Fiction Read-Aloud with Nonfiction Activities

Expand your approach to fiction read-aloud. Design nonfiction activities to pair with your read-aloud experience. Brainstorm questions related to the fiction content and provide reading materials.

Primary. Pair nonfiction books with fiction stories from One More Story. Focus on using the informational books to answer questions rather than reading the entire book. Use the table of contents and index to help locate information. Use headings and subheadings in websites.

• Standards
  • Science Standard 1.4.1. Identify when stories give attributes to plants and animals, such as the ability to speak, that they really do not have.
• Resources
  • Read aloud Charlotte's Web by E. B. White and Spiders by Nic Bishop Spider

Intermediate/Middle. As you read aloud a book to the class, ask students to draw or create graphic organizers as you read. Then provide nonfiction books or online readings to support their drawings. When reading Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls, learn more about the elements in the story. For instance, read Working Dogs from NOVA and FBI Working Dogs.

To organize your activities, consider a WebQuest. This inquiry-based approach will help to guide the integration of nonfiction works. Explore the Where the Red Fern Grows WebQuest for ideas.

Explore other examples of WebQuests and Guides for Intermediate/Middle School books:
(You may find dead links in the following projects, consider adapting the ideas to fit your needs)

• The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis (WebQuest)
• The Clay Marble by Minfong Ho (WebQuest)
• The Diary of Anne Frank (WebQuest)
• Dragon Wings by Laurence Yep (WebQuest) (CyberGuide)
• Johnny Tremain by Tom Reed (WebQuest) (CyberGuide)
• My Brother Sam is Dead by Christopher Collier & James Lincoln Collier (WebQuest)
• Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor (WebQuest)
• Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech (CyberGuide)

Explore NOVA's Teacher Guide. Select a content area, then click the (+) sign under Interactives for Students to see lots of slide shows, activities, and other interactives that involve reading.

Middle School. Begin with a shared historical fiction experience. Develop questions about the fact and fiction of the historical fiction. Provide specific pages to focus on nonfiction reading. Then, provide search strategies to assist young people in additional exploration.

• Middle Ages Fiction: Fantasy
  • Redwall Series by Brian Jacques (Pathfinder) (Wiki) (Author site) (Redwall Encyclopedia)
• Nonfiction Connection: Daily Life
  • Life in a Medieval Monastery from Britain Express
  • Medieval Monastery
• Nonfiction Connection: Tapestry
  • Tapestry from Wikipedia
  • Bayeux Tapestry from Britain
  • The Unicorn Tapestries from the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Create a tapestry to reflect what you've learned about the middle ages. Use the Medieval Tapestry lesson plan for ideas.

Write a short story combining fact and fiction. Use the Historic Tale Construction Kit to build a bridge between fact and fiction.