Description
What our Description Nonfiction Text Structure lesson plan includes
Lesson Objectives and Overview: Description Nonfiction Text Structure teaches students how to identify this text structure and use it correctly. Students will read and write examples of the description structure. They will also list keywords that help them know that this is the text structure they are reading. They will also be able to determine the purpose for using it.
Classroom Procedure
Every lesson plan provides you with a classroom procedure page that outlines a step-by-step guide to follow. You do not have to follow the guide exactly. The guide helps you organize the lesson and details when to hand out worksheets. It also lists information in the yellow box that you might find useful. You will find the lesson objectives, state standards, and number of class sessions the lesson should take to complete in this area. In addition, it describes the supplies you will need as well as what and how you need to prepare beforehand. For this lesson, you will need to supply paper, writing utensils, markers or chalk, and chart paper.
Options for Lesson
In the “Options for Lesson” section of the classroom procedure page, you will see some suggestions for additional activities or ideas to add to the lesson if you want to. In this case, it outlines a possible way to present this lesson. On day one, students will activate background knowledge, read the instructional pages, and discuss types of text structure. Then they will create an anchor chart. If you want, students could work on the activity page with a partner. For day two, review the anchor charts, complete the practice page, and assign the homework. On day three, review anchor charts again, collect students’ homework assignments, and work on the partner activity following homework.
Teacher Notes
The paragraph on this page gives you a little more information on the lesson overall and describes what you may want to focus your teaching on. It explains that this lesson is meant to provide a foundational understanding of this type of text structure for nonfiction texts. The blank lines are available for you to write out any thoughts or ideas you have as you prepare.
DESCRIPTION NONFICTION TEXT STRUCTURE WORKSHEETS
The Description Nonfiction Text Structure lesson plan includes three worksheets: an activity worksheet, a practice worksheet, and a homework assignment. Each one will help students solidify their grasp of the material they learned throughout the lesson. You can refer to the classroom procedure guidelines to know when to hand out each worksheet.
SEMANTIC WEB ACTIVITY WORKSHEET
Students will work with a partner on the activity. The worksheet displays a short passage about the leatherback turtle. Students will read the passage and highlight keywords that signal to them that it is descriptive. At the end of the passage, they will complete a semantic web to list the pieces of information that they learned about the topic. After they complete the web, they can use the two lines at the bottom of the page to write a summary statement about what they learned.
DESCRIPTION NONFICTION TEXT STRUCTURE PRACTICE WORKSHEET
The practice worksheet requires students to read a passage about the saguaro cactus. Similar to the activity worksheet, students must highlight keywords that signal description and facts about one main topic. After they finish reading, they will complete the list below the passage. They must write keywords from the passage that relate to appearance, habitat, and role in the desert. At the end, they will write a summary statement describing what they learned.
SHORT ESSAY HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT
For the homework assignment, students must choose an animal, famous person, or historical figure to write about using the description text structure. They will trade papers with another student and each each others’ papers. Then they will completed a bulleted list organizing facts from the other person’s paper into categories.
Worksheet Answer Keys
The last page of this document provides possible answers for the three worksheets. Given the nature of the assignments, students’ responses will vary. If you choose to administer the lesson pages to your students via PDF, you will need to save a new file that omits this page. Otherwise, you can simply print out the applicable pages and keep this as reference for yourself when grading assignments.
