Text Structure
[Pages:48]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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