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1st Grade Genres Resources

11 1st grade genres resources: 6 activities, 5 worksheets and 1 graphic organizer. How teachers use these

1st Grade Genres Resources

11 1st grade genres resources: 6 activities, 5 worksheets and 1 graphic organizer. How teachers use these

Activity
Activity1st GradeTypes of Text Activity

This types of text activity lets Kindergarten and 1st Grade students match clue cards to picture cards of everyday texts. Answer key included, so kids learn why we read each text.

Activity
Activity1st GradeDon't Wake the Librarian Sorting Books by Genre Activity

This don't wake the librarian sorting books by genre activity is a quiet board game where 1st to 3rd grade readers sort fiction, nonfiction and poetry books. Answer key included.

Worksheet
Worksheet1st GradeDifferent Types of Text Worksheet

A picture-based different types of text worksheet where 1st graders name a map, letter, menu, book, sign, and list. Answer key included, so genre practice takes no prep at all.

Worksheet
Worksheet1st GradeGroup Reading Activities Worksheet

This group reading activities worksheet helps 2nd grade teachers record how each student asks, answers, shares, and listens during a small reading group, with lines to log the text and genre.

Activity
Activity1st GradeFirst Grade Informational Texts Activity

This first grade informational texts activity has eight nonfiction task cards that help 1st grade readers find facts in a text and answer questions. Answer key included for quick checking.

Worksheet
Worksheet1st GradeFirst Grade Nonfiction I Am Reading Worksheet

This First Grade Nonfiction I Am Reading Worksheet is a one-page reading log where children record the date, title, and topic of each nonfiction book they finish, building a steady reading habit.

Worksheet
Worksheet1st GradeStory or Information Worksheet

This story or information worksheet has first graders read two short books about kites and decide which one tells a story and which one gives facts. An answer key is included for quick checking.

Activity
Activity1st GradeReading Informational Texts Book Review Activity

Using Reading Informational Texts Book Review Activity, students read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts.

Worksheet
Worksheet1st GradeStory Books and Poems Graphic Organizer Worksheet

This story books and poems graphic organizer has first graders read a snowman story and a snow poem, then sort five clues to the right book. Answer key included.

Activity
Activity1st GradeThree Amigos Poetry Drama Prose Activity

Using this Three Amigos Poetry Drama Prose Activity, students sort the word cards by genre (prose, poetry, and drama). Use the sorted cards to label and fill out a Venn Diagram.

Activity
Activity1st GradeFairy Tales and Fables Puzzle

Using Fairy Tales and Fables Puzzle, students practice problem solving and logic skills to put together this fifteen piece puzzle.

From our teachers' playbook

Story or facts? Let's find out!

What do 1st graders learn about genres?

First graders learn the biggest genre split of all: books that tell a story and books that give information. Storybooks have characters, a setting and a problem. Informational books teach real facts and often have photos, labels and headings. They also meet poems, fairy tales and fables, and notice the clues: rhyming lines, "once upon a time" or a lesson at the end. The click comes when a child grabs a book from the library basket, flips a few pages and announces, "This one teaches us about sharks!"

How we teach genres in 1st grade

Young readers learn genres by sorting, comparing and talking. These moves make it easy.

Sort the class library

Pull a stack of books and let kids sort them into storybooks and information books, then label the baskets together. Ask "How did you know?" for each one. Kids learn the features while organizing a library they actually use.

Why it works: kids understand an idea best when they touch it, then draw it, then write it, the order the U.S. Department of Education recommends for elementary math.

Don't Wake the Librarian Sorting Books by Genre ActivityTry it withDon't Wake the Librarian Sorting Books by Genre ActivityActivitiesOpen it →

Look for clues

Show a page from a storybook and a page from a nonfiction book side by side. Kids point out clues like characters, photos, labels and headings. Comparing pages helps them notice the features before they read a word.

Why it works: children learn more from words and pictures together than from words alone (Mayer, 2009).

Types of Text ActivityTry it withTypes of Text ActivityActivitiesOpen it →

Story or information?

Read short passages aloud and have kids hold up a card for "story" or "information." Ask them to name the clue that helped. Quick rounds build the habit of thinking about what kind of text they are reading.

Why it works: pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than rereading it, one of the strongest findings in learning research (Dunlosky and colleagues, 2013).

Story or Information WorksheetTry it withStory or Information WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →

Questions parents and teachers ask

What genres do 1st graders learn?

First graders mostly learn the difference between storybooks (fiction) and informational books (nonfiction). They also meet poems, fairy tales and fables.

How do you explain fiction and nonfiction to a 1st grader?

Fiction is a made-up story with characters. Nonfiction gives real facts about the world. A good question to ask: "Is this book telling a story or teaching me something?"

What are text features in 1st grade?

Text features are parts of informational books that help readers find facts, like headings, labels, photos, captions and a table of contents.

How can I teach genres at home?

At the library, choose one storybook and one nonfiction book on the same topic, like a story about a bear and a book about real bears. Talk about how they are different.