3.7 Introducing Nonfiction Text Structures
| Site: | Cowichan Valley School District - Moodle |
| Course: | ELA5, CSS, Sferrazza |
| Book: | 3.7 Introducing Nonfiction Text Structures |
| Printed by: | Guest user |
| Date: | Sunday, 19 May 2024, 6:14 PM |
Learning Targets
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to say YES to the following question.
- Can I apply thinking skills to gain meaning from text?
- Can I recognize an increasing range of text structures and how they contribute to meaning?
Introduction
You have been learning different ways to determine what is most important in informational text. We are going to begin looking at text structure, or the way a piece of text is designed. Knowing how a text is designed or structured can help you to figure out what is most important.
Like an architect designs buildings, an author organizes and puts ideas together. Let's say an architect is designing a house. A house has some basic structure to it - a roof, walls, doors, windows. Each house may look different but the basic structure is the same. However, if an architect is designing a skyscraper, the structure will be different - more floors, more windows, elavators, stairways.
A writer does something very similar, but instead of designing buildings for different purposes, a writer designs text for different purposes. A story has a plot structure - an exposition that introduces the setting, characters and problems, rising action, a climax, falling action, and a resolution. A nonfiction text has structures, too. Nonfiction has several different text structures, , depending on the purpose. Knowing the different nonfiction structures can help you become a better reader and can also help you when you are writing.
Text Structure Scramble and Sort
In your Learning Guide, you will find a page with cards to cut out: Text Structure Scramble and Sort. Cut out these cards now. When you are done cutting them out, watch the video below. It includes an activity that uses these cards. After the video, put the cards in a ziploc or envelope. You will use them again.
Are your cards cut out and ready? You can watch the video.
Text Structures - A Closer Look
Let's take a closer look at some text structure examples. As you read each paragraph, find the main idea and fill in a few details on the graphic organizer in Text Structures - A Closer Look in your Learning Guide. You focused on descriptive text in unit 1 so you will zoom in on the other four text structures.
Problem and Solution
This passage proposes ways in which the problem of cooking perfect pizza can be solved. It is organized as problem and solution:
Cooking the perfect pizza at home can be quite a challenge. You may find that it’s difficult to get your oven to the right temperature. If the oven is too hot the crust will burn, become hard, and taste bad. If your oven isn’t hot enough, the crust may get soggy. Even at the perfect temperature, extra moisture from your ingredients may prevent the bottom of the crust from fully cooking, but don’t let oven temperature stop you from building the pizza of your dreams. Get yourself a pizza stone. A pizza stone will get very hot when preheated and will allow your crust to fully cook without burning it. Then you can pile the ingredients on your pizza and have a crispy crust that isn’t burned. That’s the way to go.
In your Learning Guide, give the main idea of the paragraph and fill the details from the paragraph in point form into the problem and solution graphic provided.
Sequential
This passage is about the history of pizza. It is organized in order of time - a sequence that is chronological.
Pizza is so old that its origins are not quite clear to historians, but the word pizza comes from the Latin verb pinsere, meaning to press. It may also be related to the Greek word pitta. In any event the word “pizza” was first documented in Italy in 997 AD. Whatever they were eating back then, however, was quite different from the pizza that we know today. Pizza as we know it could not really have been invented until sometime during the 16th century, when tomatoes were brought to Europe from America. This was big, but in my opinion the greatest development in the history of pizza occurred in 1905, when pizza was first sold in America. The rest, as they say, is history.
In your Learning Guide, give the main idea of the paragraph and fill the details from the paragraph in point form into the sequential text graphic provided.
Compare and Contrast
Do you know what the difference between a red pizza and a white pizza? What is the same about them? This passage compares and contrasts red sauce and white sauce pizza. It is organized as compare and contrast.
Most people have had red pizza, or pizza covered with red sauce, but have you ever had white pizza? White pizza is made in almost the same way as red pizza: the dough rises and is rolled out, toppings are applied, and it is cooked in an oven—but the key difference is that white pizza does not have any tomato sauce on it. Instead, a white pizza may have olive oil or no sauce at all. I like white pizza more than red pizza because you can really taste the ingredients. Adding some fresh tomatoes to a white pizza will give it that tomato flavor without the completely overwhelming taste of the red sauce that covers most pizzas. If you have not had a white pizza, I recommend that you order or make one today.
In your Learning Guide, give the main idea of the paragraph and fill the details from the paragraph in point form into the compare and contrast text graphic provided.
Cause and Effect
This passage discusses ways in which pizza has effected health. It is organized as cause and effect.
Pizza is often viewed as a junk food, and it is true that some pizzas are high in salt, fat, and calories, but there may also be some benefit to eating pizza. Some studies have found that lycopene, an antioxidant that exists in tomato products that are often used in pizza, may prevent some forms of cancer. Dr. Silvano Gallus, of the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmaceutical Research in Milan, studied the eating habits of people who developed cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, and colon. He concluded that people who ate pizza at least once a week had significantly less chance of developing these cancers. Here’s to your health.
In your Learning Guide, give the main idea of the paragraph and fill the details from the paragraph in point form into the cause and effect text graphic provided.