What kind of text is it? Fable, myth, biography, instructions…

Reading Comprehension

CCSS RL.3.10CCSS RL.3.2CCSS RI.3.10England: Y3/4 Reading (range of books)England: Y3 Reading (fiction, poetry, non-fiction)

Objective and success criteria

Students will: What kind of text is it? Fable, myth, biography, instructions….

I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
I can explain each step and say why it works.
I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Fiction or non-fiction? Spot the clues

Leads to: Poem, play or prose? Spot the features; Words from myths (a Herculean task, an Achilles' heel)

Materials: A short text or extract (one copy each), Highlighters, Question cards, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 5 min

Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Fiction or non-fiction? Spot the clues). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

Is this book fiction or non-fiction? A book that starts "Once upon a time…" (fiction / non-fiction) → fictionPrompt: Fiction = made-up stories. Non-fiction = true facts.
Read the question. Which would help you learn TRUE facts about bees? (a poem about a bee / an information book about bees / a story about a bee who sings / a comic about a bee superhero) → an information book about beesPrompt: Fiction tells a made-up story; non-fiction gives real information.
Is this book fiction or non-fiction? A book with step-by-step instructions to plant seeds (fiction / non-fiction) → non-fictionPrompt: Fiction = made-up stories. Non-fiction = true facts.

Hook · 5 min

Read the first lines of a short text aloud and ask what students predict will happen and why.
Share the objective: What kind of text is it? Fable, myth, biography, instructions…. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 10 min

Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
Example: Which kind of text is this? An old story that explains something in nature, often with gods or heroes.
Step 1: Each genre has features that help you recognise it.
Step 2: So the answer is: myth
Answer: myth
Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 10 min

Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

Which kind of text is this? The true story of a real person's life, written by someone else. (autobiography / fantasy / biography / poem) → biographyPrompt: Is it true (non-fiction) or made up (fiction)?
The tiny dragon sneezed, and the whole library filled with glittering purple smoke. When it cleared, every book had sprouted wings. What kind of text is this? (fantasy / realistic fiction / biography / news report) → fantasyPrompt: Is it true or made up?

You do: independent practice · 10 min

Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 5 min

Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

Which kind of text is this? The true story of a real person's life, written by someone else. (fantasy / autobiography / poem / biography) → biographyPrompt: Is it true (non-fiction) or made up (fiction)?
Mae Jemison was born in 1956 in Alabama, in the United States. She trained as a doctor and an engineer, and in 1992 she became the first African American woman to travel into space. What kind of text is this? (fantasy / myth / biography / autobiography) → biographyPrompt: Is it true or made up?

Watch out for

Answering from memory or opinion instead of evidence in the text.
Copying a long quote without explaining what it shows.

Support and stretch

Support

Review first: Fiction or non-fiction? Spot the clues.
Use concrete materials: a short text or extract (one copy each).
Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

Move on to: Poem, play or prose? Spot the features; Words from myths (a Herculean task, an Achilles' heel).
Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-3.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

eurekami

What kind of text is it? Fable, myth, biography, instructions…

Name

Date

Score/ 8

Bugs in the Code

Theo had been looking forward to Coding Club all week. Ms Rivera had promised they would make their own animated story on the classroom tablets. Theo chose a cartoon cat and wrote the code: when the green flag is clicked, move ten steps, then turn and wave. He clicked the flag. The cat spun round and round like a washing machine and never stopped. "It's broken!" Theo groaned, and he pushed the tablet away. Ms Rivera sat down beside him. "It's not broken," she said. "It's got a bug. Every coder gets bugs. The trick is to be a detective." Together they read the code one block at a time. Theo had put the turn block inside a forever loop by mistake, so the cat kept turning for ever. Theo dragged the block out of the loop and clicked the flag again. The cat walked ten steps, turned and waved. Theo cheered so loudly that the whole club looked up. The next week, a younger girl called Ivy was close to tears because her rocket would not take off. Theo pulled up a chair. "It's not broken," he told her. "It's got a bug. Let's be detectives."

1
Question 1
Read "Bugs in the Code". What kind of text is this?
- A. fantasy
- B. a biography
- C. instructions
- D. realistic fiction

2
Question 2
Long ago, people told how the Moon was once as bright as the Sun. The Sun grew jealous, so the Moon agreed to shine only at night, softly, so both could share the sky. What kind of text is this?
- A. myth
- B. news report
- C. instructions
- D. realistic fiction
3
Question 3
Which kind of text is this? Numbered steps that tell you how to make or do something.
- A. poem
- B. myth
- C. instructions
- D. biography
4
Question 4
1. Fill a jar with warm water. 2. Stir in three spoons of salt. 3. Hang a string in the jar. 4. Wait a week and watch the crystals grow. What kind of text is this?
- A. poem
- B. myth
- C. instructions
- D. fantasy
5
Question 5
Which kind of text is this? An old story that explains something in nature, often with gods or heroes.
- A. news report
- B. fable
- C. recipe
- D. myth
6
Question 6
Captain Zara pressed the glowing button. With a soft hum, the starship slipped through the wormhole and into a galaxy no human had ever seen. What kind of text is this?
- A. fable
- B. biography
- C. science fiction
- D. historical fiction
7
Question 7
Which kind of text is this? A short story with animal characters that ends with a lesson.
- A. myth
- B. fable
- C. biography
- D. instructions
8
Question 8
Mae Jemison was born in 1956 in Alabama, in the United States. She trained as a doctor and an engineer, and in 1992 she became the first African American woman to travel into space. What kind of text is this?
- A. biography
- B. myth
- C. fantasy
- D. autobiography

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Answer key: What kind of text is it? Fable, myth, biography, instructions…

1. D. realistic fiction
2. A. myth
3. C. instructions
4. C. instructions
5. D. myth
6. C. science fiction
7. B. fable
8. A. biography