Free teaching resource

Five-Day Nonfiction Warm-Up Pack

Current teacher guidance: 2 November 2026. Student tasks retain their stated core editions. Use the current stage choices and matching guide below.

Changes in the current files · 2 November 2026

The teacher guide includes annotated fictional sound, partial and error responses, with concrete teaching actions and evidence to seek next.
Browser printing keeps task prompts with their response space; the underlying tasks retain their stated editions.

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Recommended selection edition 0.1.2. Original source files retain their displayed editions.

These are selected activities. Use the matching guide to decide how they fit your teaching; do not assume that these files alone provide a complete teaching and follow-up sequence.

Current teacher guidance: 2 November 2026. Student tasks retain their stated core edition; use the matching current guide linked here. Earlier files are kept separately in the archive.

Audience / fit: Grade 6 ELA
Teaching or planning target: Five short informational passages with evidence questions and separate answer guidance.
Essential prerequisites: Students can read or listen to a short informational passage and communicate a response using a detail from it.
Preparation: About 7 minutes.
Use time: About 30 minutes. Estimate of five independent six-minute warm-ups, one per day; not classroom-tested.
Materials: Selected student pages, paper and pencil or an established response method, and the separate teacher guide.
What to print: Print the chosen activity. Follow the source or reveal instructions beside it.

Evidence to notice: Look for the requested accurate details, explained connections and relevant limits. One warm-up does not establish mastery.

Preview the actual student page

Student page 1: Day 1 only — Actual student PDF page 1 of 1: Day 1 only. This page belongs to the named task; a teaching stage may intentionally show a model. Keep the matching teacher answers and reserved tasks separate.

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Day 1 only · PDF · 1 page

Matching teacher guide and answers — keep separate: Matching teacher guide and answers · 11 pages.

Daily nonfiction warm-ups and editable copies

Independent responses

Day 1 only · 1 page
PDF · Editable Word · Read in browser
Day 2 only · 1 page
PDF · Editable Word · Read in browser
Day 3 only · 1 page
PDF · Editable Word · Read in browser
Day 4 only · 1 page
PDF · Editable Word · Read in browser
Day 5 only · 1 page
PDF · Editable Word · Read in browser

Teacher files — separately

Matching teacher guide and answers · 11 pages · Teacher PDF · Editable teacher Word · Read in browser · teacher copy

Archived page guidance and source files · Write a local teaching plan

Archive: Additional formats, earlier editions and teaching guidance

Earlier guidance and source files are retained as historical records. For classroom teaching and printing, use the current stage files and matching guides above. Older guidance, timing and layouts are superseded; some retained browser/Word files have limited writing space or sparse extra pages. Keep historical student files with their historical keys and do not mix editions.

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Audience / fit: Grade 6 ELA
Teaching or planning target: Five short informational passages with evidence questions and separate answer guidance.
Essential prerequisites: Students can read or listen to a short informational passage and communicate a response using a detail from it.
Preparation: About 7 minutes.
Use time: About 30 minutes. Estimate of five independent six-minute warm-ups, one per day; not classroom-tested.
Materials: Selected student pages, paper and pencil or an established response method, and the separate teacher guide.
What to print: Use the stage-specific student choices below and the matching teacher guide. Give independent, new-evidence and later-assessment pages only at their intended stage.

Start teaching

Day 1 only · PDF (1 page)

Read the teacher guide and answers · PDF (8 pages)

Print one day at a time. The first download is day 1 only; the remaining selections are below. Retain later pages if you want an unseen response. Read the teacher key for the exact page selected.

Editable Word, browser copies and other files

Print and adapt for your own planning and classroom use; printed copies may be shared within your classroom or school team, provided the source is not sold. Keep attribution and resource-specific notices. For redistribution and third-party materials, read the Terms of Use. Recommend this resource using its page link.

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Across five independent warm-ups, learners read a short informational passage, identify and explain evidence, and qualify a claim when the passage shows limits or variation.

All files are free. No email address, account, payment, trial or subscription is required.

Who it is for: Grade 6 ELA
Preparation: About 7 minutes.
Teaching time: About 30 minutes. Estimate of five independent six-minute warm-ups, one per day; not classroom-tested.
Teacher guidance: Separate teacher files include completed examples or answer and scoring guidance.

Materials

One learner copy of the packet or one copied day page at a time.
Pencil or another established written response method.

Choose a stage and format

Give only the stage being used. Keep later tasks and all teacher keys with the teacher until needed.

Archive: Formats and all files

Complete reference files may include teaching, independent tasks, later evidence or teacher answers. Keep them with the teacher; use the separate stage selections above for handouts.

Read or download the complete resource

Keep teacher guidance and answers separate from student copies. Word files contain editable text; the PDF files are ready to print.

Support and adaptation

For learners who benefit from reduced reading load, offer one paragraph at a time, read the passage aloud or use available text-to-speech, preview the question verbs, and provide extra wait time. Learners may dictate or use an established communication method. Keep the task’s evidence and reasoning goal the same.

Extension

Ask learners to identify one additional source of place-and-date tide information they would need for a real prediction, then explain which part of the passage supports that choice. Keep the extension separate from the original answer criteria.

Choose a next move

Choose a route that fits the response and your teaching goal. These are links to materials already supplied, not a prescribed sequence or a placement decision.

Identify a Central Idea and Write a Summary — When a response collects details without a whole-passage point, use the central-idea and summary lesson.
Support an Answer with Textual Evidence — For answers that need text details and an explanation, use the evidence lesson.

Save follow-up passages until students are ready to try them on their own. Once a passage has been shown, modeled or practiced, use it for practice. Keep answer keys with the teacher and use each resource’s own learning target and criteria.

About the materials

Use the editable files to adapt the materials to your learners and local curriculum.

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