Learning About Animals Using Paired Texts
When teaching students about informative writing, one teaching strategy you may like to try is ‘paired texts’. This is where you read both a fiction and a non-fiction text on the same topic. By doing so, students are provided with information and research from different perspectives.
A nonfiction text introduces the topic and related vocabulary, providing the facts and information. By pairing this with a fiction text; it offers a better understanding and students are able to further their knowledge as they are able to experience the topic in a different setting or situation.
Some examples of texts I have used in class while doing research on animals include;
Wombats - Sebastian Lives In A Hat by Thelma Catterwell or Diary Of A Wombat by Jackie French & Bruce Whatley paired with Wombat an information book by Christopher Cheng
Cows - Belinda by Pamela Allen paired with text Facts About the Cow by Lisa Strattin
Fruit Bats - Stellaluna by Janell Cannon paired with Bats! by Elizabeth Carney. It is a National Geographic Reader.
Butterflies - The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle paired with informative text Caterpillar To Butterfly by Camilla de la Bedoyere. If you don’t have a copy it is read aloud here
Emus - Edward The Emu by Sheena Knowles paired with online video Animal Fact File - Emu Facts
Tasmanian Tiger - The Dream Of The Thylacine by Margaret Wild or Stripes In The Forest: The Story Of The Last Wild Thylacine by Aleesah Darlison paired with the online text Thylacine on the Australian Museum Website
Tigers - Tigress by Nick Dowson is a fiction text with facts weaved onto each page to pair with All About Tigers by Phillip W. Simpson
Peregrine Falcon - Home by Narelle Oliver to pair with Maggie the One-Eyed Peregrine Falcon: A True Story of Rescue and Rehabilitation by Christie Gove-Berg
Penguins - The Penguin Book – Birds In Suits by Dr Mark Norman is a great nonfiction text to pair with fiction text 365 Penguins by Jean-Luc Fromental
Owls - Little Owl's Night by Divya Srinivasan or Owl Babies by Martin Waddell paired with Owling: Enter the World of the Mysterious Birds of the Night by Mark Wilson
Paired texts provide a chance for much rich discussion and comparison which increases students comprehension of the given topic or the subject. Have you found any great books that work well together? We would love it if you joined the conversation and left a comment below.