1) The lesson teaches first grade students the difference between fiction and nonfiction. 2) Students will play games and activities to practice identifying fiction and nonfiction books and stories. 3) They will visit the school media center to learn where fiction and nonfiction books are located and to choose books in each category.

1. Savannah Porter
FRIT 7737
Title of Lesson:
Believe It… Or Not!
Grade:
1
Content Area:
Literacy Skills
Designer:
Savannah Porter
Standards: ELA 1R6e, ELA 1W1k, ELA 1W2c
STAGE 1 – DESIRED RESULTS
Understandings:
Students will understand…
• Fiction versus Nonfiction
• Fact versus Fake
• Uses of fiction in stories
Essential Questions:
• What is fiction?
• What is nonfiction?
• Where are nonfiction books in
the Media Center?
• Where are fiction books in the
Media Center?
• How does using fiction enhance
a story?
Knowledge:
Students will know…
• How to determine fiction from
nonfiction
• The meanings of fiction and
nonfiction
• How to develop their own fiction
stories
Skills:
The student will…
• Locate fiction and nonfiction
books in the Media Center
• Determine which books are
nonfiction and which are fiction
• Use fiction to enhance a story
STAGE 2 – ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE
Performance Tasks:
• Students will listen to stories and
determine if they are nonfiction
or fiction (informal assessment)
• Students will locate nonfiction
and fiction books in the media
center (teacher checklist)
• Students will use fiction in their
writing to enhance their story
(rubric)
Other Evidence:
(Informal Assessment)
• Classroom game (Believe It…
Or Not!)
• Fiction or Nonfiction Card Game
(explained in Unit Outline,
Session 2)

2. Savannah Porter
FRIT 7737
STAGE 3 – LEARNING PLAN
Unit Outline
(4 Sessions)
Session 1:
Hook:
Introduce words FICTION (means FAKE) and NONFICTION (means NOT
FAKE). Tell students a funny story about your cat asking you to take him to the
store to buy clothes. Ask them if they think it is real (NONFICTION) or not real
(FICITON). Then tell them a true story about the last field trip we took. Ask
students again, real (FICTION) or not real (NONFICTION)? Read Froggy Rides
a Bike. As you read, ask students to pick out the obvious FICTION parts of the
story.
As a second part of this “hook session,” ask students to help you to create a
“Wordle” image to describe both terms: nonfiction and fiction. Do this on the
LCD projector so that students can see this Web 2.0 tool.
Session 2:
Purpose and Objectives:
This activity uses previously read books to help students determine if they are
fiction or nonfiction.
Materials Needed: Cards with check mark on one and “x” on the other -- one set
for every student, about 20 books in which class is familiar with – approximately
½ fiction and ½ nonfiction
Procedure:
Students will all be given two cards – one with a check mark (for nonfiction, true
stories) and one with an “x” (for fiction, false stories). When a common, well
known book that we have read as in class is held up, students will use their cards
to determine if the story is fiction or nonfiction.
Assessment:
Informative Assessment – Teacher will keep up with student responses during
game and will record students who seem to be struggling.
Session 3:
Purpose and Objectives:
This activity helps students with locating and being familiar with their school’s
media center. It also helps students to choose books specifying fiction or

3. Savannah Porter
FRIT 7737
nonfiction.
Materials Needed: School media center
Procedure: During our weekly visit to the media center, our media specialist will
explain location of books in the media center. He will also go over fiction versus
nonfiction to check for understanding. Students will then be asked to find one
nonfiction book (on their grade level) and one fiction book (on their grade level).
Assessment:
Students will bring books to me and will tell me which one is fiction and which
one is nonfiction. Student will also have to explain why each book is classified as
they say. I will have a checklist to check off students’ answers.
Session 4:
Purpose and Objectives:
This lesson requires students to use fiction details in order to enhance a story in
which he/she is in charge of writing.
Materials Needed: lined writing paper and writing instrument for each child,
writing prompt
Procedure:
Students will be given an example of a written short story that uses fiction details.
They will be asked how the fiction details changed the story in their mind.
Students will then be given a piece of lined writing paper with the prompt, “Last
night, I had a dream that…” Students are to use the prompt to begin writing a
story. Tell students to use at least three fiction statements in the story. They
must mark these statements by underlining the parts of the story which are
considered to be fiction.
Assessment:
The students’ writing will be assessed using the rubric below.
Rubric to be used for writing assignment:
1 2 3 SCORE
Student uses at
least one obvious
fiction statement.
Student uses at
least two obvious
fiction statements.
Student uses at
least three
obvious fiction
statement.
It is clearly
identified.
Both statements
are clearly
identified.
They are clearly
indentified.

4. Savannah Porter
FRIT 7737
Student’s story
does not flow, but
writing is present.
Student’s story
somewhat flows.
Student’s story
flows with the
prompt given.
(out of 9 points)