is a nonfiction text. There are two types of biographies. One type tells about the life a person and the second tells about a specific time in someone’s life. They both read like a fiction story but are a true story. Show multiple samples of biographies. Make sure that you have examples of both types.(See sample lesson included)

ShareShare with your partner a biography that you read today. Why did you choose that text? What type of biography is it?

TeachReaders of nonfiction use what they already know to determine the WHO and WHAT of their reading. Who is this book about and What did they do?

Active Engagement: When reading a biography, as readers we need to find out WHO the story is about and WHAT they did. In the story, The Bravest Dog Ever, that we read aloud: Who is this story about? What did Balto do that made him such a famous dog? Why was that so important to everyone? What type of biography is this text?

ShareAsk a few students to share Who their book is about and What did they do? Why did they have a biography written about them?

TeachReaders of nonfiction grow big ideas about their character. What is my character like, what are their character traits? What has happened in their life that made a difference in who they are today?

Active Engagement: Using Sacagawea: Girl of the Shining Mountains, talk about Sacagawea’s character traits. What was she like? What are her character traits? Together fill in a character traits graphic organizer about her asking for input from the students. Name the trait and give examples of where she showed these traits. (See examples of character trait organizers at the end of the unit.)

ShareShare with your partner what your character is like. Share their character traits.

TeachReaders of nonfiction understand what they can learn from biographies. The information they learn about a person helps them to know about their character in a deeper more meaningful way.

Active Engagement: Using the graphic organizer from yesterday, talk about Sacagawea’s character traits. What does this tell you about her? There was something that happened in her life that changed Sacagawea. What was that? How do all of these contribute to who she was?

Mid workshop teaching point: What is the life changing event that your character experienced?

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Reading Unit of Study Instructional Learning Plan – Bend 1

Bends Day 5 Day 6Bend 1Readers of narrative nonfiction apply what they know about fiction.

TeachReaders of biographies expect the text to teach them big ideas for their own lives. They ask themselves, “What big lessons could I learn from the life of this person?” Model think aloud from a familiar biography.

Active Engagement Use the same or a different familiar biography for the students to practice. May use a turn and talk or a stop and jot and share. If this seems challenging, you may want them to try with more than one passage or more than one text. Listen in and share the thinking of partnerships that are doing the work you hope the whole class will do.

TeachReaders of nonfiction also read narrative nonfiction stories to learn more about a nonfiction topic.

Active Engagement Readers, today we are going to look at other examples of narrative nonfiction. This text tells us facts but is told as a story. Show many examples of narrative nonfiction texts. Show the students how they read just like a fiction story but contain true facts. Magic School Bus books are good examples of this type of text.

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Reading Unit of Study Instructional Learning Plan – Bend 2Bends Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5

Bend 2Readers use comprehension strategies, text features, and text structures to aid in the understanding of expository and narrative nonfiction.

TeachReaders of nonfiction will explore the different types of nonfiction texts.(i.e., telephone books, maps, menus, cookbooks)

Active EngagementStudents look through a collection of nonfiction materials spending a couple of minutes brainstorming with their partners about when and why people would need and use these types of nonfiction materials.

Share TimeTry to find a student within your classroom that is either doing or almost doing a good job using today’s mini-lesson as a model during their independent reading time.

TeachReaders of nonfiction learn from reading nonfiction texts. What is the purpose for reading nonfiction text?

Active EngagementPass out a different downloadable article to each student or partnership. After students have read their article, have them “turn and talk” with their partners about new information learned from the sections of the article.

Share TimeAs you confer with students, try to find a student that has really highlighted new information that he/she has learned from their reading.

TeachReaders of nonfiction work to infer meanings of words using information that comes before and after the words in surrounding sentences.

Active EngagementHave students locate two or more words in bold print from any downloadable article. Students work with a partner to determine context clues that help determine the meanings of bold print words. Students could justify their inferred meanings with information found in the text.Mid point: Talk about definitions that are “right there”, the ones you will need to hunt and find and those you will need to infer the meanings of.

Share TimeFocus should be about what you taught during today’s mini-lesson or what you have taught in previous lessons. If you notice that there are students struggling with previous lessons, you may want to use this time to reinforce the

TeachReaders of nonfiction use “fix-up” strategies to support comprehension when meaning breaks down. Note: “Fix-up” strategies may include rereading, using context, decoding an unknown word, and skipping ahead.

Active EngagementPartners may read a passage from their nonfiction text and monitor to see if they need a fix-up strategy and if so, which one worked in that spot.

Share TimeToday’s focus should be based upon what you see and hear during conferring time.

TeachReaders of nonfiction learn about text features.

Active Engagement“I am going to continue flipping through this book and I want you to raise your hand when you notice a text feature you think will help you to read the book better.” Teacher will continue with the book walk, stopping when children raise their hand to signal that they have found a text feature. “Turn and tell your neighbor what text feature you noticed on this page.” Teacher will listen in and report back. “Good job, you all noticed the glossary at the end of the book. Some of you said that the glossary will help you figure out the meaning of unfamiliar or tricky words. Great work! When you are reading nonfiction text and come across a word you are not familiar with, you can always flip to the glossary in the back of the book to help figure out the meaning.”

Share TimeBe on the lookout for student conversations about nonfiction texts. Call on these students to share what they have learned from their text

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Reading Workshop Unit of Study – Moving From Fiction to Nonfiction Readinglesson/lessons. during independent reading time.

Reading Unit of Study Instructional Learning Plan – Bend 2Bends Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9 Day 10Bend 2Readers use comprehension strategies, text features, and text structures to aid in the understanding of expository and narrative nonfiction.

TeachReaders of nonfiction learn to identify descriptive language in nonfiction texts.Note:(connect to visualization in fictional text)

Active EngagementHave students listen while you read a section from A Drop of Water. As you read tell students to focus on words or phrases that allowed them to actually “see” or visualize what is happening in the text. Call on volunteers to share.

Recommended TextsA Drop of WaterSlinky Scaly Snakes!

TeachReaders of nonfiction identify sequence and time order in nonfiction text.

Active EngagementAs you read from a model text, have students complete a timeline of events or model completing a timeline while reading. Stop periodically to highlight dates and time periods in order as they appear in the text. May be a good idea to use narrative nonfiction that list steps in order or a cooking recipe for this lesson.

Recommended TextsThe BeeA Fire in the ForestThe Life and Times of the HoneybeeLook to the North: A Wolf Pup Diary

TeachReaders of nonfiction use text structures and features to compare and contrast within nonfiction.

Active EngagementRead from a text that students are familiar with and that has a good example of a compare/contrast relationship. As a class, have students discuss the difference between two phenomena showing how they are alike and different. A Venn diagram may be appropriate for this lesson.

Recommended TextsAmazing AnimalsWolf Pack: Tracking WolvesZoobooks 2: Spiders

TeachReaders of nonfiction identify the “Cause/effect” within a text to continue learning ways nonfiction text structures can help them comprehend and quickly locate information.

Active EngagementCopy a page from a familiar text with a strong example of the “Cause/Effect” text structure. Have students actively listen for and identify key words that helped them identify the cause and effect of a specific phenomenon. List key words on an anchor chart.(Refer to attachment for examples of keywords)

Recommended TextsThe Most Beautiful Roof in the WorldTracking Trash: Flotsam,

TeachReaders of nonfiction use text structures and features to identify the problem/solution within a text.

Active EngagementCopy the “Saving the Forest” section of Life in the Rain Forest. Have partners (or individuals) work to highlight the key words that helped them to locate the problem/solution within the text. Have individuals or partners report their findings

Recommended TextsOnce a Wolf: How Wildlife Biologists Fought to Bring Back the Gray WolfTracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion

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Reading Workshop Unit of Study – Moving From Fiction to Nonfiction ReadingSalmon Summer Jetsam, and the Science

of Ocean Motion

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Reading Workshop Unit of Study – Moving From Fiction to Nonfiction Reading Reading Unit of Study Instructional Learning Plan – Bend 3

Bends Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4Bend 3Readers will use a variety of skills to comprehend expository and narrative nonfiction text.

Teach“Today I want to teach you that we can use what we already know about a subject to help us learn more. Before we begin to read a nonfiction book, we should think about what we already know about that subject. This will prepare our minds to recognize information that is new to us.”

Active EngagementUsing the book Spiders by Gail Gibbons – refer to the pages that tell about the webs spiders weave. Talk about the fact that we know that spiders spin webs but, we did not know that different spiders spin different types of webs. Show the examples of the different types that are pictured in the book. Explain how this adds to the knowledge we already have about spiders. (See sample lesson included)

TeachReaders of nonfiction ask questions as they read, understanding that good readers question the text.

Active Engagement Using the book First on the Moon by Barbara Hehner, talk about how when we read a book we should focus on asking questions of the text as we read. These questions should dig deeper into the subject of our text. “You were not alive when the first moon walk happened so you may have a lot of questions about this topic.” Read some of the text modeling questioning. “What can we do to answer our questions? Turn and tell your partner. Let’s make a list of ways that we may be able to answer our questions.” Have them share their suggestions. (See sample chart included in the appendix.) Remind the students to use sticky notes to write down their questions about the text as they read.

TeachReaders of nonfiction monitor their understanding as they read by pausing to retell to themselves or a partner. You can do this at the end of each section if your text is divided into sections. What did I learn from this section?

Active Engagement Using the book Pompeii: Nightmare at Midday, model how retelling what each section was about after reading can help us remember what we have read. Have the students say “This section is mostly about . . .” or “What I learned from this section is . . .” The students may need to summarize their thoughts on a sticky note and leave it at the end of that section. Remind the students that the nonfiction that we read to learn from is often harder to remember than a fiction story that we read for enjoyment.

Mid workshop teaching pointRemind them to retell only what the section is mostly about, not everything they have read.

TeachReaders of nonfiction use what they already know about a topic and text features to infer ideas about the text. What is the text not telling me? What can I learn by?

Active Engagement Using the article Titanic from Kids Discover magazine. “Today we will read this article with a question in mind. Could this tragedy have been prevented? We will use the text, photographs and illustrations to help us infer whether this could have been prevented or not.” Discuss the information about the crew, the equipment on the ship, and the ship itself. Create a two column chart, one for facts and one for inferences, as you discuss the article. When you have discussed the information in the article ask the students, “What do you think? Could this have been prevented?” Talk about how we use clues in the text and the photographs to help us make this inference.

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Reading Unit of Study Instructional Learning Plan – Bend 3

Bend Day 5 Day 6Bend 3Readers use a variety of skills to comprehend expository nonfiction text.

TeachReaders of nonfiction distinguish the difference between interesting information and important information. What parts of the text do I need to know? What parts of the text are just for fun?

Active EngagementUsing the book Spiders by Gail Gibbons, reread a page or two. Talk about the information on each page. Page 2 – Spiders come in many shapes and sizes – specific sizes are not important. Page 3 – First spider was 300 million years ago – interesting but not important. Page 4 – Arachnid – word origin - this is interesting but not important. “These facts are all interesting but are not important for what we need to know about spiders?”

TeachReaders of nonfiction text use structures, text features, and their comprehension skills to determine the main idea of the text.

Active EngagementSuggested article Big Talkers by Peter Winkler. Tell the students that “today we are going to use all the strategies and skills that we have learned so far to determine the main idea of a nonfiction text that we have read." Use the details from the subheadings and the information that each section tells. Recap each section by saying, “This part teaches me . . .” Repeat this for each of the sections. Can we restate what the article is about using the answers given for each section? Can we combine these into a sentence or two to tell what this article is teaching us? This whole text is mostly about. . .

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Sample Mini-Lesson Use with Bend 1, Lesson 1

Connection“Readers, we have just finished a unit in which we spent time studying the characters in our fiction books. Today we will begin a new unit called nonfiction. Nonfiction books are books that contain true facts and information. We read these types of books so that we can learn more about a person, a place, or a topic. These books are full of so much information and interesting facts. We will start this unit by reading and studying biographies.”

Teaching“How many of you know what a biography is? Tell your partner what you think a biography is like. I hear many good answers. Jaden you are right, biographies are true stories about a person. I want you to know that there are two types of biographies. One type tells about the entire life of a person and the other tells about a specific period of time in a person’s life. They both read just like a fiction story but are true stories.” Show some examples of each type of biography and discuss which ones are about an entire lifetime and which ones are about a specific period of time.

Active EngagementHave students look at multiple examples of each type of biography. With their partner, have them make two piles out of their books. One pile for whole life biographies and one pile for specific period of time biographies. You will need to have many biographies available for this activity.

Link“Readers today as you are choosing books for your book basket, remember to include a biography or two in your selection. I would like you to make sure you include a biography in your daily reading.”

Share“Share with your partner a biography that you read today. Why did you choose that text? What type of biography is it?”

Independent Practice & Conferring Students will read books in their level for 35-40 minutes. Conferences with students will occur during this time. Record each conference as the conference is happening. Mid-workshop teaching point “Readers may I have your eyes and ears? I want you to take a look at the biography you are reading. What type of biography is it? What interesting facts are you learning?”

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Reading Workshop Unit of Study – Moving From Fiction to Nonfiction ReadingSample Mini-Lesson Bend 1, Lesson 5

Connection“Readers, we have been taking what we know about characters in fiction and applying it to the people in nonfiction biographies. Yesterday we read our biographies thinking about events that may have changed the person we are reading about. Other days we have gathered information about that person. Authors of biographies often intend to teach more than information about the character. This is similar to the work we did in the character unit when we thought about our characters and brought this thinking into our hearts so that thinking about characters became a way to think about ourselves and our world.”

Teaching Point“Today I am going to teach you that readers of biographies also expect the text to teach them big ideas for their own lives. They ask themselves, ‘What big lessons could I learn from the life of this person?’”

Model“I’m going to reread parts of “A River of Words”. We’ve talked about the poet, William Carlos Williams, or Willie as he’s named in the text and we learned about him as a person and paid attention to the big events of his life.”“Today I want to show you how readers of biographies expect the text to teach them something for their own life. As I reread, I’m going to be asking myself, “What big lessons could I learn from William Carlos William’s life?” Read pages 1-4 (unnumbered)“I see Willie paying close attention to the world around him. I know we talk a lot about writers living wide awake lives, it sounds like that’s what Willie does. I think that affects the poetry he writes. So one lesson I could learn from him is to pay attention to the world around me.”Read to page eleven “Here’s more about the poet. I think the way he paid attention to and wrote about the things in his own life then, didn’t just do things like other people, didn’t write like other poets, says to me that he came up with a way to do his work that fit for him and helped him feel joy. I think this lesson can affect my life even beyond writing.”“Do you see what I did? I reread a part of the biography and asked myself, “What big lessons could I learn from this person’s life? I had some thoughts, and then I kept reading, asked myself the question again and added in some thinking.”

Active Engagement“Now you try it.” Read to the end.“What ideas do you have now? What are the lessons you might learn from what Jen Bryant wrote about the life of William Carlos Williams? Stop and jot, then turn and share one idea with your partner.”Listen to the partner talk and paraphrase one or two examples to highlight the teaching point.

Link“Readers, today and any time you are reading a biography, I want you to expect the text to teach you big ideas for your own life. Ask yourself, ‘What big lessons could I learn from the life of this person?’”

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Sample Mini-Lesson Use with Bend 2, Lesson 1Connection“Readers, I want you to know you did a wonderful job last week studying narrative nonfiction through biographies. Today, we move on to another type of nonfiction text called expository nonfiction. Expository nonfiction is different from narrative nonfiction because expository nonfiction is specifically designed to teach new information. You want to know something else that is interesting about expository nonfiction? You are surrounded by it everyday and I bet you don’t even know it.”

Teaching Point“Today I am going to teach you that every time you pick up a newspaper to find out how your favorite team is doing, whenever you follow a cooking recipe, or read a movie review, you are reading nonfiction. Nonfiction gives information. It explains, informs, or persuades. However, nonfiction materials are quite different from a story or a novel and reading nonfiction presents more challenges than reading fiction.”

ModelSelect a form of nonfiction you frequently read, such as a newspaper, exercise magazine, or professional educator materials. Explain when and why you read it. Move to a different form, such as a zoo brochure or other field trip materials. Bring examples that relate to student experiences such as lunch menus, school letters, calendars, or phone books. Follow with a third format of nonfiction text such as an advertisement, newspaper editorial, or technical manual. Explain uses of this information.Begin a two- column chart, “Discovering Reasons for Reading Nonfiction.” List your nonfiction form in the left column and purpose in the right column (see sample at the end of this unit). Hold up a copy of your favorite cooking recipe and say, “Readers did you know cooking recipes are considered to be a type of expository nonfiction?” Ask, “Have any of you ever used a cooking recipe while making your favorite dish?”“What would be the purpose for using a recipe?” Repeat the process for at least two other types of nonfiction that students may see in everyday life. Add the form of nonfiction text and its purpose to the two-column chart.

Active EngagementHave students look through a collection of nonfiction materials spending a couple of minutes brainstorming with their partners about when and why people would need and use these types of nonfiction materials. Ask for partnerships to add new forms and ideas to the class chart.

Link“Now readers, today and everyday, I want you to remember that you are always surrounded by nonfiction. For the next few days we are going to continue our study of expository nonfiction text and how they are designed to teach us new information. Today, though, your job during independent reading time is to read a piece of nonfiction text focusing on the purpose of that text. I am going to ask volunteers to share at the end of our independent reading time. Off you go on your journey to exploring expository nonfiction!”

Independent Practice and ConferringStudents will read for at least 30 minutes at their independent reading levels. Conferences will focus on skills being taught at this time.

Mid-Workshop Teaching Point“May I have your attention for a moment? As I was conferring with Juan I couldn’t help but notice his enthusiasm for reading nonfiction text. As he discussed the bus schedule he was reading with me, he really did an awesome job explaining how a bus schedule helps him and his mom travel around town. He also talked to me about how he never would have imagined a bus schedule could be considered as a nonfiction text. Way to go Enrique! Read on readers!”

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Reading Workshop Unit of Study – Moving From Fiction to Nonfiction ReadingShareGather students together on the carpet and say, “I can tell by the looks on your face that you have discovered tons of new forms of nonfiction that we have not talked about yet. Do I have any volunteers to share a new form of nonfiction they have explored and to talk about its purpose in day to day life?” Call on a couple volunteers and remember to add any new examples of expository nonfiction to the classroom chart.

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Reading Workshop Unit of Study – Moving From Fiction to Nonfiction ReadingSample Mini-Lesson Use with Bend 2, Lesson 5

(Adapted from the Comprehension Tool Kit by Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis)

Connection “Boys and girls, let’s take another look at all these great nonfiction books I have in my basket here! I want everyone to choose a book that looks interesting to you and we’re going to spend some time looking through our books to see what we notice about nonfiction text features. We spent some time talking about nonfiction text features at the beginning of the school year and today were going to review what we know.”

Teaching“Today, I want to teach you that nonfiction text features are really like sign posts because they teach us to pay close attention and provide us with lots of interesting information. There are two types of features: visual text features and text features. Visual features would be things such as illustrations, photographs, maps, and diagrams. Text features include things such as the table of contents, headings, and bold or italic words. These features help organize the text so we can navigate through all the information. Headings break the text into sections and give us a heads up as to what our reading is going to be about. Different types of font, or words that are in italic or bold print, signal us to pay attention to them or they tell us, “Hey, look at me because I am important.” If you really think about it, often times the visual features and the text features work together because we rely upon words, like labels or a caption, to accurately explain or describe a photograph or illustration. And an illustration can help us understand a long, wordy description or explanation.”

Modeling “Watch me as I share some of the features I notice in this book “Space”. We have already talked about the different types of text features, so I am going to begin listing some of those on our anchor chart. I am going to create a two column chart. One column will be for the name of the text feature and the other column for its purpose. Together, as a class, we will describe the purpose of each feature, how it guides our reading, and helps us understand the information.”“So readers, on our feature chart we mentioned titles. It was one of the first features on our list and it is one of the most important. I would say the purpose of a title is to tell us what we are going to be reading about, so I’ll write that here, in the Purpose column of the chart. And photographs. As I look through this book, I notice that the photographs show me exactly what walking on the moon looks like, so I’ll write that under the Purpose column of the chart, next to the word photograph. “If we were to take a look at the table of contents for this book, you can see it tells us what topics are in the book and on what page the information is located. As readers we can use this feature, the table of contents to understand more about Space. The table of contents is there to guide our reading. Watch me as I skim the list of chapters to see which topic I want to read about first. Let’s see… here’s a chapter called “Journey to the Moon”. I really want to read this chapter because I have always fantasized about going to the moon and I would like to know what it is like. The table of contents tells me to turn to page 12. So, I’ll add this information to my chart under the Purpose column next to the words table of contents.”

Active Engagement“I am going to continue flipping through this book and I want you to raise your hand when you notice a text feature you think will help you to read the book better.” Teacher will continue with the book walk, stopping when children raise their hand to signal that they have found a text feature. “Turn and tell your neighbor what text feature you noticed on this page.” Teacher will listen in and report back. “Good job, you all noticed the glossary at the end of the book. Some of you said that the glossary will help you figure out the meaning of unfamiliar or tricky words. Great work! When you are reading nonfiction text and come across a word you are not familiar with, you can always flip to the glossary in the back of the book to help figure out the meaning.”

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Link “Remember, today and every day, that as you read nonfiction you will notice certain text features that are there to help you read the text better. Today, the job of you and reading partner is to find a nonfiction text from the basket, read and flip through the book as I did, and put sticky notes on the different text features that you notice, remembering to also note its purpose. We will come back to the carpet for group share time to talk about our findings. Your reading logs and your books are waiting. Off you go!”

Independent Practice & ConferringStudents will read for 25-30 minutes at their independent reading level. Conferences will focus on procedures being taught at this time. The teacher will confer as students find features and list these on their feature/purpose chart.

Mid – Workshop Teaching Point“Boys and girls, may I have your attention for a moment? I was listening in on Joseph and Maria’s conversation and they noticed a new text feature called an index. Joseph and Mary labeled the index with a sticky note and on the sticky note they wrote that the index would help them find the page number of a specific topic. Isn’t that great work? Okay readers, sorry for the interruption. You may go back to work now.”

Share Students will gather back on the carpet. “I was listening in on your conversations. I know that you and your partners are anxious to share what features you have found in you texts, so I will ask for volunteers to go first.” Make sure to add all new text features to the class anchor chart.

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Reading Workshop Unit of Study – Moving From Fiction to Nonfiction ReadingSample Mini-lesson, Bend 2, Lesson 6

Connection“Readers, I want to commend you for all the great things you have been doing with our nonfiction work so far. Throughout our unit, we have talked about narrative nonfiction, text features, and fix-up strategies, but there is another aspect of nonfiction reading we need to talk about this week, called ‘text structures’.”

Teaching Point“Today, I want to begin our study of nonfiction text structures by talking to you a bit about the structure- description. I want to teach you that text structures are important to know because they help you understand the organization of the text better. Knowing the organization of the text is important because it alerts the reader to how the text was written. This, in turn, can also help us to organize our thinking as we read.”

Model“Writers organize their writing in a way that helps us understand it. As I look at page 15 from A Drop of Water, I can see lots of details. The author has provided a very rich description of a soap bubble. So, as I read this paragraph, I will try to picture what the author is saying about the soap bubble.”

“There are few objects you can make that have both the dazzling beauty and delicate precision of a soap bubble. Shown here at actual size, this bubble is a nearly perfect sphere. Its shimmering liquid skin is five hundred times thinner than a human hair.” (Pg. 15)

“Wow, readers, did you see that? The author used such amazing words and descriptive language to describe a soap bubble. I felt like I could actually see the soap bubble right here before my very own eyes. He used words like ‘dazzling beauty’, ‘delicate precision’, and ‘shimmering liquid skin’ to really help me picture what an actual soap bubble looks like in real life. I am going to create a class anchor chart that will help us to keep track of our learning during our study of nonfiction text structures. I will title my anchor chart, ‘Nonfiction Text Structures’. My chart will have four columns, Text Structure, Definition, Keywords, and Sample Text. Watch me as I add the new information to our chart. The name of the text structure is ‘description’. The meaning of description is to use language in such a way that the reader can form an image in his/her head while reading the text. How does that sound? Keywords or phrases that helped me to form this image were dazzling beauty, delicate precision, and shimmering liquid so I will add those to my chart underneath the section labeled ‘keywords’. Underneath sample text, I will write ‘A Drop of Water’ because that is the title of the book we are using. Now readers I want you to try it.”

Active EngagementSay, “Listen as I read another section from A Drop of Water to you. As I read, I want you to focus on the descriptive language and adjective that the author uses to describe the elastic surface of water. When I am finished reading, I will ask for volunteers to add new information to our anchor chart.”

“The drop grows heavy and begins to fall. As it breaks from a strand of water, the drop shrinks itself into a round ball, or a sphere. The drop flattens then elongates as it falls. The strand, meanwhile, breaks into tiny droplets. The impact of the drops hitting the water causes a new strand to bounce back out as another drop breaks away.” (Pg. 8)

“Okay, readers, who would like to add to our anchor chart? What keywords did you hear that helped you to really visualize and see the elastic surface of water?” Keywords or phrases should include such words as: drop grows heavy, strand of water, round ball, flattens, elongates, etc.”

Link “Remember, today and everyday, text structures are important to know because they help you to understand the structure and the organization of text. From this day forward I want you to remember that authors use descriptive language to help you visualize certain topics more clearly. As you read today, think about the language and descriptive adjectives the author has used to help you understand and see the topic better. Your books are waiting for you at your desks. So readers, off you go!”

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Independent Practice & ConferringStudents will read for 25-30 at their independent reading level. Conferences will focus on procedures being taught at this time. The teacher will confer with students based upon previous skills and strategies that have been taught already while looking for students who are practicing today’s minilesson during independent reading time.

Mid – Workshop Teaching Point“Readers, may I have your attention please? Excuse the interruption but I have to share this exciting news! Timothy is doing such an awesome job reading his book about volcanoes. While I was conferencing with Tim he shared his post-it notes with me and I am so excited to see that he has a post-it with very descriptive language that the author has used in his book. Tim also shared with me how these words have helped him to see the eruption of a volcano better. Way to go Tim! Readers, keep up the good work.”

Share This may be a good time to pull students back together on the carpet to share their work on Text Structure- Description. Feel free to add any new information to the chart.

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Sample Mini-Lesson Use with Bend 3, Lesson 1Connection“Readers, for the last two weeks we have been learning about the many different text structures and features that are found in nonfiction books. Now we are going to learn the skills we need to use while reading nonfiction text that will help us with our comprehension.”

Teaching“Today I want to teach you that we can use what we already know about a subject to helps us learn more. Before we begin to read a nonfiction book, we should think about what we already know about that subject. This will prepare our minds to recognize information that is new to us.”

Active Engagement“Readers, today I want us to take a look at the book “Spiders” by Gail Gibbons. (Hold up the book as you speak) I am sure you know a lot about spiders. Turn to your partner and tell them what you know. I heard lots of good facts about spiders. I hear someone say that spiders spin webs. That is correct spiders do spin webs. Let’s read about spider webs.” Read the pages in the book that talk about spider webs. “Wow! Did you know that different spiders spin different webs? I did not know that. That is very interesting! See how this information adds to what we already knew. We knew that spiders spun webs but, we did not know that different spiders spin different types of webs.”

Link“Readers today and everyday as you read, think about what you already know about the topic as you read. See how that combined with what you read helps to build your knowledge about that subject.”

ShareAsk a few students to share two things about their book. 1 What do you already know about the subject? 2 What you learned today while you were reading.

Independent Practice & Conferring Students will read books in their level for 35-40 minutes. Conferences with students will occur during this time. Record each conference as the conference is happening.

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Appendices

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Nonfiction Text Feature Purpose

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Discovering Reasons for Reading NonfictionForm of Expository Nonfiction Text Purpose

cookbook

telephone book

Shows us how to prepare certain foods

Gives us the location and telephone number to a specific person or place of business

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Text Structures in Informational TextsText Pattern Definitions Key Words Examples of Text

Description

Time Order

Problem/Solution

Compare/Contrast

Cause/Effect

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Text Structures in Informational TextsText Pattern Definitions Key Words Examples of Text

Description Use language to help the reader form images or visualize processes.

descriptive details-words like on, over, beyond, within descriptive adjectives

A Drop of Water

Time Order Present ideas or events in the order in which they happen

first, second, before, after, finally, then, next, earlier, later, last

Fire in the Forest

Salmon Summer

Look to the North: A Wolf Pup Diary

Problem/Solution Discuss two ideas, events, or phenomena showing how they are similar and different

while, yet, but, rather, most, either, like and unlike, same, as opposed to, as well as, likewise, on the other hand, although, the same, similarly, opposites

Wolf Pack: Tracking Wolves

Compare/Contrast Provide explanations or reasons for phenomena

because, since, thus, so that, if…then, therefore, nevertheless, due to, this led to, as a result, then…so, for this reason, on account of, consequently

The Most Beautiful Roof in the World

Cause/Effect Identify problems and pose solutions

propose, conclude, a solution, the problem or the question, research shows, the evidence is, a reason for

Once a Wolf: How Wildlife Biologists Fought to Bring Back the Gray Wolf

Adapted from Guiding Readers and Writers by Irene C. Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell

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Reading Workshop Unit of Study – Moving From Fiction to Nonfiction ReadingInferring the Meaning of Unfamiliar Words

Word Inferred Meaning Clues Sentence

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Documents

Nonfiction Unit - Okeelah and Tammy Updated 12.15.09