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Who Made This Information Book

A 30-minute Kindergarten lesson on the author's job and the illustrator's job in a book of facts, where the pictures are often photographs.

Who Made This Information Book is a free 30-minute Kindergarten English lesson plan for Common Core standard RI.K.6 — name who wrote the book and who made the pictures, and say what each one did. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the meaning, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.

Grade:
Kindergarten
Length:
30 minutes
Standard:
RI.K.6

Kindergarten · Reading: Informational Text

RI.K.6

Name the author and illustrator of a text and define the role of each in presenting the ideas or information in a text.

Objective

Students will be able to name the author and illustrator of an information text and say what each contributed.

Students are successful when they can

  • Points to the author's name and says "the author wrote the facts."
  • Points to the photographer or illustrator and says "they made the pictures."
  • Says whether a fact came from the words, the picture, or both.

What you need

  • An information book with photographs and a credited photographer
  • An information book with drawn diagrams and a credited illustrator
  • A tablet or camera to take one class photo
  • The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan

The lesson

Warm-up — two books, two kinds of picture

4 min
  1. Hold up the two books. Ask: "How are the pictures different?" Fish for "one has real photos, one has drawings."
  2. Take a quick photo of the class with the tablet and show it. Say: "I just made a photo. So I am the photographer. Somebody made the pictures in these books too."

Teach — where did that fact come from?

10 min
  1. Point to the author's name on the photo book: "The author wrote the words. In a fact book, the words are the facts."
  2. Point to "photographs by" and read the name: "The photographer took the photos." In the drawn book, point to "illustrated by": "The illustrator drew the pictures."
  3. Open the photo book to a page and read a sentence, for example: "Penguins have black and white feathers." Point to the photo. Ask: "Did we learn that from the words, the picture, or both?" Fish for "both."
  4. Find something only in the picture: "Look, this penguin is standing on ice. Did the words say ice?" No. "The picture taught us that."
  5. Find something only in the words, such as "Penguins can swim fast." Ask: "Can a photo show fast?" Fish for "not really." Say: "The words taught us that."
  6. Say: "In a fact book, the author and the picture-maker both teach us. They do different jobs."
“The author tells us facts in words. The pictures show us facts too. Where did you learn that one: words or picture?”

Guided practice — words or picture?

8 min
  1. Show four pages one at a time. Read the words and point to the picture. Pairs say "words," "picture" or "both" for the fact you name.
  2. Use: a speed or number fact (words), the color of a baby animal's fluff (picture), what the animal eats when it is shown eating (both), where it lives when only the photo shows snow (picture).
  3. After each, ask: "Who made that picture?" Pairs find the name on the cover or title page.
“Words, picture or both? Tell your partner, then show me with your hands: open book for words, a camera for picture.”

Independent practice

6 min
  1. Read each question on the sheet aloud.
  2. Children circle the answer: author or illustrator, and words or picture, for each fact.

Close

2 min
  1. Ask: "What does the author of a fact book do? What does the photographer do?"
  2. Fish for "writes the facts" and "takes the photos."

What goes wrong, and why

Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.

Says "nobody made the photos, they are just real."

Why: Photos look exactly like the world, so the child does not see a person behind them choosing what to show.

Fix: Take a photo of the class and show it. Say: "I made this. I chose to put you in it and not the door." A photographer chooses too.

Says "the author did everything in the book."

Why: "Author" is the name children hear most, so it covers the whole book in their minds.

Fix: Find both names on the cover or title page and say each job aloud with an action: write in the air for author, click a camera for photographer.

Says "the words said the penguin was on ice" when only the photo shows it.

Why: Pictures and words merge into one memory of the page, so the child cannot say which taught them.

Fix: Cover the picture and reread the words. Ask: "Did it say ice?" Then uncover the photo: "The picture showed us."

If they are not there yet

  • Use one book and point to both names many times.
  • Use the action cues for every answer: writing for author, camera for photographer.
  • Ask only "words or picture?" about one page at a time.

If they finish early

  • Take a photo for a class fact book and write or dictate the caption, so the child is both photographer and author.
  • Find a fact that is only in the picture on three different pages.
  • Compare a photo and a drawing of the same animal: which shows more, and why might an author choose a drawing?

Exit ticket

Who wrote the words in this book? Who made the pictures? Tell me one fact you learned from a picture.

What to look for: Both names, the right jobs, and a fact only the picture shows. "Nobody made the photos" means the photographer is invisible to the child. A fact that is in the words means words and pictures are still merged.

Printable practice for RI.K.6

Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.

Questions about Who Made This Information Book

How long does the Who Made This Information Book lesson take?

30 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 4 min, teach 10 min, guided practice 8 min, independent practice 6 min, close 2 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.

Which standard does Who Made This Information Book teach?

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.6 — RI.K.6, Reading: Informational Text for Kindergarten: “Name the author and illustrator of a text and define the role of each in presenting the ideas or information in a text.” In plain terms, name who wrote the book and who made the pictures, and say what each one did.

What do I need to teach this lesson?

An information book with photographs and a credited photographer, an information book with drawn diagrams and a credited illustrator, a tablet or camera to take one class photo and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.

What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?

Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: says "nobody made the photos, they are just real."; says "the author did everything in the book." and says "the words said the penguin was on ice" when only the photo shows it. The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.

How do I know whether the lesson worked?

The exit ticket asks: “Who wrote the words in this book? Who made the pictures? Tell me one fact you learned from a picture.” Both names, the right jobs, and a fact only the picture shows. "Nobody made the photos" means the photographer is invisible to the child. A fact that is in the words means words and pictures are still merged. That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.

Is there a worksheet to go with Who Made This Information Book?

Yes — 1 printable RI.K.6 worksheet, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.

Is Who Made This Information Book free to use?

Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on October 8, 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.

Last reviewed 2026-10-08. Aligned to RI.K.6 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.