1. Nonfiction Organizational Patterns
Text Structures
Nonfiction Organizational Patterns
This presentation is designed to be a quick guide to help teachers as they teach text structures.

2. What is text structure?
the internal organization of a text (how it’s organized)
building with words
nonfiction can have one overall structure, or several different structures
For example, a page from a social studies textbook may be written in chronological order, but contain a paragraph that explains a cause and effect

3. What are the common text structures?
Chronological order
Aka sequence, how-to, or time order
organized from one point in time to another
Transition words such as first, next, later, and finally
Dates and times used

4. Chronological In order of time Chrono = time
Stories are told chronologically
Moved
Away
Met Girl
Fell in
Love
Born
in 1882
Married
in 1906
Died
in 1948

5. Sequence / Order of Importance / How - To
Steps described in the order they occur.
Get bread
Tighten
Laces
Open jars
Tie Loops
Together
Spread peanut butter
Make Two
Loops
Spread jelly
Combine slices
Put on
Shoe
Enjoy.
Does not take place at any specific point in time.

6. What are the common text structures?
Cause and effect
causes – reasons why/how
Effects – aftermath or result of cause
time component, since causes come before effects
Transition words such as cause, effect, as a result, consequently, and because
may be several causes and several effects

7. Cause and Effect
Explains reasons why something happened, an action and its result, or explains the effects of something.
Text is not telling
the story of a dog.
Not feeding it.
Many Karate
Schools Opened.
Not petting it.
Why Dog
Ran Away
Lots of Karate Movies in 60’s
Nunchuck sales
Increased 400%
Not loving it.
Hospital cases
went up.

8. What are the common text structures?
Problem and solution
presents a problem, and shows how it can be solved
can be confused with cause and effect (problem and solution always has a solution, while cause and effect does not)
Transitions may include problem, solution, solve, effect, hopeful,

9. Problem and Solution Similar to cause and effect. Basically
Missing
Books
Eagles were
endangered.
Make laws to
protect them.
Putting in
the Closet
Basically
Cause & Effect
With an Opinion and an Answer.
Getting
Lockers

10. What are the common text structures?
Compare and contrast
shows how two or more ideas or items are similar or different
Block method – details about one topic followed by details about the other
Point by Point method – going back between the two topics
Transition words may include like, similar, unlike, on the other hand, also, and too

11. Shows what’s in common and what’s different.
Compare and Contrast
Compare = find similarities Contrast = find differences
Shows what’s in common and what’s different.
Apples &
Oranges
Fruits
Have Seeds
Healthy
Colors
Tastes
Locations

12. What are the common text structures?
Description
shows what an item or place is like
Transitions include spatial words, such as next to, on top of, beside, and so forth

13. Spatial / Descriptive Writing
Racial is to race as spatial is to space. Describes something in order of space. Describes how something looks. TIME DOESN’T PASS in these passages.
Television across from the bed
Two windows on the west wall
My Bedroom
Closet by the TV
A bed in the middle

14. How does text structure help readers?
guides the reader through content ~ flow
helps us find specific information and answers to questions
A point for summaries

15. Starts easy but gets hard
Practice
Starts easy but gets hard
Read the paragraph
Identify the text structure
Write it down.

16. 1
Deviled Eggs
Pop out (remove) the egg yolks to a small bowl and mash with a fork. Add mayonnaise, mustard powder, vinegar, salt and pepper and mix thoroughly. Fill the empty egg white shells with the mixture and sprinkle lightly with paprika. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to one day before serving.

17. 2
Sports at Ericson
There are two popular sports played at Ericson, basketball and volleyball. Both take place inside of the gym at Ericson. Also, each sport has two teams of people. In basketball, however, the ball can be played off of the floor, and in volleyball, the ball cannot touch the floor or it is out of play. Basketball and volleyball are popular sports at Ericson.

18. 3
The Lazy Student
When Tim woke up, he didn’t want to go to school. His mom took him anyway. So, he went to school, but he didn’t do any work. The days passed, and Tim still didn’t do any work. Mr. Morton called Tim’s house, but Tim still wouldn’t do any work. Finally the report cards came out, and Tim failed his classes. Tim was sad.

19. 4
Failing Classes
Lots of students fail classes. Some students fail because the work is too hard for them. Other times they may fail because they are lazy, and don’t do any work. Another reason why students may fail is if they don’t go to school. If you’re not in class you may miss a lot. Many students fail classes every quarter.

20. 5
Passing Classes
A lot of students have been failing classes. These students wouldn’t be failing classes if they studied more, asked questions, tried harder, and came in for extra help. Even though a lot of students fail classes, they have many options if they want to pass.

21. 6
Gail Devers
Devers experienced the highlight of any sprinter’s career, as she stood on the huge platform in the giant stadium and received an Olympic gold medal. Eighteen months earlier she wasn’t thinking about running. She was hoping that she would be able to walk again.
Just four years earlier, in the summer of 1988, as Devers was training for the Olympic Games to be held in Seoul, South Korea, she began to feel very tired and failed to make the Olympic finals.

22. Three Types of Circus Clowns7
Three Types of Circus Clowns
Generally, there are three categories of circus clowns—whiteface, august and character. Each has a specific makeup style and costume. Each has a typical act as well.
The neat whiteface is usually a strict, in-charge character who sets up the punch line for the joke with a partner His facial features are neatly detailed in red or black. Circus legend has it that the august clown got his name from a German nickname for someone who is clumsy. The august wears light-colored makeup, but white is used around the mouth and eyes, and there’s a big red nose. This clown performs a great deal of slapstick humor. Character clowns perform as different personalities—cowboys, scarecrows, grandmothers or symphony conductors. The most famous character clown, however, is the tramp. Tramps wear different styles of makeup and costumes that are torn or shabby. Some tramp clowns are happy-go-lucky. Others are extremely sad. Still others act like gentlemen who just happen to be out of money.

23. 8
HOW TO USE THE MICROSCOPE 1. Plug in the lamp. 2. Place a sample of what you wish to observe on a slide. 3. Adjust the mirror so it reflects light from the room up into the objective lens. 4. Place your slide with the specimen directly over the center of the glass circle on the stage. 5. With the LOW POWER objective lens placed over the slide, use the coarse focus knob. 6. Look through the eyepiece with one eye while closing the other eye. 7. Use the fine focus knob to fine

24. 9
Fewer Toads
Though toads are still around, they no longer are as common in some areas as they were a few decades ago. The growing use of insecticides has reduced their numbers. The chemical sprays usually do not harm toads, but cut down the animals’ food supply. Thereby, the toads do not have enough food to survive. There are fewer toads in many areas populated by humans.

25. 10
Restoring the Toad
Dr. Knapp doesn’t want people to sit back and let the toad vanish. He believes that everyone is responsible for restoring the toad species. Dr. Knapp thinks we could help restore the toad population if we stop mowing parts of our lawns and let the grass grow wild to reserve space for the toad. He also believes we need to stop using pesticides and fertilizers. The chemicals kill the insects that toads eat. If we preserve some spaces in our lawns and stop using fertilizers, Dr. Knapp believes we can save the toads.

26. 11 Popular Sports
Football and baseball are two of the most popular sports in the country. They have many things in common. For one, they are both team sports, and they both require players to advance to an end or “home” point on the playing field. However, football requires players to carry the ball to the end zone, whereas in baseball, it is the defending team that controls the ball while it is in play.

27. 12 The Magic Blanket
One day while walking home from school, he found a magic blanket. When he covered himself with it, he turned invisible. At first he used his power to play all kinds of tricks on people. He’d turn invisible and hide things, or move a cup when someone was pouring juice to make a mess. He had a lot of fun. But then one day, he found that he couldn’t take the blanket off. He was just stuck invisible. He quit playing tricks on people, hoping that he’d be able to take the blanket off and rejoin society, but it didn’t work. He is still invisible somewhere right now, and he is very lonely.

28. 13 Studying for a Test
Believe it or not, as important as it is, many students do not know how to study for a test. Well, studying for a test is easy. The first thing that you must do is take out your notes. Open your notes up to the section that you are supposed to review. Read what you wrote in your notebook. When you are done, close your notebook and see if you remember the ideas that you were studying. Still don’t remember? Open your notebook back up and try again.

29. 14 Low Test Scores
Many students have been getting low scores on tests and this is upsetting to parents, teachers, and students. Low test scores show that teachers aren’t teaching effectively or that students aren’t learning. Either way it’s an issue with which we are concerned. I propose the following: any teacher who is giving a test should open up their classroom for study groups the night and morning before the test. Maybe by giving students extra opportunities to study, we can improve students’ test scores.

30. 15 Peanut Butter and Jelly
After a long day at school, I came home and watched Cops, my favorite show. During the commercial breaks, I got up and made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I took the bread out of the cabinet, spread the jelly and peanut butter on the bread, and stuck the two pieces together. I enjoyed that sandwich as I watched the rest of Cops.

31. 16 The Gym Room
The gym room at the high school down the street from me is huge. Along the North and South walls are bleachers that fold up during gym. Coach pulls the bleachers out for big games. At the end of the East and West walls are basketball hoops. The ceilings are very high and at the top of the gym are many large windows. The windows go all the way around the gym. There are also ropes that are either tucked away or hang from the ceilings in the middle of the gym. The ropes intimidate some students. That gym is my favorite place.

32. 17 Elegibility
Being involved in after school sports and clubs is not a right. It is a privilege. Therefore, students have to meet eligibility requirements. If students have any “D”s or “F”s, they are not allowed to play. Also, if students have behavior issues in class, they cannot be on the team or in the club. Lastly, students need to keep good attendance. If students miss school, they most certainly cannot come to practice. Being on a team is a lot of responsibility. If students are not proving to be responsible, they will not be permitted to be in clubs or teams.

33. Answers Sequence Compare and Contrast Chronological Cause and Effect
Problem and Solution

34. Answers
11. Compare and contrast 12. Chronological 13. Sequence 14. Problem and solution 15. Chronological 16. Spatial / descriptive writing 17. Cause and effect

35. Suggestions for…
Chronological order: How are the steps organized? What is the time span from the first event to the last? How will you signal the change from one event to the next? What do all of the events explain?

36. Suggestions for…
Cause and effect: What is the cause? What are the effects? Were there several causes and several effects? How did the cause lead to the effects? How did people react?

37. Suggestions for…
Problem and solution: What is the problem? What are the solutions? Who worked to solve the problem? Has the problem been solved yet, or will it be solved in the future? What caused the problem?

38. Suggestions for…
Compare and contrast: What topics are being compared? What are the similarities? What are the differences? Which similarities and differences are the most significant? Which method will you use?

39. Suggestions for…
Description: What is being described? How will you organize the description? Which detail is the most important? How do all of the details fit together?