Reading Brain Hat for Non-Fiction

In a previous post in October, I had described my lesson using the Reading Brain Hat where students practice “turning their brain on” and thinking when reading a Fiction story.

In November, I took the same concept, and used the brain hat to introduce the different type of thinking that should be happening when using Non-Fiction books. The first thing I did was show them the story, Turk and Runt by Lisa Wheeler, that we had read last week.

Using the brain hat, I went over the basic storyline as I placed the corresponding popsicle sticks on the hat:

Characters = Turk and Runt, who are brother turkeys
Setting = the farm
Problem/Events = Turk is the biggest, strongest, and most graceful turkey on the farm, but no one listens to his brother, Runt, when he tries to tell them it’s not a good idea to be the biggest at Thanksgiving time.
Solution = His brother, Runt, is finally heard and together Turk and Runt devise a plan to save Turk from being sold for Thanksgiving dinner.

I then showed them another story, Turkeys on the Farm, by Mari C. Schub. I told them that this story wasn’t a made-up Fiction story, but instead was teaching us all about Turkeys that live on a farm. I asked them, “What type of story is it then?” They proudly shouted “Non-Fiction!”

Then, I asked them, “Does my brain do the same type of thinking when reading a Non-Fiction book?” Some responded yes, some responded no, and some just shrugged, so I knew this was an important point to get across to them.
I began to take off the popsicle sticks, one by one, and explained that in a Non-Fiction story, I don’t have characters, setting, problem/events, or a solution. This left my hat bare, so I asked them, “Does that mean I don’t have to do any thinking at all when reading a Non-Fiction book?” They all shouted “No! You still have to think!” (Can you hear their implied “Duh!”) 😉

I told them that they were correct. When reading a Non-Fiction book, your brain does need to be thinking, but in a different way. The first popsicle stick that we put on the hat and talked about was the yellow one. I explained that Non-Fiction books are all about “How Can I Learn New Information?” I introduced the concept of “Text Features” and explained that Non-Fiction books have these features to help you learn more about your topic.

I walked them through the Turkeys on the Farm book, and every time we found a new Text Feature, I would add that popsicle stick onto the hat. I also would show a corresponding poster of that text feature that we would put up around our reading area.

Once we finished adding the 5 popsicle sticks for this book (Table of Contents, Index, Headings, Keywords, and Glossary), I explained that there were other Text Features that books could have that can help you learn new information such as: illustrations/photographs, captions, diagrams, labels, maps, and charts. I pulled other Non-Fiction books to demonstrate these features, and we hung up those posters as well.
The following week, I divided the students into pairs, and had them select a Non-Fiction book from the table. They worked together to fill in their Non-Fiction Text Features Hunt and then we spent a few minutes letting each group share what they found. I then gave each student a bookmark to remember the text features as they began their research unit.

In the weeks that followed, I would show them the story that we would read, and I would ask them which brain hat would we need to have on, Fiction or Non-Fiction? This has helped them become more aware of the different types of books as well.

If you would like copies of any of these activities for your students, feel free to visit my TpT store . Happy “BRAIN READING”!

 Sandy

Reading Brain Hat for Non-Fiction

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