Text Structure - Hood River County School District

Text Structure

Features & Organization

What is Text Structure?

Text structure refers to the ways that authors organize information in text. Teaching students to recognize the underlying structure of content-area texts can help students focus attention on key concepts and relationships, anticipate what's to come, and monitor their comprehension as they read.

As readers interact with the text to construct meaning, their comprehension is facilitated when they organize their thinking in a manner similar to that used by the author. Readers who struggle with text comprehension often do so because they fail to recognize the organizational structure of what they are reading, and they are not aware of cues that alert them to particular text structures (Cochran & Hain).

Obviously, all texts are different to a certain extent, but depending upon the author's purpose, the topic and the genre, reading selections tend to be organized to employ a few predominant structural patterns. The following should be explicitly taught to teach students to comprehend more effectively:

Structure (Organization)

Fiction

Story Elements:

?

Characters

?

Setting

?

Problem/Solution

?

Plot

Non-Fiction ? Cause and Effect ? Sequence ? Problem/Solution ? Description ? Compare and Contrast

Fiction texts typically have literary elements such as characters, setting, problem/ solution, and plot. Hearing stories told and read aloud helps children internalize the elements of fiction. When they begin to read, they expect that there will be characters and that some will be more important than others. They also expect a resolution, a satisfying ending.

One effective way to help students identify nonfiction structures is to teach words and phrases that frequently signal organization. For example, if students know that words such as like, unlike, and in contrast are often used when one thing is being compared to another, they can readily spot the author's intention and they'll be better equipped to understand the text as a whole. The following are typical signal words:

Text Structure Signal Questions & Signal Words

Cause and Effect

Compare and

Contrast

Sequence

Problem and

Solution

Description

Cause is why something happened.

Effect is what happened.

(Sometimes the effect is listed

first.)

What happened? Why did it

happen? What caused it to happen?

So Because

Since Therefore

If...then This led to Reason why As a result May be due to Effect of Consequently For this reason

Shows how two Describes items Tells about a A topic, idea,

or more things or events in

problem (and person, place,

are alike and/or order or tells sometimes says or thing is

how they are

the steps to why there is a described by

different.

follow to do

problem) then

listing its

something or

gives one or

features,

make

more possible characteristics,

something.

solutions.

or examples.

Signal Questions

What things are being compared? In

what ways are they alike? In what ways are they different?

What items, events, or steps are listed? Do they have to happen in this order? Do they always happen

in this order?

What is the problem? Why is this a problem? Is

anything being done to try to solve the problem? What can be done

to solve the problem?

What specific topic, person, idea, or thing is being

described? How is it being described

(what does it look like, how does it work, what does it do, etc.)? What is

important to remember about it?

Signal Words

Same as Similar Alike As well as Not only...but also

Both Instead of Either...or On the other hand Different from As opposed to

First Second Next

Then Before After Finally Following Not long after

Now Soon

Question is...

For instance

Dilemma is...

Such as...

The puzzle is...

To begin with

To solve this...

An example

One answer is...

To illustrate

One reason for

Characteristics

the

problem is...

*Look for the

topic word (or a

synonym or

pronoun) to be

repeated

Shared by: Laurie Thisius, USD 268

Cause and Effect

Compare and

Contrast

Sequence

Problem and

Solution

Description

Cause is why something happened.

Effect is what happened.

(Sometimes the effect is listed

first.)

?Qu? sucedi?? ?Por qu? sucedi??

?Qu? provoc? para que sucediera?

Entonces Porque Desde

Por lo tanto Si...entonces Esto dio lugar La raz?n por que Como resultado Podr?a deberse a

Efecto de Consecuentemente

Por esta raz?n

Shows how two Describes items Tells about a

or more things or events in

problem (and

are alike and/or order or tells sometimes says

how they are

the steps to why there is a

different.

follow to do

problem) then

something or

gives one or

make

more possible

something.

solutions.

Preguntas reveladoras

?Qu? cosas est?n siendo

comparadas? ?De qu? maneras son similares? De qu?

maneras son diferentes?

?Qu? cosas, eventos o pasos son

enumerados? ?Tienen que suceder en orden? ?Siempre suceden en este orden?"

?Cu?l es el problema? ?Por qu? es esto un problema? ?Se est? haciendo algo para intentar a

resolver el problema? ?Qu? se puede hacer para

resolver el problema?

Palabras reveladoras

Igual que Similar Parecido

Tan bien como No solo...sino

tambi?n Ambos En lugar de ?ste o... Por otro lado A diferencia de Contrario a

Primero Secundo Siguiente

Luego Antes Despu?s Finalmente Despu?s de Al poco tiempo de Ahora Pronto

La pregunta es... El dilema es...

El problema es... Para resolver este...

Una respuesta es... La raz?n del problema es ...

A topic, idea, person, place,

or thing is described by

listing its features, characteristics, or examples.

?Qu? tema, persona, idea o cosa

espec?fica se est? describiendo? ?C?mo se est? describiendo

(a qu? se parece, c?mo funciona, qu? hace, etc)? ?Qu? es

importante recordar?

Por ejemplo Tal como... Para empezar Un ejemplo Para ilustrar Caracter?sticas

*Espere que la palabra t?pico (o

un sin?nimo o pronombre) sea

repetida

Shared by: Laurie Thisius, USD 268

Authors use text features to bring attention to important details. You can use the following features to become more successful and efficient in your reading:

Text Features

Fiction

Non-Fiction

? Title

? Title

? Chapter Index (for Chapter Books)

? Table of Contents

? Illustrations

? Index*

? Bold Print

? Photos

? Continuous Text

? Captions

? Paragraphing

? Diagrams

? Dialogue

? Glossary

? Date line (periodicals)

? Bold Print

? Headings

? Sub-titles

*The more readers build up knowledge about these elements and underlying

structures, the better they can use them as sources of information.

Text Structure in the TEKS

Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/NonFiction. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the varied structural patterns and features of literary nonfiction and respond by providing evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to:

3rd grade 9(L1) distinguish between fiction and nonfiction;

4th grade 7(L1) distinguish between fiction and nonfiction;

5th grade 7(L1) distinguish between fiction and nonfiction;

Figure 19 Reading Comprehension/Skills. Students use a flexible range of meta-cognitive reading skills in both assigned and independent reading to understand an author's message. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater depth in increasingly more complex texts, as they become self-directed, critical readers. The student is expected to:

3rd grade Fig. 19 (L3) represent text information in different ways, including story maps, graphs, and charts;

4th grade

5th grade

Fig. 19 (L3) represent text

Fig. 19 (L3) represent text

information in different ways such information in different ways such

as in outline, timeline, or graphic as in outline, timeline, or graphic

organizer;

organizer;

Reading/Comprehension of Informational Text/Expository Text. Students analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about expository text and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding. Students are expected to:

3rd grade

13(C) identify explicit cause and effect relationships among ideas in texts; and

4th grade

5th grade

11(L2) recognize that authors

11(L2) recognize that authors

organize information in specific

organize information in specific

ways;

ways;

11(C) describe explicit and implicit 11(C) analyze how the

relationships among ideas in texts organizational pattern of a text (e.g.,

organized by cause-and-effect,

cause-and-effect, compare-and-

sequence, comparison,

contrast, sequential order, logical

problem/solution, or description,

order, classification schemes)

and

influences the relationships among

the ideas;

13(D) use text features (e.g., bold print, captions, key words, italics) to locate information and make and verify predictions about contents of text.

11(D) use multiple text features (e.g., guide words, topic and concluding sentences) to gain an overview of the contents of text and to locate information.

11(D) use multiple text features and graphics to gain an overview of the contents of text and to locate information; and

Learning Intentions Related to The TEKS

What do we want students to know and be able to do? ? Look at features and ask, "What does that tell me about the type of text I am about to read?" "Is that fiction or non-fiction?" ? Look deeply or process text features and ask, "What do I know now?" "What new information do I have about the text that will support my understanding/comprehension?" ? Use the information gleaned from to prepare for processing the specific type of text effectively. ? Consider: If this is a fiction text ? "What should I expect in terms of the organization?" (story elements). If this is a non-fiction text ? "What organizational structure did the author use?" (See above) ? Lastly, students should ask, "How does knowing or being familiar with text structures or how a text is organized help me as a reader?"

The above lays out the ultimate goals around text features & organization. Our 3rd grade students should:

? Learn how to distinguish Fiction & Non-fiction based on Text Features ? Identify text features specific to both Fiction & Non-fiction ? Understand that text features provide information that will support the building of

meaning ? Understand how knowing about and processing text features and organization

help them prepare to process and understand specific types of text in the most effective way possible as readers (i.e., If I know that I'm about to read a newspaper article that explains the collapse of the banking infrastructure ? I will expect to be informed through cause and effect, so I'll be looking for that in order to build my own understanding.) ? Take a close look at one way that Cause and Effect is organized (text dependent)

Our 4th and 5th grade students should:

? Know how to distinguish Fiction & Non-fiction based on Text Features ? Identify text features specific to both Fiction & Non-fiction ? Understand that text features provide information that will support the building of

meaning ? Understand how knowing about and processing text features and organization

help them prepare to process and understand specific types of text in the most effective way possible as readers (i.e., If I know that I'm about to read a newspaper article that explains the collapse of the banking infrastructure ? I will expect to be

informed through cause and effect, so I'll be looking for that in order to build my own understanding.) ? Recognize that authors organize information in specific ways (Cause and Effect, Sequence, Problem/Solution, Description, Compare and Contrast)

When teaching text features & organization consider where your students are in planning your day-to-day lessons.

Ask yourself ? "Are my students proficient at distinguishing fiction from non-fiction?"

If more that 75% of your class struggles with this ? this should be your starting point.

Academic Terms Related to the TEKS

Cause and Effect Sequence Problem/Solution Description Compare and Contrast Photograph Problem/ solution Timeline Captions Headings Key words Legend

Causa y efecto Secuencia Problema/Soluci?n Descripci?n Comparaci?n y Contraste Fotograf?a Problema/ soluci?n Cronolog?a Subt?tulos Encabezados Palabras claves Leyenda

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