A guide for using our resources

Students will compare the characteristics of fiction and nonfiction books.

Vocabulary: fiction, nonfiction, illustrations, labels

ELA Focus: book genres

CCSS (and states that have similar standards): RI.1.1 key details; RF.1.3 decode words, RI.1.3 problem and solution; RI.1.5 text features; RI.1.10 read and discuss first-grade texts; W.1.2 informative writing

Simple, spectacular ideas to boost your lessons.

• Introduce this modern and bilingual take on a classic tale to students prior to reading the issue to support students’ background knowledge of fictional stories.

• Assign each section of the article to small groups or student partners. Have them reread their section and hunt for a word that has three syllables, a word with two syllables, and a word with one syllable. Students can circle their words in their issues and share by clapping out the words they found.

• Hide a book where students cannot see it. Read the title and challenge students to guess if it is a fiction or a nonfiction book.
• Reveal the book to the class! Were the guesses correct?
• Ask a volunteer to show how they know. Does the picture on the cover help? Are there any clues inside?

Skills: Writing, compare and contrast

Materials: Fiction or Nonfiction? skill sheets, clipboards, pencils, various books

• As a class, review fiction and nonfiction text features! Hold up a beloved class book or a book at random from your class library: Is it a fiction or a nonfiction story? How can students tell? Model filling out the appropriate section in a skills sheet with the book title and the class’s reasoning.
• Give students Fiction or Nonfiction? skill sheets on a clipboard. Have students hunt for books. You can:
  • Ask students to take turns finding a fiction book first and then a nonfiction book.
  • Pass out preselected books for students to review at their desk.
  • Have students take their clipboard on their next visit to the school library and find a book to write about.
• When students have found a fiction and a nonfiction one, ask students to write about how they know. Students can share a detail with the class as they return books to the appropriate space in your classroom library.