Reading Informational Text Teacher Resources

To demonstrate their ability to craft an analysis of informational text, class members read excerpts from James Madison's "The Federalist No. 10," from George Washington's Farewell Address, and from Thomas Jefferson's First Inaugural...

Young readers work on evaluating claims in a piece of informational text with the article "In New York, It's Open Bag or Find Exits" from the New York Times. They analyze current search procedures implemented to fight terrorism...

Abraham Lincoln's face may only be worth one cent, but the online reading passage and questions about his life are an invaluable resource. Pupils read a passage about Lincoln's experience with the Illinois Legislature, earning his law...

If only life came with an owner's manual. Pupils assemble with their research teams to discuss which of Steve Jobs' rules to live by most resonates with them. Scholars also read informational texts in pursuit of finding the gist and...

It is so important for learners to become selective and strategic readers. This slide show provides examples and practice exercises that encourage them to read informational text and selectively underline key points or information. Great...

"Three Stones Back," a passage from Matt de la Pena's best-seller, Ball Don't Lie, allows readers to practice their close reading skills as they compare the passage to an information text about wealth inequality. 

After analyzing and evaluating news summaries found in the New York Times "Week in Review" section, middle schoolers study the steps for summarizing a news article briefly and accurately. They write two news summaries: one on a newspaper...

To help learners better comprehend informational texts, they work through a series of activities. They discuss strategies, make predictions, skim passages, focus on key words, and practice taking notes. This lesson focuses on what to do...

With the Common Core State Standards' growing focus on informational text, it's the perfect time to showcase this PowerPoint to your team of teachers. It's 59 slides focus on seven best practice structures: reading-as-thinking,...

Reinforce comprehension of informational text. This is a one-on-one lesson intended to build an internal dialogue the reader can use to boost overall comprehension. They work independently with a tutor or teacher to read a nonfiction...

Some things are better the second time around. Scholars reread an article about Hawaii's happy face spider, answering text-dependent questions as they read. Then, they use a Venn diagram to compare the text features of interviews and...

A large part of analyzing or understanding art is knowing how to read about it. The New York Times has put together these who, what, where, when, and how questions to aid learners in comprehending informational pieces related to art and...

How can you tell if the text you're reading is informational or narrative? Show your reading class this basic PowerPoint to illustrate the characteristics of an informational text. What makes this presentation especially effective is...

Help learners find the most important information in a text with a lesson on summarizing. As kids read through a passage about Johannes Gutenberg, they summarize small excerpts, put events in sequential order, and respond to two longer...

In the third activity from this unit based on the book Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle, learners focus on using specific details from the text-to-answer questions about the habitat of bullfrogs. While reading the text, young...

Readers identify main ideas and supporting details using informational texts. In this literacy lesson, they make predictions and read the text to find the main ideas. They use a table diagram to define the main idea and supporting...

Individuals complete a pre-assessment to gauge their ability to determine the main idea and supporting details in nonfiction text. They examine a new piece of nonfiction reading by looking at the table of contents, headings, and index...

Help your class transition as the setting in the novel Esperanza Rising, by Pam Muñoz Ryan, moves from Mexico to California. Beginning with prior knowledge, and moving into jigsaw research groups, class members add to and create posters...

Take your class of youngsters on a prehistoric adventure with this four-lesson series on dinosaurs. Accompanying the Meet the Dinosaurs books by Don Lessem, these lessons engage children in writing their own dinosaur books,...

Frogs are the theme of a lesson plan that challenges scholars to examine photographs, read informational texts, then ask and answer questions. Scholars work collaboratelively as they rotate through stations, discuss their observations,...

Take good notes. Scholars record information in their note catcher sheets as the teacher reads aloud pages 17-20 of The Most Beautiful Roof in the World. Learners then reread parts of the text in groups and rotate to share the notes...

I can read and understand fiction and nonfiction texts! Here is a great checklist that highlights 19 first grade Common Core reading standards. The resource is three pages long. Pages one and two focus on comprehension for fiction and...

Your kids can identify the plot sequence of a short story, but what about an informational article? Have them examine the chronological order of events in informational texts with a lesson on the sequence of events. 

Insert text box here. Learners use index cards to create their own informational text boxes. The text box includes information about an insect in the rainforest. Scholars also complete the draft of their research science journal entries.