June 13, 2018

by Beth Lemon

EL Support Lesson

Nonfiction Text Features

Download lesson plan

This lesson can be used as a pre-lesson for the How Many Features? lesson plan.

Contents

Grade

Second Grade

Subject

View aligned standards

RI.2.5, CA ELD SL.2.1, CA ELD SL.6, CA.ELD.L.2.1, TX ELP 1E, TX ELP 2C, TX ELP 3D, TX ELP 4K, NY NLAP SL.2.2, NY NLAP.SL.2

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Materials and preparation

Class set of the Starfish Text Features worksheet
Class set of the Nonfiction Feature Match worksheet
Nine copies of the Frayer Model worksheet (each with one of the tiered vocabulary words written in the center oval)
Vocabulary Cards
Glossary
Teacher copy of the Teach Background Knowledge Template
Teacher copy of the Write Student-Facing Language Objectives Reference
Class set of index cards/sticky notes

EL Proficiency Level

intermediate

Key terms

TIER 1

fiction: texts about imaginative and made-up things

nonfiction: texts about real-world topics that help us to learn, find information, and explain things.

TIER 2

caption: a sentence or sentences written on or next to a picture to explain what is shown

diagram: a drawing that explains or labels the parts of something

heading: describing word or words at the beginning of a document, passage, or the top of a page

glossary: a list that gives the meanings of new or difficult words found in a book

illustration: a picture or drawing in a book or magazine

index: an alphabetical list at the end of a book that gives the page where each subject in the list can be found

subheading: word or title that come after the main heading or title

table of contents: a list of a book's section titles with their page numbers

This lesson can be used as a pre-lesson for the How Many Features? lesson plan.

Objectives

Academic

Students will be able to use and identify nonfiction text features.

Language

I can identify and use nonfiction text features.

Introduction

(2 minutes)

Project the Frayer Model worksheet for the word fiction and check student comprehension throughout by asking them to orally repeat the definition or provide examples.
Complete the Frayer Model, thinking aloud and asking for student volunteers as you go.

Building academic language

Word

(10 minutes)

Use visuals and/or sentences as you define each vocabulary word and allow students to discuss how the visual relates to the new word.
Post the other Frayer Models around the room and remind students of how to complete the models.
Conduct a carousel activity by separating the students into groups of three or four and asking them to rotate from one Frayer Model to another. Each group will have their own colored pencil or marker to add thoughts and notes about the tiered vocabulary words.
Separate students into groups with a completed Frayer Model and have them answer questions aloud about the word. For example:
- What does the word mean?
Have students use sentence frames for support in their oral discussion.
Allow students to create and share aloud their own sentences with the new vocabulary words. For example:
- I look in the ____ of a book to find ____.

Sentence

(9 minutes)

Distribute the Starfish Text Features worksheet, read the directions to the students, and ask a volunteer to repeat the instructions back to you.
Ask the students what they think the text is about. Point out the heading, "Starfish."
Think aloud to model analyzing the heading. Ask: "Which type of text feature is this? How do we know?" Have students explain the clues.
Point to the next feature, the diagram. Have students work independently to label it.
Choose non-volunteers to share their answers and ask students to correct their answers as necessary.
Have students work in pairs to discuss the next two features.

Discourse

(8 minutes)

Distribute the Nonfiction Feature Match worksheet, read the directions to the students, and ask a volunteer to repeat the instructions back to you.
Have students work with partners to complete the worksheet.
Provide sentence stems for students to share with partners as they work. For example:
- This feature is ____. I know this because ____.

Formative Assessment of Academic Language

(2 minutes)

Assess students' understanding of vocabulary by evaluating their accuracy on the Frayer Models, partner talk, worksheets, and participation throughout the class.

Review and closing

(3 minutes)

Distribute index cards/sticky notes. Explain that students should write "true" on one side and "false" on the other. Write these words on the board.
Instruct students to hold their cards up with the correct word facing you as you make 3–5 true or false statements. For example:
- An index tells you the page numbers of different subjects in a book.
- A diagram is the word(s) found at the top of a text.