Informative Text Structures
Russia is one of the world’s largest countries in land area. It is nearly 6.6 million square miles and is spread across two continents with the majority of the population living west of the Urals where the climate is mild.
When the author is giving you facts or information.
To inform
The thick, white coat of the Arctic fox keeps it warm in freezing temperatures. It also help the fox to blend into the snowy landscape so that it can hide from predators and sneak up on prey without being seen.
The thick, white coat of the Arctic fox has two important jobs.
What does the term main idea mean?
Main idea means what the passage is mostly about.
In this type of structure, the author gives the steps in a process or outlines a timeline of events.
Sequence
Don't buy this shampoo it makes your hair fall out
Persuade
A shark may have up to 3,000 teeth at one time. Shark teeth grow in rows. When a shark loses a tooth, it is replaced by a new tooth from the row behind it. A shark may have over 20,000 teeth over the course of its life.
A shark has lots of teeth.
When you are summarizing non-fiction paragraphs, where can the main idea be found?
The main idea can be found in the first or last sentence.
The federal system divides powers between the national and state governments. Both can borrow money, enforce laws, and establish courts but only the national government can declare war and establish post offices.
Compare and Contrast
What does the P in PIE stand for?
Giant pandas live in bamboo forests in China. The average giant panda eats about 30 pounds of bamboo each day. Unfortunately, the forests are being cut down and the giant panda is losing its habitat.
Giant pandas are losing their habitat.
What are supporting details? How many supporting details should be in your summary?
Details that support and/or explain the main idea. There should be at least two supporting details in your summary.
This informative text characteristic is located at the beginning of the text and encapsulates the main point of the text.
Controlling Idea
Inform
Kangaroos spend most of their time in groups called mobs. Kangaroos communicate with each other with clicks, cough, hisses, and growls. They also groom each other by picking dirt, insects, and dead skin from each other's fur.
Kangaroos interact with each other in a very different way
Do you change the author's meaning when you paraphrase a paragraph?
No, you keep the author's meaning, but put into your own words. In addition, you want to cite where the information came from.
"Huda Akil, a neuroscientist at the University of Michigan, is interested in the neurological impacts of isolation, but is limited by the fact that no U.S. prison is willing to allow its otherwise isolated prisoners to take part in research. Instead, she and others must rely on more basic findings about how stimulation and social interaction affect the brain, and infer the potential impacts of isolation from that."
Problem/Solution
As I slowly walked down the hallway, I could hear footsteps behind me. I didn't know what to do, I was so afraid!
To Entertain
What supports the main idea in a story?
Supporting Details
If the main idea is not stated in the first or last sentence of a paragraph, how can you infer it?
You can:
look for repeated words and/or phrases
identify the main topic and what they want us to know about the main topic