Engage your students in nonfiction reading and analysis with this paired informational text activity on Totem Poles! This resource includes two informational text articles — “Totem Poles: Beautiful Stories in Wood” and “Totem Poles of Southeast Alaska and Canada” — along with a graphic organizer and comprehension questions. Students compare and contrast the two texts while analyzing author’s purpose, structure, and use of images for effectiveness. Perfect as a supplemental activity for a novel study like Touching Spirit Bear or as part of a social studies unit on Indigenous cultures, this resource provides six pages of meaningful practice.

Why Teachers Love It

• Saves prep time with ready-to-use paired texts and questions
• Builds nonfiction reading and text analysis skills
• Encourages comparison of author’s purpose, structure, and craft
• Flexible for ELA or social studies classrooms

What’s Included

• Two Informational Articles:
  • “Totem Poles: Beautiful Stories in Wood”
  • “Totem Poles of Southeast Alaska and Canada”
• Graphic Organizer: Compare/contrast details from both texts
• Comprehension & Analysis Questions: Focus on purpose, images, and structure
• Answer Key for teacher use

Why It Works
This activity combines engaging nonfiction content with practical skills in comparing texts, making it perfect for strengthening informational reading standards. By connecting to themes in Touching Spirit Bear or broader social studies topics, students gain cultural knowledge while practicing higher-level analysis.