Non-fiction writing lesson plan and printable book template
28/04/2022 by Cathy James 3 Comments
Use the tips in this non-fiction writing lesson plan along with the free non-fiction book printable to build your own reference library.
The first books we read with children are usually simple story books or collections of nursery rhymes.
As they get older and we read more and more to them, we typically do still keep to fiction books, although the storylines and characters develop in complexity.
Of course, there is a huge wealth of non-fiction books for our children to meet too. They’re fascinating, educational, and practical, and many titles aimed at children include fun elements such as tabs to pull and flaps to open, to make an engaging reading experience.
Let’s focus this lesson on the art of non-fiction books, and help our children write their own information book.
In this lesson, children can:
:: learn about non-fiction books
:: learn about the elements of a book including title, author, publisher, copyright, contents, index, and glossary
:: research a chosen topic
:: create their own non-fiction book using a free printable template as a guide
:: share their knowledge with others
Materials needed
:: examples of non-fiction books
:: printable non-fiction book template (see below for details on how to print)
:: scissors
:: pens and pencils
:: notepaper
:: stapler or yarn
Get to know a non-fiction book
Begin by taking a closer look at non-fiction books.
Offer your children a selection of books to choose from: recipe books, information books, ‘how to’ manuals, and academic text books.
Choose a book to have a closer look at. Even if you are used to reading non-fiction your children might not have considered all the components of such a book.
Browse through the pages of your chosen book and take a look at:
:: front cover with title and author details
:: the spine
:: the front page with details of publisher and copyright
:: the contents page
:: the layout of the content with chapters and illustrations
:: a glossary, if there is one
:: the index
:: the blurb on the back cover
Talk about the purpose of your book and who it is written for. Is it meant to inform, teach, inspire or entertain? Is it aimed at a beginner or an expert?
Non-fiction writing
Before you move on to writing your own non-fiction book, think about what a good information book needs.
Work together to come up with a list of ‘top tips’ for non-fiction writing. You can re-cap some of the ideas you talked about when you reviewed the non-fiction book example and add other thoughts.
You might include some of these top tips:
:: think about who you are writing the book for – don’t make the book too easy or too complicated
:: have a mix of text and illustrations
:: have an organised layout
:: give lots of useful information
:: include a contents page and index to make information easy to find
Make your own non-fiction book
Now you can make your own non -fiction book.
Choose a topic to write about: something you are interested in, something you know lots about, or something you want to find out about.
Think about what main topics you want to cover in your book: perhaps a page on each key area. Make notes to help organise your ideas.
Do some research: take a look at other reference books on your topic or interview an expert to get more ideas for your book.
You can use NurtureStore’s non-fiction book printable as a guide to help you format your book.
Each child might like to create their own book or they can collaborate with co-authors.
The non-fiction book printable is very adaptable and you can select the right combination of pages to suit your child and the topic they are writing about.
You don’t have to use all the pages, and you can also print extra ones if you need them.
Some of the pages guide children on how to format their book, others pages leave plenty of room for creativity.
Pages included in the non -fiction printable, for you to choose from, include:
:: a front cover with space for the title and author’s name
:: front page with space for publisher and copyright details
:: a contents page
:: a mix of structured and free-style page layouts, including lines for writing and frames for illustrations
:: a glossary
:: an index
Once you have completed as many pages as you want, you can compile your book into the right order.
This is a good time to complete the contents page and index, as you’ll know which part of the book will be on which page.
You can fasten the pages together using a stapler or with yarn.
You might like to gather all your non-fiction books together in a shelf to create you own reference library.
You can print more of the non-fiction book templates from NurtureStore’s Printable Library any time you want to make another book. It’s a great way to re-cap knowledge at the end of a learning topic.
More writing activities
NurtureStore has many more creative lessons to support your literacy teaching. Try some of these:
:: Rosa Parks Bus Book printable
:: Incy Wincy matchbox books
:: 55 ideas for writing and mark making
:: 50 activities for World Book Day
How to get our free printables
To download my free printables, you'll need to visit the NurtureStore Printables Library, which is available to all subscribers to my email list, and of course to Play Academy members .
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If you're already subscribed to our email newsletter : check your email for the latest edition of the newsletter where you’ll find a link to access our free printables library - the link is usually at the bottom of the email.
For help accessing our printables, click here .
20/11/2023 at 12:48 pm
Great website for ideas.
20/11/2023 at 2:20 pm
Thanks Heather!
28/02/2024 at 9:40 pm
Great ideas and Very resourceful !
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What is non-fiction?
A non-fiction text is any text that is not a story. Each year at primary school, children will focus on a range of narrative, non-fiction and poetry texts in literacy.
Non-fiction texts studied at primary school include instruction texts, recounts, information texts, explanation texts, persuasive texts, biography, journalistic writing and argument texts.
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Instruction texts
An instruction text is a text such as a recipe or manual. This will include a 'You will need' list (ingredients or tools) and then numbered points on how to carry out a certain activity. They include imperative ('bossy') verbs, such as 'put', 'stick', 'stir' etc.
A recount text is a piece of writing that explains an event that has happened. A diary entry is a recount text, as is a newspaper article explaining an event that has happened. They are usually written in the past tense and include the use of time connectives.
Information texts / Non-chronological reports
An information text is a text giving information about a particular thing, for example: Ancient Egypt, recycling or volcanoes. Information texts are sometimes called non-chronological reports , because they are reporting information about something without mentioning the order in which something has happened.
Explanation texts
An explanation text is one which describes a process, for example: the water cycle, how bees make honey or how a car is made. They are usually written in the present tense, with numbered points and diagrams or pictures to make the process clear.
Persuasive texts
Persuasive texts can take a number of forms, for example: an advert persuading you to buy some chocolate, a poster encouraging people to stop smoking or a travel brochure enticing the reader to go to a particular country.
Biography and autobiography
An autobiography is someone's account of their own life ; a biography is a writer's account of someone else's life (usually someone famous). Writing of biographies is usually linked to the theme the class are studying.
Journalistic writing
Children will read news reports and look at the features, such as: headlines, pictures, captions, quotations, paragraphs, formal tone, etc. They will then be asked to write their own newspaper report, usually related to a theme they are studying.
Argument texts
An argument text is a text written about a subject, where the writer is either 'for' or 'against' the subject (a pros and cons text, in other words). For example, you could write an argument text for or against zoos, smoking, school uniform or e-readers. Argument texts include facts and research and are usually written using formal language.
When studying non-fiction texts, children will usually be given a range of texts that fall within the genre of text they are studying. They will be encouraged to look at the features of these texts and how they are set out. They will then be encouraged to gather their own information and start drafting this into a similar text. Teachers will support children with the editing and re-writing process until they are ready to write their 'neat' piece of writing.
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70 Non-Fiction Writing Prompts
Subject: English
Age range: 11-14
Resource type: Worksheet/Activity
Last updated
12 February 2020
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70 non-fiction writing prompts for KS3/KS4: letters (formal/informal), speeches, articles, leaflets/guides and a review included.
Creative Commons "Sharealike"
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Really fantastic! thanks so much, going to get a lot of use out of these :)
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rachelbeswick
Brilliant resource, thanks so much for creating it. The prompts are varied and are beautifully presented, which engages students. They are also fairly nuanced, which helps pupils write developed and lengthy responses.
friedgreentomatoes
These are great, thank you!
ohdannyboy2
I have used some these tasks at KS2 - they're engaging and a good assessment of independent writing.
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Now you can make your own non -fiction book. Choose a topic to write about: something you are interested in, something you know lots about, or something you want to find out about. Think about what main topics you want to cover in your book: perhaps a page on each key area. Make notes to help organise your ideas.
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