Diagram It! Identifying, Comparing, and Writing About Nonfiction Texts

Materials and Technology

Printouts

Preparation

 

MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGY

• Native Americans by Jay Miller (Children’s Press, 1994)

• Native Americans by Judith Simpson, et al. (Time-Life Books, 1995)

• The Rough-Face Girl by Rafe Martin (Putnam Publishing Group, 1998)

• Sitting Bull: Dakota Boy by Augusta Stevenson (Aladdin, 1996)

• Rising Voices: Writings of Young Native Americans by Arlene Hirschfelder and Beverly Singer (Ivy Books, 1993)

• Computers with Internet access

• Chart paper

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PRINTOUTS

• Nonfiction Booklist

• Venn Diagram

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PREPARATION

1.	Designate a comfortable meeting area in the classroom that will seat all students for group work.
2.	Label one piece of chart paper with the heading "Fiction" and another with the heading "Nonfiction." Copy the Venn Diagram onto another piece of chart paper. Use a fourth piece to make a three-section T-chart with the headings "Informative Books," "Biographies," and "Autobiographies."
3.	If you choose to use the Native American theme, obtain and review copies of the following books: The Rough-Face Girl by Rafe Martin (fiction) Native Americans by Judith Simpson (nonfiction) Native Americans by Jay Miller (informative nonfiction) Sitting Bull: Dakota Boy by Augusta Stevenson (biography) Rising Voices: Writings of Young Native Americans by Arlene Hirschfelder (autobiography) You will use these books for the read-aloud portion of the lesson only. Read-alouds are designed to bring more complex texts to students who cannot read them independently. These texts are intended for older readers and were purposely chosen for read-alouds, not for independent reading. If you prefer to use a different theme, you might use the Nonfiction Booklist to help find other nonfiction texts. You will need to select one book to read aloud from each of the following categories: fiction, nonfiction, informative nonfiction, biography, and autobiography.
4.	Choose several examples of fiction books that you have read to students before. One of these should fit with the theme you have selected for the lesson.
5.	Obtain and review a selection of texts from the Nonfiction Booklist, choosing four or five informative books, autobiographies, and biographies.
6.	Bookmark the Interactive Venn Diagram on your classroom computers. Train at least one child to use this online tool. This could be a computer-savvy student or an older "expert" recruited from another grade level.
7.	Decide how you will divide the class into groups of three. Make a copy of the Venn Diagram for each group.

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