ELA EQ: What is the difference between informational/ expository books and fiction books? Organizing Idea / Activity Balance and Stability Learning Target I can tell the difference between expository/informational/nonfiction and fiction books. Materials / Resources Elmo; a variety of nonfiction and fiction books about sports.

Prior Knowledge (ELA Planner, Week 5-6 – information vs. fantasy writing may have been presented in the classroom with “pets” as a theme the week before.)

Procedure Modeling and/or Skills Development Toss a sports ball of any kind to the students. Ask “What does this have to do with the library?” Place a short pile of books on each table and tell students that today there are so many books to put back--you need their help to separate them into piles. They will need to decide where to place the books: are they fiction or nonfiction books? Guided Practice Discuss the variety of books in the library. Use the Elmo to present the cover and a short excerpt of both a fiction and nonfiction book. Both books should be about the same sport. Show the front cover of each; ask each table to tell you something about one of the books. Which is the fiction book (does it have a beginning, middle, end)? Which is the nonfiction book (does it list information or mention events that have actually happened)?

Ask each table to choose a book on their table and share elements—art, text use, if characters are present. Why would they think it would be fiction or nonfiction?

Give time for each table to sort their books. (and/or take them to a cart). Have students decide what type of book they have and place in the correct pile--fiction or nonfiction. Discuss as a class the piles and make any corrections. Additional questions: What other stories have they heard about sports– where did they read them? (newspaper, magazine? online?) Were those stories fantasy (fiction) or did they actually happen?

Reflection Ask students to identify which type of book they have checked out and how they could tell it was fiction or nonfiction. Why would it be helpful for a nonfiction book to use text features?