Nonfiction Reading Strategies & Activities for Middle School ELA

Confidently Teach Nonfiction with These Best Practices & Activities!

Teaching nonfiction doesn’t have to be boring or overwhelming. This resource is designed to help middle school ELA teachers break down complex informational texts with clarity, purpose, and student-friendly strategies.

Inside, you’ll find:

• 12 best practices for teaching nonfiction in Grades 6–8
• Scaffolded routines for central idea, text structure, and annotation
• Context clue strategies and vocabulary supports
• Flexible tools for chunking, questioning the author, and comparing texts
• High-engagement activities

Your students will learn how to read critically, summarize effectively, and connect what they read to the real world — using techniques that actually stick.

✅ No prep needed

✅ Works with any nonfiction article or passage

✅ Great for stations, or full lessons

Perfect for:

• Reading workshops
• Paired nonfiction and fiction text units
• Content-area crossovers

Created by experienced ELA teachers