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Reading. Writing. Thinking. Sharing. (From Karen)

Reading. Writing. Thinking. Sharing. (From Karen)
How are you doing with teaching non-fiction, informational texts? Do you feel you have a good grasp on expository text structures? With the Common Core ELA standards, students are expected to be proficient in reading complex informational texts. The purpose of this post is to provide a few resources for teaching non-fiction, in preparation for the higher levels of achievement students are expected to reach! The Non-Fiction Text Structures: What are text structures? Non-fiction text structures refer to HOW an author organizes information in an expository text. Why are the text structures important? Understanding non-fiction text structures is critical for “Reading to Learn” (i.e., reading for information). Introducing & Reviewing Non Fiction: It is important to note at this point that students need to understand the difference between fiction and non-fiction BEFORE jumping into learning about text structures. Here are a few resources to introduce or review non-fiction with your students: Related:  Learning Standards / Anchor Charts Safari

Steps for Research Anchor Chart (Sarah T.) Anchor Charts 101: Why and How to Use Them, Plus 100s of Ideas (Jenna M.) Spend any time browsing teacher pages on Pinterest and Instagram, and you’ll run across hundreds of ideas for classroom anchor charts. But you may have lingering questions about what they are, what purpose they serve, how to get started, and when to use them. Have no fear! WeAreTeachers has created this primer to inform you, and we’ve also included a huge list of resources to get you started. We have a feeling that once you get started, anchor charts are going to your new favorite thing. What is an anchor chart? SOURCE: Teaching With Simplicity An anchor chart is a tool that is used to support instruction (i.e. How do I create anchor charts? The first thing you need to know about creating them is that you do not need any special materials or artistic skills—just chart paper and a colorful assortment of markers. As you model a lesson or learning strategy and interact with your students through discussion, you fill in the blank spaces of the anchor chart. SOURCE: The Thinker Builder

Fiction and Non-Fiction Anchor Chart by The Book Fairy Goddess Teaching the difference between Fiction books and Non-Fiction books is an important skill, especially in the younger grades. In the past, I’ve always created a poster on chart paper with the information along with the students. Sometimes, in my rush, my poster had mistakes or was not the neatest as I must have missed the day they handed out the “teacher handwriting gene”! That always bugged me, because I would refer back to the poster for several weeks. So, here’s what I plan to do: 1. I’ll use the pieces to BUILD the poster with the students on the empty clipboard poster (page 4). I hope you find this useful!

edutopia (Christina Williams) Begin With Guided Inquiry Teacher-guided inquiry can build background knowledge of the topic before letting students take the reins in developing their own inquiry. With guided inquiry: Teachers start with an overall guiding question. Teachers know what they want their students to understand beforehand. Students know what the outcome of the inquiry will be. "Guided inquiry is like a typical science lesson," explains Anne DiCola, Ralston Elementary's instructional coach. Ralston teachers build toward student-driven inquiry throughout the course of the unit. Teach Students How to Question Explore and Model Different Types of Deeper-Level Questions An important aspect of inquiry-based learning is teaching students how to ask deeper questions. According to Principal Dawn Odean, the following two tips helped Ralston teachers: Across grade levels, reflect on how you model questioning from kindergarten and up. "We’re really looking at students being creative problem solvers," explains Odean. D.J.

RACE Writing Strategy Response Poster (Jill) ***Check out this product that includes MORE posters, bookmarks, and a writing response sheet for both RACE and RACES - only $2.00 more!***RACE and RACES BUNDLE This poster is a useful tool for students learning the RACE acronym for writing constructed responses and short answers. Why use RACE? Understanding (and memorizing!) Students learn not only to write complete responses, but to read CLOSELY...because they know they will have to "prove" their answer. Beyond tests (and isn't that what it's all about!?) We are teaching students to think critically and support their opinions! Includes a printer-friendly black and white version, too! ***Check out my other RACE Products:***

Analyzing Firsthand and Secondhand Accounts (Ben) Compare and contrast a firsthand and secondhand account of the same event or topic; describe the differences in focus and the information provided. I'm not going to lie. This was a scary standard for me to tackle. It's one of those that you Google, and almost nothing comes up. I started by using a few passages that I have used for years--even before Common Core. I read these aloud to them while they read along. What would a lesson be without something in their interactive notebooks!? I LOVE using task cards in interactive notebooks. Complete several of the cards together, first. The students can then glue one of the task cards into their notebook and answer the guiding questions using the individual student question prompt sheet. You can find these Analyzing Firsthand and Secondhand Accounts for Comparing and Contrasting Multiple Accounts of the same event in my Teachers Pay Teachers store HERE. Do you have any other ideas for teaching this tough skill?

How to Cite Textual Evidence in MLA Format - Digital Anchor Chart (Allison) Help your students learn the basics of citing textual evidence in their literary writing with this digital anchor chart. ----------------------------------- » If you like this product, check out my Reading-Inspired Pennant Banners « Hey! Let's connect on Instagram! If you post any pictures with my products, make sure to tag me @helloteacherlady so I can feature you! Did you know you can earn TPT credits by leaving feedback on your purchases? Psst -- Click the green star by my icon and be the first to know about upcoming products and sales!

What’s New in the Eighth Edition | Modern Language Association The eighth edition of the MLA Handbook, published in 2016, rethinks documentation for an era of digital publication. The MLA now recommends a universal set of guidelines that writers can apply to any source and gives writers in all fields—from the sciences to the humanities—the tools to intuitively document sources. Learn more below about the changes to MLA guidelines. Get resources for teaching, an FAQ, tips on writing, and more on The MLA Style Center. The List of Works Cited The eighth edition of the MLA Handbook introduces a new model for entries in the works-cited list, one that reflects recent changes in how works are published and consulted. In the new model, the work’s publication format is not considered. In the new model, then, the writer asks, “Who is the author? Because of this fundamental change, the works-cited-list entries produced by the two approaches are different. Abbreviations Authors Books and Other Printed Works Journals Online Works Publishers Miscellaneous

(submitted by: Lauren James)---A Peek into our Nonfiction Research and Research Based Argument Essay Unit Last week, we completed our Nonfiction Research Unit and Research Based Argument Essay Unit, which are integrated units in reading and writing workshops. Below are the charts we created as a class during the unit. I tried to put the charts in the order (somewhat) that we created them in to help give you a snapshot of what our work looked like in our classroom. At the beginning of each unit, I always launch it by discussing the purpose of the unit with my students and WHY we are learning this set of skills. After identifying the purpose, we also think about which skills/strategies we can transfer from our previous unit to the new unit. Below you will see our two charts for these lessons: During each reading and writing unit, we create class charts that identify the teaching points taught in each mini-lesson so students can refer to the charts throughout the unit. During reading and writing units, we create charts with examples, phrases/stems, and helpful strategies.

Fiction or Non-Fiction? (Fran Kyrtatas) Just a quick post today. . . This was a bit of a combo lesson I did earlier this year. We first brainstormed the differences between fiction and non-fiction. We had talked about genres briefly a few days prior, so I added it on to our lesson. I did end with a handout that streamlined the different genres in an easy to read chart. Teaching With a Mountain View: Analyzing Firsthand and Secondhand Accounts (Ariel Richvalsky) Compare and contrast a firsthand and secondhand account of the same event or topic; describe the differences in focus and the information provided. I'm not going to lie. This was a scary standard for me to tackle. It's one of those that you Google, and almost nothing comes up. I started by using a few passages that I have used for years--even before Common Core. I read these aloud to them while they read along. What would a lesson be without something in their interactive notebooks!? I LOVE using task cards in interactive notebooks. Complete several of the cards together, first. The students can then glue one of the task cards into their notebook and answer the guiding questions using the individual student question prompt sheet. You can find these Analyzing Firsthand and Secondhand Accounts for Comparing and Contrasting Multiple Accounts of the same event in my Teachers Pay Teachers store HERE. Do you have any other ideas for teaching this tough skill?

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