Informational Texts
What is informational text?
Any type of writing or text that gives information and facts about real things in the world.
What are the Three P's we use when reading informational text?
Preview, Predict, and Pose a Question
How do you summarize a text?
You become familiar with the main ideas in the text and restate them in your own words without relaying ALL of the information (only the main parts!).
How should you record information that is presented by an expert?
You should use a direct quote and include who said it.
Which conjunction works best to join two ideas?
the word "because"
Give 3 examples of informational texts
Newspapers, articles, websites, encyclopedias, how-to books, cookbooks, etc.
A _______ is an educated guess about what the text will be about.
prediction
How do research questions help you research a topic?
1. They help you narrow down the focus of your topic
2. They remind you to ask questions that can be answered by experts
3. They show you what topics you are most interested in learning about.
True or False: After finding answers to our research questions, we record our information by paraphrasing, summarizing, and quoting the information.
True.
Examples, facts, and descriptions are all words that DO NOT describe types of supporting details in a text.
False. All of them are supporting details in a text.
How can you identify informational texts?
by looking for text features, such as headings, subheadings, pictures, captions, and etc.
You see an article called “Owls of North America” with headings like “Different Species,” “Habitats,” and “Diet.” What is the BEST prediction to make about this text?
The article will be all about the different kinds of owls in North America.
How do you compare and contrast two texts?
Read both texts carefully. Then look for similarities and differences between ideas.
What is the first step for finding answers to research questions in a book? (Hint: Where in the book does it give you a preview of what kind of information will be in it?)
We look at the table of contents to find the chapter you need. Books usually cover a great deal of information, so you will need to narrow your search.
Why should you use quotation marks to set off direct quotes in a summary?
They show that you’re including another person’s exact words.
How do text features, such as straightforward titles, headers, and graphics, help you read an informational text?
These features can help you find specific information you’re looking for, and they can help you better grasp the ideas that you are reading.
What are the Three P's supposed to help you do when reading new information?
It should help you look more closely at a text before you begin reading. It should also help you set a purpose, or reason, for reading, which is to find the answer to your questions.
What does it mean to compare and contrast two texts about the same topic?
It means to identify similarities and differences between the two
What is the purpose of supporting details?
Supporting details tell you more about the main ideas by supplying more detailed information.
When should you NOT use a comma to set off a direct quote?
when the word that appears before the quote or when the direct quote is not a complete thought but just a phrase that is combined into the sentence.
Example:
The sign read “No Trespassing.”
(No comma because read is not a speaking word.)
True or False: The following keywords are what you should look for in a text when researching information about how a specific pirate chose which ships to attack
"targets, merchant ships, gold and silver, battles..."
True. All of these words are all relate to the topic that you're researching.
True or False: We do NOT use headings, captions, and bold words to turn ideas into questions so that we can understand the text better.
False.
What three things should you remember to do when adding direct quotes to a summary?
1. Find and use the most interesting or memorable language
2. tell your readers why the quote is important
3. and combine the quote into your writing so that your text flows smoothly.
True or False: This sentence describes how two ideas in a text might be related.
"One idea might add more detail to another."
True
What information should appear in a summary about a topic you have researched?
paraphrases, summaries of texts, and direct quotes