English · Year 1

Active learning ideas

Locating Answers in Non-Fiction

Active learning turns non-fiction scanning into a purposeful skill for Year 1 students. When children move, talk, and search together, they connect abstract text features to concrete answers faster than passive reading alone.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• KS1: English - Reading (Comprehension)
• KS1: English - Non-fiction

• 20–35 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Plan-Do-Review
• 35 min · Small Groups

Scavenger Hunt: Fact Finders

Prepare non-fiction books on topics like animals or vehicles with 6-8 question cards. In small groups, students predict the section or page, scan to locate answers, and jot them down with page numbers. Groups present one answer to the class for verification.

Predict where in a text an answer might be found.

Facilitation Tip

During Scavenger Hunt: Fact Finders, circulate with a stopwatch to time pairs and model how to pause at key features before scanning text.

What to look for

Provide students with a short non-fiction text (e.g., about a common animal) and 2-3 simple questions. Ask students to underline the text feature (heading, caption) that helped them find the answer and write the answer in their own words.

• Remember
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Plan-Do-Review
• 25 min · Pairs

Partner Prediction Relay

Pairs receive a big non-fiction book and question strips. One partner predicts the location, the other scans to confirm and reads the answer aloud. Switch roles for each question, timing the process to encourage speed.

Evaluate the accuracy of an answer found in a text.

Facilitation Tip

During Partner Prediction Relay, set a clear rule that runners must read only the captions and headings aloud before teammates write answers.

What to look for

Give each student a card with a question (e.g., 'What do penguins eat?'). They must find the answer in a provided text, write down the heading or caption that led them to it, and draw a small picture of the answer.

• Remember
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making
• Self-Awareness

Activity 03

• Plan-Do-Review
• 30 min · Individual

Index Detective Challenge

Distribute books with indexes and targeted questions. Individually, students use the index to predict pages, scan for answers, and check accuracy. Follow with pair discussions to share effective strategies.

Explain strategies for quickly finding information in a non-fiction book.

Facilitation Tip

During Index Detective Challenge, provide magnifying glasses so students physically point to the index entry and trace the page number to the text.

What to look for

After a class reading activity, ask: 'Tell me about a time you used a heading or caption to find information. What was the question you were trying to answer, and how did the text feature help you?'

• Remember
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making
• Self-Awareness

Activity 04

• Plan-Do-Review
• 20 min · Whole Class

Whole Class Text Treasure Map

Project or display a non-fiction text. As a class, predict answer locations on a shared map, then scan together to locate and discuss. Students add sticky notes to mark findings.

Predict where in a text an answer might be found.

Facilitation Tip

During Whole Class Text Treasure Map, assign each pair one color marker so you can see every team’s path and missteps in real time.

What to look for

Provide students with a short non-fiction text (e.g., about a common animal) and 2-3 simple questions. Ask students to underline the text feature (heading, caption) that helped them find the answer and write the answer in their own words.

• Remember
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making
• Self-Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers start by modelling how to pause at headings and captions before reading sentences. We avoid lengthy read-alouds by chunking texts and focusing on one feature at a time. Research shows that repeated timed scans build automaticity, so keep sessions short and frequent.

Children locate answers quickly using headings, captions, contents pages, and indexes. They explain which feature led them to the fact and share their process with peers to build confidence and accuracy.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Scavenger Hunt: Fact Finders, watch for students who grab pictures and guess answers without reading captions or nearby sentences.

  Pause the hunt and model how to read the caption first, then scan the sentence below the picture for the exact answer, using the text on the card as a guide.

• During Partner Prediction Relay, watch for students who run straight to the text without predicting which heading or caption will help.

  Have runners whisper the predicted feature aloud before teammates write, then check their prediction against the text together.

• During Index Detective Challenge, watch for students who skip the index and flip pages randomly in search of the answer.

  Provide sticky notes with the keyword and page number from the index so students must match the note to the page before reading.

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Methods used in this brief

• Plan-Do-Review