Imaginative vs Informative Book Sorting Activity

Spark excitement in your classroom with this interactive digital activity that helps students explore the difference between imaginative and informative texts. With colourful book bins, drag‑and‑drop sorting, and simple Year 1‑friendly language, students build early comprehension skills while having fun. 

No prep required, just open and go. The activity includes a variety of book covers, clear instructions and builtin scaffolds to support emerging readers. Teachers can use it for modelling, independent practise, or quick formative assessment. Whether you’re introducing text purposes for the first time or revisiting it later in the year, this resource makes learning meaningful, interactive and fun. 

Aligned to Foundation Curriculum Codes

This activity supports early understanding of text purpose, directly linking to Foundation English outcomes where students identify familiar texts as imaginative or informative. It reinforces key curriculum expectations around recognising different types of texts, discussing their features, and understanding the author’s purpose in creating them. 

Perfect for building foundational comprehension skills in an engaging, age‑appropriate way.

How to Use this Digital Activity in the Classroom

This activity is flexible and easy to slot into any literacy block. Use it as a whole‑class warm‑up by projecting the book bins and sorting the covers together while discussing clues that show whether a text is imaginative or informative. It also works beautifully in small‑group guided reading, where students can talk through their choices and justify their thinking. 

For independent practise, students simply drag and drop the covers into the correct bins, building confidence as they work. It’s also a quick and effective formative assessment tool, perfect for checking understanding at the beginning or end of a unit on text purpose.

This resource was created by Lindsey Phillips, a Teach Starter collaborator. 

More Text Purpose Teaching Resources

Are you looking for more text purpose teaching resources for the lower years? We have you covered…

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