📖 ReadingLevel 1Lesson 18
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Reading Short Articles About Animals

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Learning Objectives

  • 1Read a short nonfiction article about an animal
  • 2Use headings to find information
  • 3Answer fact-based questions by pointing to the exact words in the text
  • 4Use context clues to work out unfamiliar words in a nonfiction article
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Mini Lesson

A nonfiction article about an animal is different from a story. It does not have characters and a plot — it has facts, headings, and key words. Knowing how to navigate a nonfiction article is a powerful reading skill you will use for the rest of your life.

What is a heading?

  • A heading is a title for a section of the article.
  • It tells you what that section is about before you read it.
  • Headings help you find information quickly — you do not need to read the whole article to find one fact.
  • Example headings: What does it look like? · Where does it live? · What does it eat? · Did you know?

How to read a nonfiction article

  1. Read the title. What animal is this about?
  2. Preview the headings. Scan all the headings before you start reading.
  3. Read each section slowly. Pause after each heading and find the key facts.
  4. Look up unfamiliar words. Use the other words around them to work out the meaning.
  5. After reading, recall — can you say three facts you learned?

Key words in nonfiction writing

  • "Penguins are birds that cannot fly." — states a fact
  • "Did you know? A penguin can swim at 15 miles per hour." — introduces a surprising fact
  • "Because, so, which means, this is why" — explain cause or reason
Layout of a nonfiction animal article pageA magazine-style page showing a headline "All About Penguins" at the top, a large photo area with a penguin silhouette, then three short paragraphs of text lines below.Article page layoutALL ABOUT PENGUINS[photo]headline · photo · text paragraphs under headings
A nonfiction article has a headline, a photo, and paragraphs under colored headings.
Find facts — highlight key sentences and record three factsA paragraph with a yellow highlighter underlining a key fact, and a notepad on the right labeled "3 facts I learned" with three numbered lines.Find the factsWhat do penguins eat?Penguins eat fish,squid, and small seacreatures.They can dive deepto catch food andhold their breathunderwater.highlight key fact →3 facts Ilearned1.2.3.Highlight as you read · write 3 facts after.
Highlight a key fact in the text, then jot down three facts you learned.
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Ask yourself: "What heading will help me find the answer? Then read just that section."

Vocabulary
Nonfiction
Writing about real things — true facts about real people, places, animals, or eventse.g. An article about penguins with real facts and photographs.
Heading
A short title for a section of an article — it tells you what that section is aboute.g. "Where do penguins live?" is a heading.
Context clue
Words around an unfamiliar word that help you work out what it meanse.g. If the text says "penguins live in colonies — large groups of penguins", the words explain what a colony is.
Colony
A large group of animals (like penguins) that live togethere.g. Emperor penguins gather in huge colonies on the ice.
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