All Things Informational

Understanding informational text is such a big part of Common Core. My kids usually choose a informational text over fiction when they visit my library, so it's easy to build on their interests when reinforcing using text features.

I've pulled all my old resources into one post. 

Hope you find something you can use! Just click on each picture to get the info!
Check back during the week to see what new things we did with informational text.

This is one of my most popular posts. Pull out just the parts you need or let your students complete the entire packet in pairs or alone.

This is similar to the Super Hero activity. You can use it in the same way.

I pull out this activity several times a year for reinforcement. The kids love scavenger hunts.

Students have to use text features in the book Cats vs. Dogs to complete these activities.

 Cash in on your students' love of sharks. These activities are all based on National Geographic Kids Sharks!

Practice determining the main idea and using content-specific vocabulary introduced in text with these activities based on Ugly Animals.

I love the Smart Words Readers. This station activity is based on one of the titles in the series, Volcanoes.

 These task cards are based on the text exemplar Seeds, by Gail Gibbons.

If you have some fun resources for using informational text, please leave a comment.

New Page for Common Core Text Exemplars

Thanks to everyone for the positive response to my series of posts on activities for the text exemplars for Common Core for second and third grade.

To make it easier to find the posts and keep up when I add new activities, I have started a new page on my blog to hold all the links to the posts. (Thanks to Ladybug Teacher Files for the idea!)

 Just look at the top of my blog and click on the link for "Activities for Common Core Text Exemplars".

I'll be adding more activities for the text exemplars this week, so if you have not followed my blog, this would be a great time to do so!

Amos and Boris - Common Core Text Exemplar - Freebie

 I hope you've liked my series on the text exemplars for second and third grade Common Core so far. I have found most of the titles on Amazon or Barnes and Noble.com. For some reason, I often got better prices if I clicked on a picture of the book in the little scroll bar that shows up once you have added an item to your cart. (It's where the companies show you titles that other buyers also purchased.)

Today's text exemplar is Amos and Boris, a story about friendship between a mouse and a whale. Click on the pic above to get a document with TWO activities for your literacy stations! The first is a review of the story elements for Amos and Boris. The second is a matching activity using context clues on words from the story.

Are you using the Common Core text exemplars in your classroom? Leave me comment and tell me what you're doing.

Poppleton in Winter -- Freebie

It seems funny to be posting pictures of snowflakes in July!

Here is another activity based on a text exemplar for second and third grade for Common Core, Poppleton in Winter. Students read information about the story and categorize it according to chapters.

Click on the pic above to download.

The Fire Cat -- Freebie

Common Core Standards include a list of text exemplars for grade clusters. Here are two activities for The Fire Cat, by Esther Averill, listed for second and third grade.

Students organize events from the plot into the correct sequence in the first file. In the second, they compare and contrast the cat's characteristics in the beginning of the book with those from the ending.

Just click on the pic above to download both activities!