NONFICTION MINUTE
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  • The Nonfiction Minute
    • Minutes to Browse July 1
    • Minutes to Browse
      • by Subject
        • English/Language Arts
        • Social Studies
        • STEM
        • Art
        • FCS/ Nutrition
        • Health & Wellness
        • Music
        • Research Skills
  • For Teachers
    • T2T Tutorial
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    • Class ACTS-Authors Collaborating with Teachers and Students
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What is a Light Year?
David M. Schwartz

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​You can count on David Schwartz to take really big ideas and make them accessible to really little people.  If you have a class full of “I Wonder” kids, use this article to keep them wondering and exploring and reaching for answers.

English/Language Arts

Explore lead sentences
  • The author has used an unusual hook to start this piece.  Instead of telling you what something IS [a light year] , he tells you what it IS NOT.   Have a class dialogue after a think, pair share (TPS) to talk about how this approach affects the reader.  Have students rewrite a piece from their own journals using this “negative” approach! 
  • Use this opportunity to start collecting lead sentences and paragraphs from different nonfiction informative texts.
Explore information writing
  • Notice how the author has taken an overwhelming concept and broken it down for easy understanding.  Use this as a mentor text to have students write about other big concepts that need to be “chunked” to make them more understandable.

STEM
Explore the nature of speed.
  • Brainstorm - what are the fastest things you can think of?  Graph them.
  • Now you can talk about scaling graphs, because this light year is going to be off the chart!  
Explore different scales of measurement
  • Great anticipatory set for talk about measurement - the origin of different systems and the reasons they have developed the way they have.  Ask kids to develop their own scale of measurement for something and prepare to be awed.
Explore large numbers and place value
  • This is a great time to reinforce the effects of adding zeros to numbers - the differences between millions, billions, trillions and beyond.

Research Skills
Explore our solar system...and beyond
  • Use this article as a jumping off point to find other things in space that are closer than the closest star.  
​
© Karen Sterling, 2017 - May be used for educational purposes without written permission
The NONFICTION MINUTE, Authors on Call, and. the iNK Books & Media Store are  divisions of iNK THINK TANK INC.
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  • The Nonfiction Minute
    • Minutes to Browse July 1
    • Minutes to Browse
      • by Subject
        • English/Language Arts
        • Social Studies
        • STEM
        • Art
        • FCS/ Nutrition
        • Health & Wellness
        • Music
        • Research Skills
  • For Teachers
    • T2T Tutorial
  • AOC/Authors on Call
    • Class ACTS-Authors Collaborating with Teachers and Students
  • Print Collection
  • Contact Us
  • Help Us Out
  • Vicki Cobb's Blog
  • iNK Home
  • iNK Thinkers
  • Links for Nonfiction Minutes for the iNK Think Tank presentation
    • About
  • iNK Fall Launch books
  • Holiday