Text Structures
Text Features
Main Idea
Informational Texts
100

Using text structures helps the reader __________ the text better.

comprehend/understand

100
What are cause/effect relationships?
When an event happens that makes a chain reaction and creates another event to happen.
100
What is a main idea?
What the text is mostly talking about.
100
What is the author's purpose of informational texts?
The inform the reader by giving true facts.
200
What is the purpose of subheadings?
To let the reader know that a new topic is starting.
200
What kind of text structure is this: Many pioneers who settled the Great Plains lived in sod houses built from thick-rooted prairie grasses. This was because the prairie lacked standard building materials, such as wood or stone.
Problem and Solution
200

IDENTIFY THE MAIN IDEA: In physics, the standard unit of measure for energy is the joule which is abbreviated as J. There are other units of measure for energy that are used throughout the world including kilowatt-hours, calories, newton-meters, therms, and foot-pounds.

The main idea is units of measure for energy. 

200
What is a biography?
A biography is a type of informational text that tells about SOMEONE ELSE'S life.
300
What do the bold or underlined words/phrases mean?
They let the reader know important vocabulary words or phrases in order to understand the text.
300

Why is text structure important for the reader?

To make information easier to understand, organises information, helps connect ideas in a text, and to better understand how parts of the text relate to the whole passage.

300

IDENTIFY THE MAIN IDEA: Plants capture sunlight using a compound called chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is green, which is why so many plants appear green. You might think at first that it's green because it wants to absorb and use green light. However, from our study of light, we know that the color we see is actually the color of light that is reflected. So chlorophyll actually reflects green light and absorbs blue and red light.

The main idea is how plants capture sunlight. 

300
True or False: All informational texts will have a glossary.
False
400

Name three examples of ways information could be presented in an information text. (Think Reader's Notebook.)

title/headings, bold words, italic words, underlined words, table of contents, glossary, index, captions, sidebars, photographs, captions, timelines, maps, charts, graphs, or diagrams

400
What kind of text structure is this: Pluto was once the ninth planet in our solar system. Then, in 2006, scientists defined a planet as an object with a clear orbit around a star. Since Pluto does not have a clear orbit, it was reclassified. Today it is classified as a dwarf planet.
Chronological Order
400

IDENTIFY THE MAIN IDEA: Heat does not easily escape from large bodies such as the Earth by the processes of conduction or radiation. Instead, heat is transferred from the Earth’s interior largely by convection—that is, the partial melting of the Earth’s crust and mantle and the buoyant rise of magma to the surface. Volcanoes are the surface sign of this thermal process. Their roots reach deep inside the Earth, and their fruits are hurled high into the atmosphere.

The main idea is the process with which heat escapes Earth. 

400

True or False: Roxanne is the best teacher ever.

You better have said true...

500

What is the name of the phrase that covers words like to be, to have, specific language, group words, verbs, adjectives and cause and effect?

Language features

500
What kind of text structure is this: Most reptiles lay eggs. The shell of a reptile egg is not hard like the shell of a bird's egg. Instead, a reptiles's egg is soft and leathery.
Compare and contrast
500

IDENTIFY THE MAIN IDEA: All animals are composed of cells, surrounded by a characteristic extracellular matrix composed of collagen and elastic glycoproteins. During development, the animal extracellular matrix forms a relatively flexible framework upon which cells can move about and be reorganised, making the formation of complex structures possible. This may be calcified, forming structures such as shells, bones, and spicules. In contrast, the cells of other multicellular organisms (primarily algae, plants, and fungi) are held in place by cell walls, and so develop by progressive growth. 

The main idea is the structure of animals. 

500
What are three examples of informational texts in the real world? (Books do not count)
Examples: newspaper articles, menus, recipes, instructions/directions, ads, catalogs