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Students will expand & apply knowledge of grammar, usage, mechanics, & style to comprehend, analyze, &/or evaluate a variety of texts.

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Students will apply knowledge of vocabulary to speak & write effectively.

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Students will read & comprehend inclusive, diverse, & increasingly complex literary & informational texts.

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Students will create multimodal content to communicate effectively.

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Students will comprehend & evaluate multimodal content.

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Students will gather, comprehend, evaluate, & synthesize researched information to acquire & refine knowledge.

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Students will synthesize information ethically through speaking & writing.

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Students will expand & apply knowledge of grammar, usage, mechanics, & style to speak & write effectively, demonstrating standard usage when appropriate.

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Students will expand their grade-level vocabularies through reading, word study, & class discussion.

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Students will thoughtfully & intentionally write, addressing a range of modes, purposes, & audiences.

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Students will analyze, interpret, & evaluate increasingly complex literary & informational texts that include a wide range of historical, cultural, ethnic, & global perspectives from a variety of genres.

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Students will engage in a recursive process that may include prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, & publishing.

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4.3.R.1 Students will determine the author’s purpose (i.e., entertain, inform, persuade) by identifying key details.

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4.3.W.2 Students will compose informative essays that:

● introduce & develop a topic

● incorporate evidence (e.g., specific facts, examples)

● maintain an organized structure with transitional words & phrases

● use sentence variety & word choice to create interest

● model literary devices from mentor texts

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4.4.W.2 Students will use precise & vivid vocabulary in writing for the intended mode & effect on the audience.

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4.4.R.2 Students will use context clues to clarify the meaning of words.

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4.5.R.2 Students will recognize parts of speech in sentences:

● irregular possessive nouns (e.g., children’s)

● irregular & past participle verbs & verb tense to identify settings, times, & sequences

● subject & verb agreement

● comparative & superlative adjectives

● prepositional phrases

● possessive pronouns & the nouns they replace (i.e., antecedents)

● coordinating conjunctions

● comparative & superlative adverbs

● interjections

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4.5.W.2 Students will use nouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions, & adverbs to add clarity & variety to their writing.

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4.6.R.3 Students will determine the relevance of the information gathered.

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4.6.W.1 Students will generate a viable research question about a topic.

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4.7.R Students will locate & use information from a variety of alphabetic, aural, visual, spatial, &/or gestural content to compare & contrast perspectives about ideas & topics.

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4.7.W Students will communicate their ideas, thoughts, & feelings by combining two or more kinds of content:

● writing/alphabetic

● sound, visual, &/or spatial

● movement

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4th grade: 4.3.R.1 Students will determine the author’s purpose (i.e., entertain, inform, persuade) by identifying key details.

5th grade: 5.3.R.1 Students will determine the author’s purpose (i.e., entertain, inform, persuade), & draw conclusions to determine if the author’s purpose was achieved.

6th grade: 6.3.R.1 Students will compare & contrast stated or implied purposes of authors writing on the same topic from a variety of historical, cultural, ethnic, & global perspectives.

7th grade: 7.3.R.1 Students will read works written on the same topic from a variety of historical, cultural, ethnic, & global perspectives & compare the methods the authors use to achieve their purposes.

8th grade: 8.3.R.1 Students will analyze works written on the same topic from a variety of historical, cultural, ethnic, & global perspectives & analyze the methods the authors use to achieve their purposes.

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4.2.R.2 Students will compare fiction, poetry, & nonfiction to distinguish various genres.

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4th grade: 4.2.R.2 Students will compare fiction, poetry, & nonfiction to distinguish various genres.

5th grade: 5.2.R.2 Students will identify details in fiction, poetry, & nonfiction texts to distinguish various genres

6th grade: 6.2.R.2 Students will analyze details in fiction, poetry, & nonfiction texts to distinguish genres.

7th grade: 7.2.R.2 Students will analyze details in fiction, poetry, & nonfiction texts to distinguish genres.

8th grade: 8.2.R.2 Students will analyze details in fiction, poetry, & nonfiction texts to identify characteristics of genres

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Comparing Genres

1. Review genres (fiction, nonfiction, & poetry)

2. Model how to determine the difference between fiction, nonfiction, & poetry using text excerpts

3. Practice identifying the differences between fiction & nonfiction using text excerpts

4. Students will work to determine what genre each excerpt falls under.

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Comparing Genres (bookunitsteacher.com)

Free Printable Texts - Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Historical Documents (studenthandouts.com)

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Various types of the printed word you can read, download, or print. 100% free. No registration or log-in required.

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4th grade:

1. Review genres (fiction, nonfiction, & poetry)

2. Model how to determine the difference between fiction, nonfiction, & poetry using text excerpt

3. Practice comparing fiction & nonfiction using text excerpt

4. Students will work to determine what genre each excerpt falls under.

5th grade:

1. Review genres (fiction, nonfiction, & poetry)

2. Model how to identify the details that cause the differences between fiction, nonfiction, & poetry

3. Practice identifying the details that cause the differences between fiction, nonfiction, & poetry

4. Students will sort excerpts into three categories: fiction, nonfiction, & poetry, & mark features that lead them to think they belong there

6th grade:

1. Review genres (fiction, nonfiction, & poetry)

2. Practice identifying the details that cause the differences between fiction, nonfiction, & poetry using excerpts

3. Students will sort excerpts into three categories: fiction, nonfiction, & poetry, & be able to explain what details made them think they belong there

7th grade:

1. Review genres (fiction, nonfiction, & poetry)

2. Practice identifying the details that cause the differences between fiction, nonfiction, & poetry using excerpts

3. Students will sort experts into three categories: fiction, nonfiction, & poetry, & be able to explain what details made them think they belong there

8th grade:

1. Review genres (fiction, nonfiction, & poetry)

2. Practice identifying the details that cause the differences between fiction, nonfiction, & poetry using excerpts

3. Students will sort experts into three categories: fiction, nonfiction, & poetry, & be able to explain what details made them think they belong there

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4.2.W.3 Students will routinely & recursively edit drafts for punctuation, capitalization, & correctly-spelled grade-level words, using resources as needed.

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4th grade: 4.2.W.3 Students will routinely & recursively edit drafts for punctuation, capitalization, & correctly spelled grade-level words, using resources as needed.

5th grade: 5.2.W.3 Students will routinely & recursively edit drafts for punctuation, capitalization, & correctly spelled grade-level words, using resources as needed.

6th grade: 6.2.W.3 Students will routinely & recursively revise drafts for intended purpose, audience, & organization (e.g., logical order & transitions).

7th grade: 7.2.W.3 Students will routinely & recursively revise drafts for intended purpose, audience, organization, & coherence (e.g., consistent point of view).

8th grade: 8.2.W.3 Students will routinely & recursively revise drafts for intended purpose, audience, organization, coherence, & style (e.g., word choice & sentence variety).

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Individual & Peer Review

Day 1

1. Students will prepare a draft of a writing piece they are working on.

2. The teacher will review the components of revision such as spelling, punctuation, & capitalization.

Day 2

3. Each student will use a self-revision checklist to revise their writing.

Day 3

4. Students will swap writings & edit someone else's paper using the peer-revision checklist.

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printablee.com-peer-editing-checklist-middle-school_706794.png.pdf

Writing Editing Checklist by Miss Rosenthal | TPT (teacherspayteachers.com)

Pinterest

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Online peer editing: effects of comments and edits on ... - NCBI

by H Zhang · 2022 - Peer editing is defined as a collaborative learning process during which peers interact, review, critique, and edit each other's work (Ebadi and ...

Remote Peer Review Strategies // Purdue Writing Lab

Here is an example of a peer review assignment from an online writing class. This assignment uses threaded discussion boards to group students:.

Open peer review - Wikipedia

Open peer review is the various possible modifications of the traditional scholarly peer review process. The three most common modifications to which the ...

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Peer editing checklist: Fill out & sign online | DocHub

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Edit, sign, and share peer editing online online. No need to install software, just go to DocHub, and sign up instantly and for free.

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4th grade:

Day 1

1. Students will prepare a draft of a writing piece they are working on.

2. The teacher will review the components of revision such as spelling, punctuation, & capitalization.

Day 2

3. Each student will use a self-revision checklist to revise their writing.

Day 3

4. Students will swap writings & edit someone else's paper using the peer-revision checklist.

5th grade:

Day 1

1. Students will prepare a draft of a writing piece they are working on.

2. The teacher will review the components of revision such as spelling, punctuation, & capitalization.

Day 2

3. Each student will use a self-revision checklist to revise their writing.

Day 3

4. Students will swap writings & edit someone else's paper using the peer-revision checklist.

6th grade:

Day 1

1. Students will prepare a draft of a writing piece they are working on.

2. The teacher will review the components of revision such as purpose, audience, & organization.

Day 2

3. Each student will use a self-revision checklist to revise their writing.

Day 3

4. Students will swap writings & edit someone else's paper using the peer-revision checklist.

7th grade:

Day 1

1. Students will prepare a draft of a writing piece they are working on.

2. The teacher will review the components of revision such as purpose, audience, organization, & coherence.

Day 2

3. Each student will use a self-revision checklist to revise their writing.

Day 3

4. Students will swap writings & edit someone else's paper using the peer-revision checklist.

8th grade:

Day 1

1. Students will prepare a draft of a writing piece they are working on.

2. The teacher will review the components of revision such as purpose, audience, organization, coherence, & style.

Day 2

3. Each student will use a self-revision checklist to revise their writing.

Day 3

4. Students will swap writings & edit someone else's paper using the peer-revision checklist.

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4th grade: 4.3.W.2 Students will compose informative essays that:

● introduce & develop a topic

● incorporate evidence (e.g., specific facts, examples)

● maintain an organized structure with transitional words & phrases

● use sentence variety & word choice to create interest

● model literary devices from mentor texts

5th grade: 5.3.W.2 Students will compose informative essays that

● introduce & develop a topic

● incorporate evidence (e.g., specific facts, examples, charts, & graphs)

● maintain an organized structure with transitional words & phrases

● use sentence variety & word choice to create interest

● model literary devices from mentor texts

6th grade: 6.3.W.2 Students will compose informative essays or reports that:

● objectively introduce & develop topics

● incorporate evidence (e.g., specific facts, details, charts & graphs, data)

● maintain an organized structure

● use sentence variety & word choice to create clarity

● emulate literary devices from mentor texts

7th grade: 7.3.W.2 Students will compose informative essays or reports that:

● objectively introduce & develop topics

● incorporate evidence (e.g., specific facts, details, charts & graphs, data)

● maintain an organized structure

● use sentence variety & word choice to create clarity

● establish & maintain a formal style

● emulate literary devices from mentor texts

8th grade: 8.3.W.2 Students will compose informative essays or reports that:

● objectively introduce & develop topics

● incorporate evidence (e.g., specific facts, details, charts & graphs, data)

● maintain an organized structure

● use sentence variety & word choice to create clarity

● establish & maintain a formal style

● emulate literary devices from mentor texts

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4th grade: 4.4.R.2 Students will use context clues to clarify the meaning of words.

5th grade: 5.4.R.2 Students will use context clues to clarify the meaning of words.

6th grade: 6.4.R.2 Students will use context clues, connotation, & denotation to determine or clarify the meaning of words or distinguish among multiple-meaning words.

7th grade: 7.4.R.2 Students will use context clues, connotation, & denotation to determine or clarify the meaning of words or distinguish among multiple-meaning words.

8th grade: 8.4.R.2 Students will use context clues, connotation, & denotation to determine or clarify the meaning of words or distinguish among multiple-meaning words.

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4th grade: 4.4.W.2 Students will use precise & vivid vocabulary in writing for the intended mode & effect on the audience.

5th grade: 5.4.W.2 Students will use precise & vivid vocabulary in writing for the intended mode & effect on the audience.

6th grade: 6.4.W.2 Students will select language in writing to create a specific effect according to purpose.

7th grade: 7.4.W.2 Students will select language in writing to create a specific effect according to purpose.

8th grade: 8.4.W.2 Students will select language in writing to create a specific effect according to purpose.

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4th grade: 4.5.R.2 Students will recognize parts of speech in sentences:

● irregular possessive nouns (e.g., children’s)

● irregular & past participle verbs & verb tense to identify settings, times, & sequences

● subject & verb agreement

● comparative & superlative adjectives

● prepositional phrases

● possessive pronouns & the nouns they replace (i.e., antecedents)

● coordinating conjunctions

● comparative & superlative adverbs

● interjections

5th grade: 5.5.R.2 Students will recognize & explain the impact on meaning of parts of speech in sentences:

● nouns

● verb tense to identify settings, times, sequences, & conditions

● subject & verb agreement

● adjectives

● prepositional phrases

● intensive pronouns & their antecedents

● coordinating conjunctions

● adverbs

● interjections

6th grade: 6.5.R.2 Students will recognize & explain the impact on meaning of parts of speech in sentences:

● nouns

● verb tense to signify various times, sequences, conditions, & states

● subject & verb agreement

● adjectives

● prepositional phrases

● reflexive pronouns & their antecedents

● singular they/them/their

● subordinating conjunctions

● adverbs

● interjections

7th grade: 7.5.R.2 Students will recognize & explain the impact on meaning of parts of speech in sentences:

● nouns

● gerunds

● subject & verb agreement

● cumulative & coordinate adjectives

● demonstrative pronouns

● vague pronouns (i.e., ones with unclear or ambiguous antecedents)

● singular they/them/their

● correlative conjunctions

● adverbs

● interjections

8th grade: 8.5.R.2 Students will recognize & explain the impact on meaning of parts of speech in sentences:

● nouns

● verbals (i.e., gerunds, participles, infinitives)

● cumulative & coordinate adjectives

● vague pronouns

● singular they/them/their

● coordinating, subordinating, & correlative conjunctions

● adverbs

● interjections

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4th grade: 4.5.W.2 Students will use nouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions, & adverbs to add clarity & variety to their writing.

5th grade: 5.5.W.2 Students will use nouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions, adverbs, & pronouns to add clarity & variety to their writing.

6th grade: 6.5.W.2 Students will add clarity & variety to their writing with nouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions, adverbs, & pronouns.

7th grade: 7.5.W.2 Students will add clarity & variety to their writing with nouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions, adverbs, & pronouns.

8th grade: 8.5.W.2 Students will create clarity &/or add variety to their writing with nouns, verbs, verbals, adjectives, prepositions, adverbs, pronouns, & conjunctions.

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4th grade: 4.6.R.3 Students will determine the relevance of the information gathered.

5th grade: 5.6.R.3 Students will determine the relevance & reliability of the information gathered.

6th grade: 6.6.R.3 Students will determine the relevance & reliability of the information gathered.

7th grade: 7.6.R.3 Students will determine the relevance, reliability, & validity of the information gathered.

8th grade: 8.6.R.3 Students will determine the relevance, reliability, & validity of the information gathered.

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4th grade: 4.6.W.1 Students will generate a viable research question about a topic.

5th grade: 5.6.W.1 Students will formulate a viable research question.

6th grade: 6.6.W.1 Students will formulate & refine a viable research question.

7th grade: 7.6.W.1 Students will formulate & refine a viable research question.

8th grade: 8.6.W.1 Students will formulate & refine a viable research question.

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4th grade: 4.7.R Students will locate & use information from a variety of alphabetic, aural, visual, spatial, &/or gestural content to compare & contrast perspectives about ideas & topics.

5th grade: 5.7.R Students will analyze the characteristics & effectiveness of a variety of alphabetic, aural, visual, spatial, &/or gestural content from various perspectives.

6th grade: 6.7.R Students will compare & contrast the effectiveness of a variety of alphabetic, aural, visual, spatial, &/or gestural content from various perspectives.

7th grade: 7.7.R Students will compare & contrast the effectiveness of techniques used in a variety of alphabetic, aural, visual, spatial, &/or gestural content from various perspectives.

8th grade: 8.7.R Students will determine the intended purposes of techniques used for rhetorical effects in a variety of alphabetic, aural, visual, spatial, &/or gestural content from various perspectives.

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4th grade: 4.7.W Students will communicate their ideas, thoughts, & feelings by combining two or more kinds of content:

● writing/alphabetic

● sound, visual, &/or spatial

● movement

5th grade: 5.7.W Students will create multimodal content (i.e., alphabetic, aural, visual, gestural, &/or spatial) that communicates ideas, thoughts, & feelings for an intended audience

6th grade: 6.7.W Students will create multimodal content (i.e., alphabetic, aural, visual, gestural &/or spatial) that effectively communicates ideas for an intended audience.

7th grade: 7.7.W Students will create multimodal content (i.e., alphabetic, aural, visual, gestural &/or spatial) that effectively communicates ideas for an intended audience.

8th grade: 8.7.W Students will create engaging multimodal content (i.e., alphabetic, aural, visual, gestural &/or spatial) that intentionally addresses an audience & accomplishes a purpose.

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Identifying Author's Purpose

1. Students will be given a selection of texts that vary in author's purpose (persuade, inform, & entertain).

2. Students will use the worksheet to determine each text's purpose.

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Write an Informative Essay Outline

1. Show students the outline they will be using & explain what each component is.

2. Have the class work together to fill out an example outline.

3. Leave the example up & have students pick out a topic to write an informative essay on.

4. Have students fill out the outline of their chosen topic.

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Context Clues Game Show

1. Students will use their devices to log onto Kahoot.

2. The game will be placed on the screen.

3. Students will race to find the correct answers & answer on their devices.

4. It can either be for fun or there can be prizes.

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Enhanced Vocabulary Mad Libs

1. Pick out a Mad Lib or two for the class to work on.

2. As the students fill in the blanks, ask if anyone can come up with a more vivid or descriptive word to use instead.

3. After all of the blanks are filled in, read the completed Mad Lib to the class.

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Parts of Speech Jenga

1. Give each table or group the materials needed for the game.

2. Students will identify an example of a specific part of speech in the sentence on the drawn card.

3. If they correctly identify the word, they can pull that color piece.

4. The one with the most correct answers when the tower falls wins.

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Silly Picture Write

1. Show an image of a silly picture to the students.

2. Tell the students to describe the picture & write about what they think has happened.

3. They must include at least two different examples of each of the following: nouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions, adverbs, & pronouns

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Mystery Picture

1. Give the students a reading passage about a location or an object & let them read through it & mark in one color what they think is important information.

2. Then, put questions about information from the passage on the board with pieces of a mixed-up picture of the location or object that have the correct answers on them.

3. Students will, in a second color, mark their papers on what they think is important information to answer the questions.

4. Students will answer the questions & move the pieces to fix the picture.

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Question Time

1. Show some examples of good research questions & bad research questions & explain why they fall into that category.

2. Tell students that they will have 5-8 minutes to come up with 5 topics they want to write a research paper on.

3. After the time is up, have the students choose three of their topics to write a question to research. Ex.: outer space- How many known planets are in the galaxy?

4. Have students choose the question they think they would be the easiest to write a research paper on.

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Multimode Hunt

1. Students will be given a topic to research.

2. Using books, technology, & other resources they will find examples of sources they can use that are in varying modes of literacy.

3. Students will write the title, type of source, & where they found it on a sheet of paper or the computer.

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Multimodal Choice

1. Students will be given a set of choices of how to do a project.

2. Students will choose 2 different options to do for their information.

3. Students will share their projects with the class.

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21 Author’s Purpose Examples (2024) (helpfulprofessor.com)

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150+ Informative Essay Topics for All Students (essaypro.com)

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Context Clues Worksheets | Ereading Worksheets

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Kahoot! | Learning games | Make learning awesome!

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Kahoot! is a game-based learning platform that brings engagement and fun to 1+ billion players every year at school, at work, and at home.

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Printable Mad Libs | Unleash Your Students' Creativity With These Incredibly Fun Mad Lib Stories | Games4esl

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Take a vacation from your vacation and fill out this fun story from the Vacation Fun Mad Libs book. Because that baby sitting next to you in coach won't stop crying anytime soon...

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Parts of speech seems to be one of those skills that teachers constantly have to review year after year. To keep it fun and engaging, I created a parts of speech review that works with colored Jenga blocks. Keep reading for all the details and get the review printables for free!
Amazon affiliate links provided if you wish to purchase the Jenga blocks mentioned on this post.
Parts of Speech Review Materials:

For this review, you will need:

Colored Jenga blocks -> I buy the precolored ones from Amazon here.

Parts of speech directions and sentences cards-> available for free at the end of this post

Basic Directions for Playing:

To play this game, the students will select sentence cards and then choose a color to move (by allowing free choice or having them roll a die included in most sets). Based on the color of the block they choose to move, the students will answer or complete a task with the sentence on the card they chose.

Here are the specific student directions:

Directions: Select a sentence. Choose a block to remove. Complete the task that matches the color of the block that you want to remove with the sentence on the card. Repeat with each turn.

Two Versions:

I have provided two direction versions so you can choose the review that best works with your students. The sentences provided work best for 4th and 5th graders and may be too advanced for most 3rd graders.
4th Grade Version:
Purple: Identify a noun in the sentence.

Blue: Identify a verb in the sentence.

Green: Identify an adjective in the sentence.

Yellow: Identify an adverb in the sentence.

Pink: Circle the subject of the sentence.

Red: Underline the predicate of the sentence.
5th Grade Version:
Purple: Identify a noun in the sentence. Replace it with a pronoun.

Blue: Identify a verb in the sentence. Determine if the verb is an action verb, linking verb, or helping verb.

Green: Identify an adjective in the sentence. Determine if the adjective tells which one, how many, or what kind.

Yellow: Identify an adverb in the sentence. Determine if the adverb tells how, how often, when, or where.

Pink: Determine if the sentence has a preposition. If so, write it.

Red: Determine if the sentence has a coordinating conjunction. If so, write it.

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Tips for Playing the Jenga Parts of Speech Review:

Tip 1: Have all of the students do the work at the same time (with their specific sentences and tasks) and then move their pieces at the same time. This will keep all of the students on task and working.

Tip 2: Keep your groups relatively small. If you have multiple Jenga games, then you can have several games going on at a time. If you only have one Jenga game, then you could play this game at your teacher table or place it in a literacy center.

Tip 3: For added accountability, have the students record their work on a piece of paper or on the recording sheet included in the download.

How Can I Get this Jenga Parts of Speech Review for FREE?
Click here to download the directions pages AND sentence cards to play this parts of speech review with your students. MORE Jenga Games! How to Use Jenga for Test Prep FREE Decimal Review Jenga Game FREE Fraction Review Jenga Game FREE Multiplication and Division Review Jenga game FREE Whole Number Review Jenga Game
This parts of speech Jenga review would make a great whole-group game (if you have multiple sets of the Jenga blocks). However, it also works great as a literacy center. Click here for even more ideas for reading centers for 4th and 5th graders.

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Parts of Speech Review with Jenga | Free Printables - Teaching with Jennifer Findley

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Want to review parts of speech in an engaging way? Click through to read about and download a FREE parts of speech review for 4th-5th grade using Jenga blocks.

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8 Ideas and Activities for Making Writing Fun in Upper Elementary - Teaching Made Practical

Funny Picture Writing Prompts - HoJo's Teaching Adventures, LLC (hojosteachingadventures.com)

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Engage your students during writing by having them create squiggle stories / squiggle drawings! Have your 3rd or 4th grade students draw an image that integrates the squiggle provided, and then write a short story inspired by the image.

This no prep creative squiggle writing activity includes:

9 writing "prompts"

Blank writing paper

30 squiggle pages (image starters)

Grading rubric

Writing "prompts" - more like directed brainstorming - are included as a part of the squiggle stories to help direct your students and have them practice other skills while writing. These writing prompt ask your students to include:

a problem and solution

a cause and effect

a clear beginning, middle, and end

a character that changes throughout the story

descriptive words related to each of our 5 senses

figurative language

a variety of prefixes and suffixes in the story

words found on the classroom wall

6 vocabulary words in the story

Use these throughout the school year for a fun creative writing activity - you can incorporate the holidays by having students turn the squiggles into a Halloween drawing, Thanksgiving drawing, Christmas drawing, etc.

The preview shows the entire resource. Use this squiggle writing activity / drawings for a no prep writing center, for homework, as a sub activity, as a fun small group activity, and more in 3rd and 4th grade - although it can be easily adapted for younger or older students.

Kalena Baker, Teaching Made Practical

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Squiggle Drawing Stories, Fun Creative Writing Activity Center 3rd, 4th Grade

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Engage your students during writing by having them create squiggle stories / squiggle drawings! Have your 3rd or 4th grade students draw an image that integrates the squiggle provided, and then write a short story inspired by the image. This no prep creative squiggle writing activity includes:9 wri...

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You searched for mystery picture nonfiction - The Butterfly Teacher

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At times, it seems easier to keep kids engaged with reading fiction novels and picture books than with nonfiction books. Is it possible to make nonfiction reading fun? Absolutely teacher friend! In this post, I share my favorite strategies for teaching informational text to upper elementary students.
PLUS you can grab a free activity to use in your classroom this week!

What Are Informational Text Passages?

Even though it may seem like a no-brainer to some, I don't want to move on without defining informational texts.

Besides, how can we know how to teach them, if we can't be crystal clear on what they are.

Informational text passages are a wide variety of sources that basically give you more information.

They include things like:

biographies

how-to articles

recipes

social studies and science themed texts

autobiographies

history and more.

Informational texts can come in the form of books, worksheets, workbooks, and my personal favorite-magazines!

Are Informational Text Passages the Same as Nonfiction Reading Passages?

Although teachers use the terms interchangeably, informational text passages aren't always the exact same as nonfiction passages.

Nonfiction reading covers anything that isn't fiction. This means they can include characters, which you often do not see in informational texts.

So when teaching students to read informative passages, keep in mind that these are a sub-set of nonfiction reading.

In a way, nonfiction reading is the big umbrella, and informational text reading is one example that falls under it.

Knowing these slight differences can really help you when designing your lesson plans for reading.

How Do You Teach Informational Text in a FUN Way?

I feel like this is the essential question! Since so many kids "seem" to hate reading them, how do we make informational text passages more interesting?
Well, my first tip is to allow your students to choose what texts they want to learn more about.
3rd-5th graders actually enjoy learning random facts about new things! Especially on topics that appeal to them.

The best way I've found to manage student choice in my class is with choice boards or learning menus.
During our literacy centers rotations, I give students a choice board with different informational text options and allow them to choose their favorites throughout the week.
Not only do choice boards give students autonomy with their learning, but it also helps you ensure that they don't choose informational texts that are inappropriate.

Magazine Scavenger Hunts

Another tip I have for teaching informational text to upper elementary students is to have magazine scavenger hunts!

Magazine scavenger hunts are worksheets with a list of options students must find and write down while they read magazines.

There are so many things I love about using these with our reading centers:

they don't require any extra prep time for me to have ready

I can use them all throughout the school year with different magazines

students can use them with any nonfiction magazine they choose (YAY, more guided student choice!)

they can be used to practice reading as well as identifying text structures

Knowing text structures is such an important part of mastering informational texts reading. The fact that I can weave this in with our scavenger hunts is such a win-win for me and the students!

Make Reading Fun With Mystery Pictures

Another highly engaging activity for upper elementary students is mystery pictures reading!

Mystery pics take reading nonfiction to a whole new level. Here's how they work:

Students read the informational text passages on different topics through Google Slides. Each topic has a picture related to it, but there's a catch: the picture is all scrambled up.

In order to see the pictures, students must correctly answer comprehension questions that allow them to "solve" the mystery picture.

Here's an example from my YouTube channel that shows how mystery pictures work:

Using this reading center requires devices, but incorporating technology into your reading centers is a good thing!

That provides novelty and a new way to experience reading nonfiction.

This is another way to make teaching informational text more fun for students.

And since this form of nonfiction reading tends to lack characters, students look forward to seeing any pictures that come with them.

The pictures can also give more information about the informative topic, which strengthens students' comprehension.
It will be music to your teacher-ears to hear students asking for more reading because they want more mystery pictures to solve!

Teach Students to Color-Code Their Close Read Passages

In addition to the tips above, it is also very helpful to color-code any close-reading passages in class.
Close reading is pretty self explanatory: it's when students are reading the text closely in order to gain more information.
My favorite way to practice close reading is to teach students to color-code their texts. This works especially well when teaching informational text.
One of the issues I have found with many basal readers for upper elementary is that they lack nonfiction passages in general.

This is where informational text quick reads come in to save the day! 🙌🏾

These no-prep reading comprehension worksheetsallow me to have on-going practice and spiral the standards that my students need.
These basic characteristics align with this tip:

students get to color-code their answers and the text, which forces them to refer back to passage

the color-coding aspect breaks away from the monotony of just having a worksheet with several sentences to fill out

these passages can be completed quickly, so they're great for lesson warm-ups, morning work, or exit tickets

For these reasons and more, I highly recommend using color-coding during reading.

The Top Way Teachers Make Close Reading BORING for Students

It's hard to talk about close-reading without including this warning in there: don't drill students about color-coding perfectly!

The process of color-coding during reading should not overshadow learning new information from the text.

If you penalize students for getting one of their colors incorrect, then they will start paying more attention to the colors rather than the passage itself.

Of course, you want to remind students to follow directions when they're reading.

But you don't want to suck the joy of reading out of them by knocking points off their grade if they mix up one of their colors when highlighting their answers.

Do a quick fact check during your guided reading time to see if the students understand what they read.

If they show comprehension, then move on!

More Resources for Teaching Reading

Hopefully you found some golden nuggets about teaching informational text to your upper elementary students.
PLUS, don't forget to grab your FREE activity here:

Be sure to pin this post on your favorite Pinterest board or bookmark it for later use.

I love teaching reading, so I have more resources here for you:

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Teaching Informational Text to Upper Elementary (without boring them to tears!)

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Do your students seem to hate reading nonfiction? This post shares effective strategies for teaching informational text to upper elementary.

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The Ultimate List of Interesting Research Topics for Kids - Wife Teacher Mommy

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Looking for a comprehensive list of interesting research topics for kids? This list includes engaging and fun science and social studies research ideas.

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35 Multimodal Learning Strategies and Examples (prodigygame.com)

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Creating multimodal texts – "Litology" and Much More (edublogs.org)

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What Is Multimodal Learning? 35 Strategies and Examples to Empower Your Teaching

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All Posts Category Teacher Activities Teaching Strategies Even the most confident educational leaders can find themselves asking the same questions, over and over. Are students listening? Are they engaged? Are they learning the way they should? All kids learn differently, and sometimes it can feel nearly impossible to find a curriculum or plan that works for an entire school.

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4th grade:

1. Students will be given a selection of texts that vary in author's purpose (persuade, inform, & entertain).

2. Students will use the worksheet to determine each text's purpose.

5th grade:

1. Students will be given a selection of texts that vary in author's purpose (persuade, inform, & entertain).

2. Students will use the worksheet to determine each text's purpose & if the purpose was achieved.

6th grade:

1. Students will be given a selection of texts over the same topics that vary in author's purpose (persuade, inform, & entertain).

2. Students will use the worksheet to determine each text's purpose.

3. Students will compare & contrast the purposes of the texts.

7th grade:

1. Students will be given a selection of texts over the same topics that vary in author's purpose (persuade, inform, & entertain).

2. Students will compare the purposes of the texts.

8th grade:

1. Students will be given a selection of texts over the same topics that vary in author's purpose (persuade, inform, & entertain).

2. Students will analyze the purposes of the texts.

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4th grade:

1. Show students the outline they will be using & explain what each component is.

2. Have the class work together to fill out an example outline.

3. Leave the example up & have students pick out a topic to write an informative essay on.

4. Have students fill out the outline of their chosen topic.

5th grade:

1. Show students the outline they will be using & explain what each component is.

2. Have the class work together to fill out an example outline.

3. Leave the example up & have students pick out a topic to write an informative essay on.

4. Have students fill out the outline of their chosen topic.

6th grade:

1. Show students the outline they will be using & explain what each component is.

2. Have the class work together to fill out an example outline.

3. Leave the example up & have students pick out a topic to write an informative essay on.

4. Have students fill out the outline of their chosen topic.

7th grade:

1. Show students the outline they will be using & explain what each component is.

2. Have the class work together to fill out an example outline.

3. Leave the example up & have students pick out a topic to write an informative essay on.

4. Have students fill out the outline of their chosen topic.

8th grade:

1. Show students the outline they will be using & explain what each component is.

2. Have the class work together to fill out an example outline.

3. Leave the example up & have students pick out a topic to write an informative essay on.

4. Have students fill out the outline of their chosen topic.

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4th grade:

1. Students will use their devices to log onto Kahoot.

2. The game will be placed on the screen.

3. Students will race to find the correct answers & answer on their devices.

4. It can either be for fun or there can be prizes.

5th grade:

1. Students will use their devices to log onto Kahoot.

2. The game will be placed on the screen.

3. Students will race to find the correct answers & answer on their devices.

4. It can either be for fun or there can be prizes.

6th grade:

1. Students will use their devices to log onto Kahoot.

2. The game will be placed on the screen.

3. Students will race to find the correct answers & answer on their devices.

4. It can either be for fun or there can be prizes.

7th grade:

1. Students will use their devices to log onto Kahoot.

2. The game will be placed on the screen.

3. Students will race to find the correct answers & answer on their devices.

4. It can either be for fun or there can be prizes.

8th grade:

1. Students will use their devices to log onto Kahoot.

2. The game will be placed on the screen.

3. Students will race to find the correct answers & answer on their devices.

4. It can either be for fun or there can be prizes.

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4th grade:

1. Pick out a Mad Lib or two for the class to work on.

2. As the students fill in the blanks, ask if anyone can come up with a more vivid or descriptive word to use instead.

3. After all of the blanks are filled in, read the completed Mad Lib to the class.

5th grade:

1. Pick out a Mad Lib or two for the class to work on.

2. As the students fill in the blanks, ask if anyone can come up with a more vivid or descriptive word to use instead.

3. After all of the blanks are filled in, read the completed Mad Lib to the class.

6th grade:

1. Pick out a Mad Lib or two for the class to work on.

2. As the students fill in the blanks, ask if anyone can come up with a more vivid or descriptive word to use instead.

3. After all of the blanks are filled in, read the completed Mad Lib to the class.

7th grade:

1. Pick out a Mad Lib or two for the class to work on.

2. As the students fill in the blanks, ask if anyone can come up with a more vivid or descriptive word to use instead.

3. After all of the blanks are filled in, read the completed Mad Lib to the class.

8th grade:

1. Pick out a Mad Lib or two for the class to work on.

2. As the students fill in the blanks, ask if anyone can come up with a more vivid or descriptive word to use instead.

3. After all of the blanks are filled in, read the completed Mad Lib to the class.

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4th grade:

1. Give each table or group the materials needed for the game.

2. Students will identify an example of a specific part of speech in the sentence on the drawn card.

3. If they correctly identify the word, they can pull that color piece.

4. The one with the most correct answers when the tower falls wins.

5th grade:

1. Give each table or group the materials needed for the game.

2. Students will identify an example of a specific part of speech in the sentence on the drawn card & explain its effect on the sentence.

3. If they correctly identify the word & the effect, they can pull that color piece.

4. The one with the most correct answers when the tower falls wins.

6th grade:

1. Give each table or group the materials needed for the game.

2. Students will identify an example of a specific part of speech in the sentence on the drawn card & explain its effect on the sentence.

3. If they correctly identify the word & the effect, they can pull that color piece.

4. The one with the most correct answers when the tower falls wins.

7th grade:

1. Give each table or group the materials needed for the game.

2. Students will identify an example of a specific part of speech in the sentence on the drawn card & explain its effect on the sentence.

3. If they correctly identify the word & the effect, they can pull that color piece.

4. The one with the most correct answers when the tower falls wins.

8th grade:

1. Give each table or group the materials needed for the game.

2. Students will identify an example of a specific part of speech in the sentence on the drawn card & explain its effect on the sentence.

3. If they correctly identify the word & the effect, they can pull that color piece.

4. The one with the most correct answers when the tower falls wins.

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4th grade:

1. Show an image of a silly picture to the students.

2. Tell the students to describe the picture & write about what they think has happened.

3. They must include at least two different examples of each of the following: nouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions, adverbs, & pronouns

5th grade:

1. Show an image of a silly picture to the students.

2. Tell the students to describe the picture & write about what they think has happened.

3. They must include at least four different examples of each of the following: nouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions, adverbs, & pronouns

6th grade:

1. Show an image of a silly picture to the students.

2. Tell the students to describe the picture & write about what they think has happened.

3. They must include at least four different examples of each of the following: nouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions, adverbs, & pronouns

7th grade:

1. Show an image of a silly picture to the students.

2. Tell the students to describe the picture & write about what they think has happened.

3. They must include at least five different examples of each of the following: nouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions, adverbs, & pronouns

8th grade:

1. Show an image of a silly picture to the students.

2. Tell the students to describe the picture & write about what they think has happened.

3. They must include at least five different examples of each of the following: nouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions, adverbs, & pronouns

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4th grade:

1. Give the students a reading passage about a location or an object & let them read through it & mark in one color what they think is important information.

2. Then, put questions about information from the passage on the board with pieces of a mixed-up picture of the location or object that have the correct answers on them.

3. Students will, in a second color, mark their papers on what they think is important information to answer the questions.

4. Students will answer the questions & move the pieces to fix the picture.

5th grade:

1. Give the students two reading passages about a location or an object & let them read through them.

2. Have the students decide which text has reliable information & use that text for the rest of the activity.

3. Have the students mark in one color what they think is important information in the chosen text.

4. Then, put questions about information from the passage on the board with pieces of a mixed-up picture of the location or object that have the correct answers on them.

5. Students will, in a second color, mark their papers on what they think is important information to answer the questions.

6. Students will answer the questions & move the pieces to fix the picture.

6th grade:

1. Give the students two reading passages about a location or an object & let them read through them.

2. Have the students decide which text has reliable information & use that text for the rest of the activity.

3. Have the students mark in one color what they think is important information in the chosen text.

4. Then, put questions about information from the passage on the board with pieces of a mixed-up picture of the location or object that have the correct answers on them.

5. Students will, in a second color, mark their papers on what they think is important information to answer the questions.

6. Students will answer the questions & move the pieces to fix the picture.

7th grade:

1. Give the students two reading passages about a location or an object & let them read through them.

2. Have the students decide which text has reliable information & use that text for the rest of the activity.

3. Have the students mark in one color what they think is important information in the chosen text.

4. Then, put questions about information from the passage on the board with pieces of a mixed-up picture of the location or object that have the correct answers on them.

5. Students will, in a second color, mark their papers on what they think is important information to answer the questions.

6. Students will answer the questions & move the pieces to fix the picture.

8th grade:

1. Give the students two reading passages about a location or an object & let them read through them.

2. Have the students decide which text has reliable information & use that text for the rest of the activity.

3. Have the students mark in one color what they think is important information in the chosen text.

4. Then, put questions about information from the passage on the board with pieces of a mixed-up picture of the location or object that have the correct answers on them.

5. Students will, in a second color, mark their papers on what they think is important information to answer the questions.

6. Students will answer the questions & move the pieces to fix the picture.

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4th grade:

1. Show some examples of good research questions & bad research questions & explain why they fall into that category.

2. Tell students that they will have 5-8 minutes to come up with 5 topics they want to write a research paper on.

3. After the time is up, have the students choose three of their topics to write a question to research. Ex.: outer space- How many known planets are in the galaxy?

4. Have students choose the question they think they would be the easiest to write a research paper on.

5th grade:

1. Show some examples of good research questions & bad research questions & explain why they fall into that category.

2. Tell students that they will have 5-8 minutes to come up with 5 topics they want to write a research paper on.

3. After the time is up, have the students choose three of their topics to write a question to research. Ex.: outer space- How many known planets are in the galaxy?

4. Have students choose the question they think they would be the easiest to write a research paper on.

6th grade:

1. Show some examples of good research questions & bad research questions & explain why they fall into that category.

2. Tell students that they will have 5-8 minutes to come up with 5 topics they want to write a research paper on.

3. After the time is up, have the students choose three of their topics to write a question to research. Ex.: outer space- How many known planets are in the galaxy?

4. Have students choose the question they think they would be the easiest to write a research paper on.

5. Students will revise the other two questions to make them easier to research.

7th grade:

1. Show some examples of good research questions & bad research questions & explain why they fall into that category.

2. Tell students that they will have 5-8 minutes to come up with 5 topics they want to write a research paper on.

3. After the time is up, have the students choose three of their topics to write a question to research. Ex.: outer space- How many known planets are in the galaxy?

4. Have students choose the question they think they would be the easiest to write a research paper on.

5. Students will revise the other two questions to make them easier to research.

8th grade:

1. Show some examples of good research questions & bad research questions & explain why they fall into that category.

2. Tell students that they will have 5-8 minutes to come up with 5 topics they want to write a research paper on.

3. After the time is up, have the students choose three of their topics to write a question to research. Ex.: outer space- How many known planets are in the galaxy?

4. Have students choose the question they think they would be the easiest to write a research paper on.

5. Students will revise the other two questions to make them easier to research.

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4th grade:

1. Students will be given a topic to research.

2. Using books, technology, & other resources they will find examples of sources they can use that are in varying modes of literacy.

3. Students will write the title, type of source, & where they found it on a sheet of paper or the computer.

5th grade:

1. Students will be given several sources on a topic to look at.

2. Using the provided sources students will determine how effective the mode is at delivering the information.

3. Students will write the title, type of source, & whether it was a good source or not on a sheet of paper or the computer.

6th grade:

1. Students will be given several sources on a topic to look at.

2. Using the provided sources students will determine how effective the mode is at delivering the information.

3. Students will sort the sources from most to least effective.

4. The list will include the title, type of source, & why it is a good source or not.

7th grade:

1. Students will be given several sources on a topic to look at.

2. Using the provided sources students will determine how effective the mode is at delivering the information.

3. Students will sort the sources from most to least effective.

4. The list will include the title, type of source, & why it is a good source or not.

8th grade:

1. Students will be given several sources on a topic to look at.

2. Using the provided sources students will determine the intended purpose of the source.

3. Students will write the title, type of source, & its purpose on a sheet of paper or a computer.

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4th grade:

1. Students will be given a set of choices of how to do a project.

2. Students will choose 2 different options to do for their information.

3. Students will share their projects with the class.

5th grade:

1. Students will be given a set of choices of how to do a project.

2. Students will choose 3 different options to do for their information.

3. Students will share their projects with the class.

6th grade:

1. Students will be given a set of choices of how to do a project.

2. Students will choose 3 different options to do for their information.

3. Students will share their projects with the class.

7th grade:

1. Students will be given a set of choices of how to do a project.

2. Students will choose 4 different options to do for their information.

3. Students will share their projects with the class.

8th grade:

1. Students will be given a set of choices of how to do a project.

2. Students will choose 4 different options to do for their information.

3. Students will share their projects with the class.