4 Creative Ways to Use Nonfiction Text Sets via CommonLit

4 Creative Ways to Use Nonfiction Text Sets

@CommonLit

@CommonLitES

Learn how to engage your students with nonfiction

CommonLit Blog:  9.26.2017 by Rob Fleisher

Earlier this year, the team at CommonLit released Nonfiction Text Sets. Text sets are groups of 5–20 individual texts that share a common topic. [Also in Spanish]

Currently, we have 34 of these sets of texts with topics ranging from Ancient Egypt to The Cold War to Psychology and the Mind. And just like our other lesson plans, these lessons are free for teachers.

In this post, I’ll explain a few of the ways teachers could use our nonfiction text sets to purposefully drive student achievement in both English and Social Studies classrooms.

1. Research and Writing

Teachers can use CommonLit for an extended research unit on a topic such as The Civil Rights Movement. In a research unit, students read extensively on a single topic and then form a conclusion based upon the expertise they have gained. Our text set on the Civil Rights Movement, which includes 29 different texts (and counting) can be assigned to students strategically, or as a complete set

2. Argumentation and Debate

CommonLit’s text sets can also be used to practice argumentative writing, which is a cornerstone of college-readiness. Argumentative prompts require that students read widely about a single debatable topic, and pick a side to defend.

3. Learning Vocabulary

Texts sets are a great way for students to learn vocabulary. Within each CommonLit text set, teachers will find domain-specific vocabulary words and concepts that appear continuously throughout the texts on that given topic.

4. Differentiation and Reading Ladders

Text sets also make it extremely easy for teachers to differentiate instruction while still keeping students in the same class learning about the same topic.  READ MORE >>