10 Engaging Activities for Teaching Informational Text in the Classroom
Teaching informational text can be a daunting challenge for many educators. Unlike literary text, informational text requires a particular approach that focuses more on facts, logic, and reasoning rather than characters, plot, or emotions.
Giving students engaging activities is a great way to help them learn and retain the necessary skills to comprehend and analyze informational text effectively. Below are ten practical and engaging activities that can help teachers teach informational text in the classroom.
1. K-W-L Chart
The K-W-L (Know, Want to Know, Learned) chart is an excellent activity for introducing new topics or text. This activity helps students clarify and focus on the critical content they learn. Teachers can ask students to fill out what they know about the topic, what they want to know, and what they’ve learned at the end of the lesson.
2. Jigsaw Activity
Breaking down the text and assigning parts of it to students is a great way to teach complex informational text. The Jigsaw activity is a cooperative learning technique where each group member becomes an expert on a particular section of text, and then they teach that section to the rest of the group.
3. Text Mapping
Teaching students how to map out the structure of the text is a vital skill for informational text comprehension. Students can create visual representations to organize the different subtopics, headings, and supporting details. This visible representation of information helps students to understand the overall structure of a particular piece of text.
4. Games and Puzzles
Game-based learning is an effective way to teach students complex information quickly. Setting up reading centers or stations to focus on contextual elements through fun and games is an excellent way to engage learners while promoting active learning.
5. Debate
Debating critical elements and issues pertaining to informational text is an excellent way to help students analyze and comprehend complex pieces. By taking an opposing side, students learn to think critically, articulate their opinions, and evaluate different arguments. It’s a great way to model real-world experiences as well.
6. Role-playing
Role-playing allows students to put themselves in the story and understand it better from the inside. Teachers can assign characters from the text and direct students to interpret and use dialogue or create interactive collages. This activity helps with cognitive flexibility, enhances critical thinking, and increases students’ social awareness.
7. Data Analysis
Data is everywhere — Social studies, science, health classes talk about information, and students are familiar with viewing charts or graphs. You can conduct a data analysis activity where you ask students to solve or interpret real-life situations.
8. Collaborative Writing
Collaborating writing is useful for students to learn a variety of text structures to convey information. For instance, having students write an informative essay or a review of an article that summarizes key takeaways from a passage provides an opportunity for students to work together, critically analyze written content, and practice writing structure.
9. Digital graphic organizers
The use of digital graphic organizers provides an opportunity to organize ideas in a neat digital format. Google Slides, Google Drawings, and tools like Canva provide an excellent platform for collaborative learning.
10. Current Event Analysis
Learning about current events and articles written about news, and happenings in the country or the world provide context to what students learn in class. The current event analysis activity allows students to grasp a better understanding of what they read in the classroom and analyze those events in context.
Conclusion
These ten engaging activities are just a few useful strategies that teachers can implement when teaching informational text in the classroom. By using dynamic teaching methods, teachers can provide learners new perspectives, strengthen their comprehension, and nurture a love for reading that transcends through subject areas.
