City University of New York
Cuny: E Resource Center: Course Tutorials: Reading Your Textbook
A tutorial consisting of seven exercises showing different text structures used in textbooks. Learn how they organize information to help students locate specific details and how to take notes based on information within a textbook.
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: Bats, Friend or Foe. An Argument Writing Activity
Students will state an argument with evidence, for or against, bats being removed from their environment by writing a letter to the editor and citing evidence for your claim.
CommonLit
Common Lit: "Diary of a Teenage Refugee" by Amira
CommonLit.org is a wonderful resource to use in a Language Arts classroom. Each story or article is accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. In addition, students can click on words to see...
Read Works
Read Works: Passages: Grade 2: When Television Became Colorful
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read a non-fiction article about colored television and answer questions in comprehension, sequencing, inferences, main idea, transitions, and more.
Read Works
Read Works: Passages: Grade 2: A Brush With History
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read a non-fiction article about the history of a toothbrush and answer questions in comprehension, sequencing, inferences, main idea, transitions, and more. A link to paired text questions is...
Online Writing Lab at Purdue University
Purdue University Owl: General Writing Resources
This helpful resource details the process of writing, including how to plan, write, and revise. Content also includes the different types or genres of writing, and exercises in grammar and mechanics.
Utah Education Network
Uen: One True Story, Told Two Ways
Analyze the different perspectives presented by two authors telling the same story.
Virginia Tech
Alan Review: Course Correction
Janet Bode wrote this article discussing why she writes, for whom she's writing, and the importance of non-fiction literature for young adults.
The Best Notes
The Best Notes: Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
This is an online study guide/notes for the non-fiction book Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer including author information, literary elements, chapter-by-chapter summaries/notes, study questions, and analysis. The book retraces the steps of...
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Syntax (English Ii Reading)
Evaluate the role of syntax in literary non-fiction such as speeches, essays, and other forms.
Wisc-Online
Wisc Online: Writing Effective Paraphrases
In this learning module, students practice paraphrasing brief, non-fiction passages.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Pov Collection
POV (a cinema term for "point of view") is television's longest-running showcase for independent non-fiction films. POV premieres 14-16 of the best, boldest and most innovative programs every year on PBS. Since 1988, POV has presented...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: A New Park [Pdf]
"A New Park" is a one page, non-fiction, reading passage about how a school in need of a playground got a city park instead. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it...
Yale University
Biographies for Change in a Time of Conformity
Reading non-fiction and perhaps particularly biography is a skill that must be taught. This unit uses the lives of three icons: Elvis Presley, Malcolm X and Rachel Carson to develop this skills. Extensive bibliography for the teacher,...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Pbs Learning Media Presents Pov Watch Club
PBS LearningMedia Presents POV Watch Club. Free to educators each month. Let's watch and learn together! Join the Watch Club: Since February 2021 PBS has teamed up with POV to bring a documentary from television's longest-running...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Abc Bookmaking Builds Vocabulary in the Content Areas
Six 50-minute lessons build vocabulary through the content areas by making an ABC book. It can become a classroom resource. Links include a non-fiction book list, checklist, word list, rubric, and a storyboard chart. There is also a link...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Gettysburg Address [Pdf]
"The Gettysburg Address" by Abraham Lincoln is one page, non-fiction speech given at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on November 18, 1963. It is followed by an assignment asking students to...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Block Clubs [Pdf]
"Block Clubs" is a one page, non-fiction, reading passage about block clubs, which are groups of neighbors who work together to make rules and solve problems in their neighborhoods. It is followed by constructed-response questions which...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: A Garden in Lawndale [Pdf]
"A Garden in Lawndale" is a one page, non-fiction, reading passage about an eighth grade class who planted a garden in a vacant lot by their school and maintained it to improve their neighborhood. It is followed by constructed-response...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Animal Studies [Pdf]
"Animal Studies" is a one page, non-fiction, reading passage about scientists learning about animal behaviors by observing them. They discuss the sawfly and poppy-bees specifically. It is followed by constructed-response questions which...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Before Chicago [Pdf]
"Before Chicago" is a one page, non-fiction, reading passage about Native Americans who lived in what is now Chicago. It describes what life was like for them and tells how Chicago got its name. It is followed by constructed-response...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Frederick Douglass [Pdf]
"Frederick Douglass on Women's Suffrage," a one page, non-fiction, reading passage, is an excerpt from a persuasive speech delivered by Frederick Douglass to the International Council of Women in Washington, D.C., April 1888 in support...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Breaking the Food Chain [Pdf]
"Breaking the Food Chain" is a one page, non-fiction, reading passage about the food chain which links plants and animals. If the food chain is disrupted, it can cause plants and animals to disappear. It is followed by...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: American Explorers [Pdf]
"American Explorers" is a one page, non-fiction, reading passage about the Lewis and Clark Expedition from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean. Along the way they drew maps for future travels. It is followed by constructed-response questions...