Ready-to-teach lesson
ELA SKILL LESSON · GRADES 2-3
Captain Jake
What the Last Pages Add
- TIME
- 30 minutes full · 15 minutes short
- PRIMARY SKILL
- Distinguish story details from factual back matter
- OBJECTIVE
- Compare a fictional narrative with factual closing material about the same subject and sort details according to which kind of writing supplies them.
- STUDENT EVIDENCE
- A two-column chart: story details and factual closing-page information, plus one sentence comparing the purposes of the two sections.
- ESSENTIAL QUESTION
- How can one book switch from telling a story to giving factual information?
Before teaching
Read or play the complete book before the timed lesson. Keep the book available so claims and evidence can be checked against the text. Book-specific targets: Compare Captain Jake's fictional narrative with the factual closing pages about Captain Kidd's ship.
- Materials:
- the book, Student Evidence page, pencil.
- Lesson sequence
- TIME
- TEACHING MOVE
- 4 min
- Mark the switch Find where the story ends and the factual closing material begins.
- 6 min
- Collect story details Record details that belong to the invented narrative.
- 7 min
- Collect factual details Record information stated in the closing pages.
- 8 min
- Sort and compare Check that each item belongs to the correct kind of writing.
- 5 min
- Name the different jobs Explain what the story section does and what the factual section adds.
ELA SKILL LESSON · TEACHER SUPPORT
Captain Jake
What the Last Pages Add
Access routes
- SOLO
- Use the book independently to complete the evidence page. Require book-based support for the reasoning.
page 1
- SUPPORTED
- Pause at the key evidence moments. Rephrase the task orally, then have students point to or record evidence before explaining.
- LISTENING
- Use narration and illustrations. Ask the same book-specific questions orally and accept pointing, choosing between evidence already visible in the book, drawing, or an oral explanation. Do not require teacher-invented answer choices.
- EXTEND
- Apply the same reasoning move to a second moment in the book or ask students to explain why a tempting alternative is weaker.
Teacher guidance
Keep the distinction textual, not stylistic. Students should classify details by what section of the book asserts them and what kind of claim the section is making.
Book-specific answer anchors
- Story-side examples include Jake finding a doubloon, travelling aboard the Adventure Galley
with an invisible Captain Kidd, and bringing the pirate into his present-day home life. Those are events in the fictional narrative.
- The closing material changes mode: it supplies factual information about the historical Captain
Kidd and his ship rather than continuing Jake's invented adventure.
- A correct sort uses the section of the book as evidence. A detail can sound realistic and still
belong to the story; the factual back matter is explicitly presented as information about the historical subject.
Assessment
- The transition between sections is identified.
- Details are sorted accurately by section.
- The student can explain the different jobs of narrative and factual back matter.
Short route · 15 minutes
3 min - name/model the skill. 8 min - gather the minimum evidence required on the student page. 4 min - explain the answer and verify it against the book.
Watch for
Assuming that a detail is factual merely because it sounds realistic, rather than locating it in the factual section.
Source note
Extracted and audited as a standalone from the ELA unit What Is True Inside a Made-Up Story. No regional standards are attached to this standalone skill lesson.
STUDENT EVIDENCE · GRADES 2-3
Captain Jake
What the Last Pages Add
Name ______________________________________ Date __________________ A two-column chart: story details and factual closing-page information, plus one sentence comparing the purposes of the two sections.
page 2
STORY DETAIL 1
STORY DETAIL 2
FACTUAL BACK-MATTER DETAIL 1
FACTUAL BACK-MATTER DETAIL 2
HOW THE TWO SECTIONS DIFFER
EXIT CHECK
How can one book switch from telling a story to giving factual information?
_________________________________________________
TEACHER KEY · GRADES 2-3
Captain Jake
What the Last Pages Add
Book-specific answer anchors
- Story-side examples include Jake finding a doubloon, travelling aboard the Adventure Galley
with an invisible Captain Kidd, and bringing the pirate into his present-day home life. Those are events in the fictional narrative.
- The closing material changes mode: it supplies factual information about the historical Captain
Kidd and his ship rather than continuing Jake's invented adventure.
- A correct sort uses the section of the book as evidence. A detail can sound realistic and still
belong to the story; the factual back matter is explicitly presented as information about the historical subject.
Expected student evidence
- The transition between sections is identified.
- Details are sorted accurately by section.
- The student can explain the different jobs of narrative and factual back matter.
Watch for
Assuming that a detail is factual merely because it sounds realistic, rather than locating it in the factual section.
Independent success
The student completes the required evidence product, uses the named book-specific evidence above, and can explain the reasoning move without relying only on recall or a teacher-supplied answer.
Unit source
What Is True Inside a Made-Up Story · Captain Jake by Shannon Stewart
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