Integrating This Into Your Lessons
Students are given facts to increase their knowledge on the topic.
Benefits
Careful Thinking – Our knowledge base facilitates reading comprehension
Accuracy – students are learning and thinking with accurate information
Fact cards provide students with knowledge and vocabulary that is needed to build deep understanding of topics and concepts under study. Fact cards can use short sentences, images, data tables, equations, or timelines.
For example, here are fact cards to prepare students for reading a non-fiction text on air planes and space shuttles. See the Sort it Out routine for an example of how to use these fact cards with a learning routines.
Here is an example of a fast fact sheet designed in a narrative format organized by the 5 WH questions (i.e. who, what, when, where, why, and how). Students might use the individual learning routine – Check and Circle (e.g. highlighting one fact they already knew about Sojourner Truth and start two new and interesting facts they will remember). This fact sheet is part of the Literacy as a Project of Freedom Unit in the Teaching with Grace practice simulations.