ALEX | Alabama Learning Exchange

Text Structures

Classroom Resource Information

Title:

Text Structures

URL:

https://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/ela/images/Text%20Structures.pdf

Content Source:

Other
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

Type:

Informational Material

Overview:

Text structures refer to the way authors organize information in text. Recognizing the underlying structure of texts can help students focus attention on key concepts and relationships, anticipate what is to come, and monitor their comprehension as they read.

This informational material will provide students and teachers with background knowledge related to these structures:

- Narrative
- Chronological, process, or sequence
- Cause and effect
- Problem/solution
- Compare and contrast
- Definition or description

This document provides a definition, graphic organizer, transition words, and guiding questions for each type of text structure.

Content Standard(s):

English Language Arts ELA2021 (2021) Grade: 2	27. Identify the text structures within literary and informational texts, including cause and effect, problem and solution, and sequence of events. Unpacked Content Teacher Vocabulary: 27. Text structures Literary texts Informational texts Cause and effect Problem and solution Sequence of events Knowledge: 27. Students know: Literary and informational texts follow predictable structures. Cause and effect text structure describes an event (the cause) and the consequence or result of the event (the effect). Problem and solution text structure describes a problem and how the problem was solved or could be solved. Sequence of events is the order of events within a text. Skills: 27. Students are able to: Identify the text structure of literary texts. Identify the text structure of informational texts. Understanding: 27. Students understand that: Identifying the text structure of literary and informational texts will set a purpose for their reading and improve their comprehension.
English Language Arts ELA2021 (2021) Grade: 3	24. Identify the text structures within literary and informational texts. a. Explain how the structures, including comparison and contrast, sequence of events, problem and solution, and cause and effect, contribute to the meaning of the text, using textual evidence. Unpacked Content Teacher Vocabulary: 24. Identify Text structures Literary text Informational text 24a. Text structures Comparison and contrast Sequence of events Problem and solution Cause and effect Contribute Textual evidence Knowledge: 24. Students know: Literary and informational texts follow predictable structures. 24a. Compare means tell how things are similar, and contrast means tell how things are different. Sequence of events is the chronological order of events within a text. Problem and solution text structure describes a problem and how the problem was solved or could be solved. Cause and effect text structure describes an event (the cause) and the consequence or result of the event (the effect). They have to use quotations from the text to prove their answers. Skills: 24. Students are able to: Identify the text structure of literary texts. Identify the text structure of informational texts. 24a. Explain how text structures contribute to the meaning of the text. Provide textual evidence to support their explanation. Understanding: 24. Students understand that: Identifying the text structure of literary and informational texts will set a purpose for their reading and improve their comprehension. 24a. Texts follow a predictable structure that contributes to the overall meaning of the text. They can demonstrate their comprehension of a text by using textual evidence to support their explanations.
English Language Arts ELA2021 (2021) Grade: 4	23. Evaluate how text features and structures contribute to the meaning of an informational text. a. Identify and describe the structures within a text, including description, comparison and contrast, sequence, problem and solution, and cause and effect. b. Interpret information from text features in both print and digital formats. Unpacked Content Teacher Vocabulary: 23. Text features Text structures Informational texts 23a. Description Comparison and contrast Sequence Problem and solution Cause and effect 23b. Text features Print format Digital format Knowledge: 23. Students know: Informational text often includes text features, such as graphs, charts, diagrams, photographs, etc., to help readers better understand the information in the text. Informational text often follows a predictable text structure. 23a. Informational text often follows a particular text structure and understanding the types of text structure can help improve comprehension. A text that follows a description structure will provide facts and details about a topic. A text that follows a comparison and contrast structure will describe how two or more things are alike or different. A text that follows a sequence text structure will describe events that occurred in chronological order. Problem and solution text structure describes a problem and how the problem was solved or could be solved. Cause and effect text structure describes an event (the cause) and the consequence or result of the event (the effect). 23b. Text features are items like charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements on Web pages. Text features can provide additional information or enhance understanding of the text. Skills: 23. Students are able to: Identify and describe how text features contribute to the meaning of informational text. Identify and describe how text structure contributes to the meaning of informational text. 23a. Identify the type of text structure a text follows. Describe characteristics of the text structure. 23b. Identify text features in print and digital formats. Explain the meaning of text features in print and digital formats. Understanding: 23. Students understand that: Text features are often included in informational text to help readers better understand the author's intended meaning and message. Informational texts often follow a predictable text structure, and identifying the structure of a text can improve comprehension. 23a. Texts follow a predictable structure that contributes to the overall meaning of the text. 23b. Text features can be found in printed and digital text materials. Text features often provide important information about details in the text or can enhance understanding of details in the text.
English Language Arts ELA2021 (2021) Grade: 5	24. Determine and evaluate the effectiveness of digital and print text features and structures, including comparison and contrast, problem and solution, and cause and effect. a. Identify various text features used in diverse forms of text. b. Compare and contrast the overall structure of events, ideas, concepts, or information in multiple texts. Unpacked Content Teacher Vocabulary: 24. Determine Evaluate Effectiveness Digital text features Print text features Text structures Comparison and contrast Problem and solution Cause and effect 24a. Text features 24b. Compare Contrast Events Ideas Concepts Information Knowledge: 24. Students know: Text features are items like charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements on Web pages. Text features can provide additional information or enhance understanding of the text. Text can be structured in different ways, depending on the type of information that is being communicated. A text that follows a comparison and contrast structure will describe how two or more things are alike or different. Problem and solution text structure describes a problem and how the problem was solved or could be solved. Cause and effect text structure describes an event (the cause) and the consequence or result of the event (the effect). 24a. Text features are items like charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements on Web pages. Text features can provide additional information or enhance understanding of the text. 24b. Compare means tell how things are alike or similar, and contrast means tell how things are different. There will be similarities and differences among the structure of events, ideas, concepts, and information across multiple texts. Skills: 24. Students are able to: Identify digital and print text features and structures. Evaluate the effectiveness of digital and print text features and structures in communicating the intended meaning. 24a. Identify text features in varied forms of texts. 24b. Identify similarities between the structure of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more texts. Identify differences between the structure of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more texts. Understanding: 24. Students understand that: Text features can be found in printed and digital text materials. Text features often provide important information about details in the text or can enhance understanding of details in the text. Texts follow a predictable structure that contributes to the overall meaning of the text. They can demonstrate comprehension of the text by evaluating on the purpose and effectiveness of the text features and structure the author chose to use. 24a. Text features often provide important information about details in the text or can enhance understanding of details in the text. 24b. Comparing and contrasting multiple texts helps them better comprehend the texts and synthesize information from multiple sources.
English Language Arts ELA2021 (2021) Grade: 6	2. Make inferences and draw logical conclusions from the content and structures of informational texts, including comparison and contrast, problem and solution, claims and evidence, cause and effect, description, and sequencing. Unpacked Content Teacher Vocabulary: 2. Inferences Logical conclusions Content Structures Informational text Comparison and contrast Problem and solution Claims and evidence Cause and effect Description Sequencing Knowledge: 2. Students know: Explicit information in a text, like its content and structure, can be used to draw conclusions and support inferences. Text can be structured in different ways, depending on the type of information that is being communicated. A text that follows a comparison and contrast structure will describe how two or more things are alike or different. Problem and solution text structure describes a problem and how the problem was solved or could be solved. Claim and evidence structure proposes a particular claim, then provides evidence to support the claim. Cause and effect text structure describes an event (the cause) and the consequence or result of the event (the effect). A description text structure describes a topic by listing characteristics, features, attributes, and examples. Sequencing text structure presents ideas or events in the order in which they happen. Skills: 2. Students are able to: Identify the structure of informational texts, including comparison and contrast, problem and solution, claims and evidence, cause and effect, description, and sequencing. Make inferences and draw conclusions from the content and structure of informational texts. Understanding: 2. Students understand that: Informational text provides explicit information in its content and structure that can be used to draw conclusions and support inferences. Informational text generally follows a particular structure, and identifying this structure can help them better comprehend and analyze the text.
English Language Arts ELA2021 (2021) Grade: 7	2. Evaluate how effectively an author uses structures of informational texts, including comparison and contrast, problem and solution, cause and effect, and substantiated or unsubstantiated claims and evidence, to achieve a purpose. Unpacked Content Teacher Vocabulary: 2. Informational text structures Comparison and contrast Problem and solution Cause and effect Substantiated claim Unsubstantiated claim Evidence Author's purpose Knowledge: 2. Students know: Authors use particular informational text structures to achieve an intended purpose. A text that follows a comparison and contrast structure will describe how two or more things are alike or different. Problem and solution text structure describes a problem and how the problem was solved or could be solved. Cause and effect text structure describes an event (the cause) and the consequence or result of the event (the effect). Claim and evidence structure proposes a particular claim, then provides evidence to support the claim. Substantiated claims will have relevant, credible supporting evidence, while unsubstantiated claims will not. Skills: 2. Students are able to: Identify the structure of informational text. Evaluate the effectiveness of the text structure in achieving the author's intended purpose. Understanding: 2. Students understand that: Authors choose to format their informational text in a particular structure to achieve a specific purpose.

Tags:

cause and effect, chronological, comparison and contrast, description, informational text, literary text, narrative, problem and solution, sequence, text structure

License Type:

Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives
For full descriptions of license types and a guide to usage, visit :
https://creativecommons.org/licenses

Accessibility

Text Resources: Content is organized under headings and subheadings

Comments

This resource provided by:

Author:

Hannah Bradley

ALEX Classroom Resource

Text Structures