- Students learn how to recognize informational books with this lesson. At the end of the lesson, students are able to:
- Clarify that informational books provide information and facts.
- Determine the informational books' facts and textual elements.

- What is this text really about?

- Informational/Nonfiction Text: Books that give information or facts about real people, things, or events.
- Caption: Words or sentences that give information about a photograph.
- Table of Contents: List of chapter titles and page numbers at the beginning of a book.
- Glossary: List of words in a book and their meanings.
- Bold Type: Heavy, dark print.
- Biography: Book about a person’s life.

- D. Fredericks, A. (2000). Zebras. Lerner Publications.
- James Cross Giblin.(1998). George Washington: A Picture Book Biography. Scholastic Paperbacks
Alternative:
- Caroline Bingham.(2001). Big Book of Airplanes. DK Children
- Edith Hope Fine (2004). Rosa Parks: Meet a Civil Rights Hero. Enslow Elementary.
- Steve Parker. (2008). Whales & Dolphins (100 Facts). Miles Kelly Publishing Ltd.
- Barbara Kramer. (2003). Neil Armstrong: Meet the Famous Astronaut Enslow Elementary. 
- Melissa Stewart (2002). Zebras. Children’s Press.
- Carin T. Ford.(2002). Helen Keller: Meet a Woman of Courage. Enslow Elementary. 
Teachers may substitute other books to provide a range of reading and level of text complexity.
- Chart paper
- Informational books from the classroom or school library to accommodate the number of paired students in the class
- Student copies of the Informational Book worksheet (L-1-2-1_Informational Book).
- Completed worksheet for modeling
- Pencils, colored pencils, crayons, markers
- Additional informational books at students’ reading level to be placed in the reading center and to be used in the Formative Assessment
- A literary book to be used in the assessment

Emphasize to the class that they may identify information from informational books by examining their many qualities. Show how text properties relate to knowledge acquired. Take note of the pupils' capacity for expression and openness to taking part in group conversations.
- Select two books that are appropriate for the student's reading level from the classroom library: one literary and one informative. Which of these two novels is an informational book? Ask everyone in the class. How are they aware of it? (Instances: It has pictures. It provides data regarding ____. It features an index as well as a table of contents.
- Permit the pupil to peruse the book at their leisure. Then pose the question, "What are three things that reading this book can teach you about _____?"
- To evaluate each student's progress toward the lesson's objectives, use the following checklist:
- Pupils are able to assess an instructive book.
- Pupils comprehend that the text and textual elements of an informational book provide facts and data.
- Pupils are able to find facts in other reference books by using the lesson's lessons.
- Pupils are able to explain why the author wrote an instructional book.

Explicit instruction, modeling, scaffolding, and active engagement
W: Describe how an instructional book's text and text features—such as a glossary, a table of contents, images, captions, and maps—assist the reader in finding facts. 
H: Get students involved in the class by asking them to differentiate between hypothetical and real-world scenarios. 
E: Walk students through an instructive book to show them how text features such as photographs, illustrations, captions, and other visual aids can enhance a text by providing information to the reader. 
R: Give students the chance to show where to look for information in reference books. 
E: Make sure students understand that text features and text in informational books provide information by using the Formative Assessment to watch them apply what they have learned. 
T: Give pupils the chance to collaborate with a partner and in a big group. 
O: This lesson's learning activities include pair work, large-group instruction and discussion, and individual application of the material. 

Focus Questions: What qualifies as informational books? Where can you locate facts in an informational book?

Inquire, "What distinguishes something that is real from something that is imaginary?" (Realistic events can genuinely occur. Something fictitious could not occur in real life.)

Say, “I am going to read some sentences to you. Tell me if what I read could be real or is make-believe.” Read aloud these sentences and have students respond with the words “real” or “make-believe.”

"Sam strolled to school." (true)
"The dog reads the book" (conjecture)
"The young man went fishing." (true)
"Elizabeth took the school bus." (true)
"The feline put on her overcoat." (conjecture)
"A bear conversed with his companion." (conjecture)

It might be beneficial to give your students additional instances of both imaginary and real-world scenarios to identify.

Part 1

State, "We're going to study books on real people, objects, and events today. These books provide answers. They provide details. There is no fiction in these works. These works are classified as nonfiction or informational texts. To help you determine whether a book is informative (nonfiction), let's look at one of these kinds of books."

Show the students the book "Zebras." "What do you think this book is about? (a zebra) What makes you think so?" (referring to the picture of a zebra on the cover and the phrase zebras.) "Do you think this book is about real zebras or make-believe zebras?" (real zebras) "What makes you know?" (The picture depicts a real zebra. The title is not absurd.) "Let's take a peek inside the book."

Go to the contents table. Say, "The table of contents is located on this page." It makes the material in a book easier for readers to find. Read through a few of the entries in the table of contents to demonstrate how to utilize it. Say, "We can learn about zebra families on page 12. Also, we can read about the plains zebra on page 35." Show the pupils how the table of contents aids in their information search by turning to pages 12 and 35 of the book.

Say, "This book contains a wealth of information about zebras. This book is classified as informational or nonfiction since it provides details about actual zebras. Discuss the information provided by the author with the class while you read aloud a page or two of the text."

Turn the pages of the book and show the pupils a few of the pictures. "The author includes a lot of zebra pictures in this book. "You keep going. "Zebra's habitat is revealed to us. We view images of zebras interacting with other animals and with one another. We witness zebras going about their daily lives. Many of the pictures feature a caption that either answers a question or provides information about the image." To illustrate how the captions provide information about the photographs, read at least one of them.

"Now let's look at page 5," you say. A map is provided by the writer. This aids in identifying the various zebra habitats. To provide additional information, the author of an informational (nonfiction) book may use lists, charts, drawings, or maps.

Say, "A glossary may be included in an informational (nonfiction) book to aid the reader in understanding new terms," as you turn to page 46. The new terms in this glossary are bolded. Draw attention to the large, dark print text. Declare, "The reader can learn the meaning of each new word by reading its definition." To illustrate how a glossary provides information, read through a few definitions.

Say, "The nonfiction book Zebras is an informational book. As we read the book, we'll notice that the author provides information in his writing. He gives us the facts. True assertions are called facts. We may locate information in books with the aid of all the elements, including the dictionary, map, table of contents, photographs, and captions. Now let's read this book and see what information we can find about zebras."

Read aloud a few of the book's pages. Ask kids to list some facts about zebras after each page. Make sure to attribute any information gleaned from dictionaries, maps, and captions.  Write these down on chart paper, the board, or the interactive whiteboard. After that, repeat the information list to the pupils. What was the author's motivation for writing this book? (to provide zebra-related facts or information)

Part 2

Say, "After reading an educational book about zebras, we discovered a lot of new information. A biography is an additional category of informational (nonfiction) book. A biography is a written account of a person's life." Show the book "George Washington: A Picture Book Biography" and prompt: "Discover who the subject of this book is." (George Washington) Details on George Washington's life are provided in this book. Was George Washington a fictional character or a genuine person? (referring to a genuine person) Say, "Yes, George Washington was the first president of the United States. He was alive more than 200 years ago."

Say, "Let's have a peek inside this book before we start reading it. What striking features do the images in this book have?" (These aren't pictures. They're illustrations). "Do you think the author chose to include drawings in his book rather than photographs?" (He didn't have any pictures because George Washington lived before cameras were invented.) "The author also conveys information through the drawings."

Say, "The author also used a map to give information," and turn to page 42. He provides us with a list of significant dates in George Washington's life on page 43.

"We're going to start reading this biography of George Washington now," you say. Ask students, "What facts do we learn about George Washington from this page?" after you've read page 7. Record the information that students learn on chart paper, the board, or the interactive whiteboard as it is shared. Add the information's original sources, such as text, maps, lists, captions, and illustrations. Proceed by reading multiple pages in the book in this manner. Reread the facts to the pupils after that. You continue: "This is an informational (nonfiction) book. We gained knowledge about the actual life of our nation's first president. We should make a checklist of features in an informational book now that we have studied some of them. What are some facts you are aware of regarding reference books?" For the sake of the students' reference throughout the year, record the answers on chart paper or the board or interactive whiteboard.

Make sure students are aware of the following traits of informational books:

list the details of a subject.
are about actual people and occasions
have features (photos, captions, maps, lists, table of contents, glossary) that make it easier for the reader to locate information.
provide details (the author's aim)

Part 3

Say, "We now know how to extract information from books using text features. It's your turn now to compile information from some books that provide facts." Give each student a partner, and then let them select a book from your list that is appropriate for their level of independent reading. Assign the L-1-2-1_Informational Book worksheet to each couple to finish.

Say, "You will find three facts in your book with your buddy. You'll write down your information on the paper I'll provide you." Give the pupils the worksheet.

You keep going: “This is an example of what I want you to do.” Present a completed worksheet to the class that pertains to either the George Washington or the Zebra book. Read what you wrote out loud.

You continue: "The words, pictures, and other features in the book can all provide you with information. Enumerate the features that aided in the discovery of each fact. You may, for example, list text, images, captions, or a table of contents."

Ask each pair of pupils to submit their worksheet results to the class after they have finished. If a student finishes ahead of schedule, they might use it to demonstrate a lesson they acquired from their books.

Extension:

If students are prepared to go beyond the requirements, you can collaborate with them to investigate how an index aids readers in finding information inside an informative text. Say this: "An index lists subjects and page numbers to make it easier for the reader to access information in the book. Typically, an index appears at the conclusion of a book." Read through one of the subjects and the corresponding page number to demonstrate how to utilize an index. Open the relevant page in the book and peruse the contents. Ask students to look through more informational books that are appropriate for their level of independent reading and to list the elements that make it easier for them to locate information. They can use each feature to write or draw facts that they have discovered.
If any students need more guidance or practice, you can have small groups of them look through several informational texts that are appropriate for their level of independent reading. Then, they can talk about what they can learn from the illustrations and photos in these books.