Show Nonfiction writers use the compare and contrast text structure to show how two or more things are alike or different. In this worksheet, children will learn to identify signal words and visuals that writers use when comparing and contrasting. They will then read a short passage and complete a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting two frozen sweets. Designed for fourth graders, this worksheet offers useful practice to prepare children as they learn to read and write nonfiction. This worksheet is a companion to Nonfiction Text Structures #2: Cause and Effect and Nonfiction Text Structures #3: Description. View answers Add to collection Assign digitally Common Core State StandardsTexas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL)Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)BC Performance StandardsAlberta Program of StudiesThe Australian Curriculum (ACARA)The Victorian Curriculum (F-10)Welcome back to 5 Days of Teaching Text Structure, a five day series in conjunction with iHomeschool Network’s January Hopscotch! If you’re just joining me, feel free to visit my introduction post, and check out the other resources available on text structure. *This post contains affiliate links. Please read my full disclosure policy for more information. Thank you! Text Features within Non-FictionToday, I am exploring the topic of non-fiction. My favorite place to start exploring text with non-fiction is with text features (things like charts, photographs, captions, maps, etc.). Because authors use these visual aids to portray what is important, I want my young readers to see how they play into the organization of the text. Many times, kids skip right over these features, so I want to zero in on them for a bit. You can read a little more about text structures here or in my older blog posts here–> Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. Emily Kissner, in her book Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Retelling, also has a fabulous section (especially for older elementary students) on text features and text organization. Exploring Non-Fiction Text StructureOnce I feel my reader has a grasp on text features, I set about to introduce him to text structures. While many different people have opinions on how many text structures there are, I choose to keep it simple with the students I’ve taught/am teaching. I use Scholastic’s handout on text structures to introduce it. I introduced them by going through each of the 5 text structures listed and had examples to show. Five Examples of Non-fiction Text Structure
*Cause & Effect and Problem & Solution are VERY closely related text structures and sometimes the lines aren’t so clear. Before, During, and After Reading Activity Examples with Non-FictionWhen introducing any text structure, it is important to start with a text that is very straight forward. Many times, especially with longer texts, authors mix in multiple kinds of text structure into one text. For example, a text I have enjoyed using as I introduce problem and solution text structure is Scholastic’s Stopping a Toppling Tower. (This is a great text for 2nd through 5th grades.) Here are some things I do before, during, and after reading to help make my text structure teaching explicit for the young reader. Before Reading:
During Reading:
After Reading:
Problem and Solution AND/OR Cause and Effect?As I’ve mentioned above, problem/solution and cause/effect structures are closely related. Sometimes authors combine the two! I always start out with straight forward texts that are clearly one or the other. Once kids have a firm grasp on each, I introduce a text that is a bit blurry between problem/solution and cause/effect. I want to see what the student thinks first. If the student is a bit confused, we talk about the hard parts. What exactly does the author say that makes him think it could be both? Talk about your thinking using examples within the text. Encourage the young reader to do the same. Non-Fiction Text Structure Pack: Part 1I have created a FREE pack you can download that contains a Non-Fiction text structure sort as well as several graphic organizers for Problem/Solution and Cause/Effect text structures. Click HERE or on the image above to download. ~Becky
Compare and Contrast is a text structure or pattern of organization where the similarities and differences of two or more things are explored. It is important to remember that with the compare and contrast text structure the text should be discussing similarities and differences. If the text only discusses similarities, it is only comparing. Likewise, if it only discusses ways that the things are different, it is only contrasting. The text must do both to be considered compare and contrast. Example: Apples and oranges are both fruits, which means that they have seeds inside of them. Each has a skin, but orange skins are thick and easy to peel. Apple skins are thinner and do not peel easily. Oranges also contain more acid than apples, but both fruits are delicious. Identifying when the writer is comparing and contrasting is usually not difficult because the speaker will bounce back and forth between two subjects and this pattern is generally pretty easy to recognize. However, here are some signal words that may indicate that the text is written using the compare and contrast organizational pattern: like, unlike, both, neither, similar, and different. Here is a simple worksheet on compare and contrast if your students need more practice. Here is a more complex set of worksheets on text structure if your students are ready to advance. Learn More About Text Structure
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