Unit 9: Structure in Non-Fiction – Parts to the Whole: Why do authors include different parts in their writing?
Stage 1 Desired ResultsESTABLISHED GOALS
CCSS5 Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole
CCSS6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.
Noticing structure assists readers in deeper understanding / Transfer
Students will be able to independently use their learning to…
Identify different parts of a text and describe how the parts work together to communicate the author’s message, purpose, and/or information
Meaning
UNDERSTANDINGS
Students will understand that…
Authors organize their information in different ways purposefully
Authors include different parts in their writing for various purposes in order to communicate their information
Authors choose specific text features depending upon the structure in order to support the meaning of the text
Authors choose specific words depending on the structure in order to help support the meaning of the text / ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
Students will keep considering…
How does knowing about how texts are organized help me as a reader?
How does noticing an author’s use of different text structures to convey their information help me as a reader?
How does noticing an author’s choice of text features help me as a reader?
How does noticing specific word choices regarding structure help me as a reader?
Acquisition
PRIOR UNIT KNOWLEDGE
Students will know…
· A variety of text features and their purposes
· Definition of text structure:
o Structure is a way to organize texts so that it makes the most sense
· Different types of organizational structures and their purpose:
o How-to
o Compare/contrast
o Cause/effect
o Description
o Chronological
o Problem/Solution
o Question/Answer
UNIT 9 KNOWLEDGE:
· Authors often use a combination of text structures and text features to support their intent (message, opinion, information) / PRIOR UNIT SKILL
Students will be skilled at…
· Using text features to predict text content and text structure
· Identifying signal words to help identify text structure
· Identifying the author’s purpose in using of a specific structure to convey their message
UNIT 9 SKILL:
· Readers identify different structures used in a text and think about why the author has chosen to do this in order (how these parts work together) to deeply comprehend a text
Stage 2 - Evidence
Evaluative Criteria / Assessment Evidence
Anchor chart of differences between text types
Anchor chart of text features and their purposes
Anchor chart of text features/text structure / PERFORMANCE TASK(S):
Prior Units:
Fiction vs. informational texts: students identify differences between 2 unknown text types
Text features: Students identify different text features and their purposes in a new text
Matching Text Features to Text Structure: Task Card Handout – what would your text include/look like if you were writing about…
Text Structure: The author has chosen to use ______(structure) . I know this because______. This structure helped me as a reader to understand the material by______
Unit 9 Assessments:
Parts of a Text Working Together: Identify different parts of a text independently and explain how these parts worked together to help you understand the whole text
Culminating Assessment: Write own informational text; short research; include at least 2 different text structures and features that best support the text with reflection on their choices
Stage 3 – Learning Plan
Summary of Key Learning Events and Instruction
Prior Lessons on Text Features (Strand 1, Me As a Reader, September)
1. What are differences between fiction and informational text?
· Student partners compare/contrast a fiction and informational text on the same subject to determine differences between the text types
· Create anchor chart
2. What are different text features authors use to organize their information?
· Students perform a text feature scavenger hunt:
§ Direct teach a few features and their purpose; students search for them in books
§ Conduct an inquiry into different features and what it looks like
· Create anchor chart
3. How do text features help me as a reader?
Big Idea: Text features have different purposes and provide lots of information to readers
· Students compare/contrast text features in order to categorize:
· Create anchor chart of feature and its purpose
Category / Examples / Purpose
Visual / illustrations, photographs, maps, diagrams / communicate and organize information quickly and efficiently
Text / title, subtitle, heading, labels, captions, timelines, table of contents / organization
Print / bold, italics, font, size / pay attention, voice
Prior Lessons on Structure (Strand 2, Unit 4: Structure Inquiry in Non-fiction Texts, October)
What are various types of text structure authors use? How do authors use structure to organize and convey their information?
Big Ideas:
1. Authors have a purpose for writing such as describing, telling you how to do something, how to solve a problem, the result of something happening, how things are the same/different
2. There are consistent structures that have names; authors use these purposefully to convey their information to their readers
3. Readers can think about questions to help them identify the author’s purpose
4. Authors use text features to support their intent and purpose
5. Authors use certain types of words, phrases, and sentences to support their purpose
Inquiry to big ideas #1, 2, 3: determine idea that authors choose the best method (structures) to convey their information to their readers, and there are consistent structures authors use
· Show students a picture book to establish author’s purpose
· Ask students why the author wrote this for us such as (but don’t give students all of these as choices as it will be an inquiry)
How-to do something Describe something Compare/contrast topics Cause/Effect Chronology of an event Describe a problem and some solutions Ask a question/provide answers
· Set up stations around the room with books that illustrate pure text structure types (see resource lists)
· Students work in small groups to visit each station and fill out Handout 1: Why did the author write specifically write this for us?
· Debrief activity with Graffiti Protocol:
o Write each book name on the top of a piece of chart paper
o Each group records their ideas about the author’s purpose
o Debrief each piece of chart paper by analyzing the statements to look for similarities (ex: do all of the statements seem to describe? Compare? Provide Question/answer?)
· Create anchor chart of pure text types (general)
· Discuss possible thinking questions students can ask themselves to help them decide the text structure
Inquiry to big idea #4: Authors use certain text features to support their purpose and the chosen structure
· Students analyze text features in each book type
o Students work in small groups, 1 structure type/group
o Students analyze the text features in their text to identify what text features are used and how that helps support the author’s purpose and thus structure
o Debrief with class and create anchor charts to show similarities and differences
· Students record information on Handout 2 to determine any features that more readily support certain text structures
· Provide a handout on text structure that includes the structure name, description (purpose), thinking questions, text features and purpose; leave signal words blank for future inquiry (or just put in a few); this handout is based on their inquiry work thus far
Inquiry to big Idea #5: Authors use different types of signal words, phrases, and sentence types to support their purpose
· Use pure structure paragraph cards for students to identify structure and signal words, phrases, and sentence types:
o Small groups – each group has a paragraph that features a different type of text structure
o Use a notecatcher for students to record what they notice that lets them know what type of structure this is.
o Debrief: Why is this the best structure for this text?
· Create anchor chart with signal words that students can add to throughout the unit
· Give students a full article with a “pure” structure to see what they notice and keep adding to anchor charts
Start of Unit 9:
Big ideas:
1. Authors include different types of information in a text in order to give readers the best understanding of their information
2. Authors don’t generally stick with 1 type of text structure within a text but choose the best structure for each part of a text in order to convey meaning
Lessons for big idea 1:
· Model process of identifying different types of information in 1 text
· Students work in small groups, using the paper plate protocol to identify different parts of the text
· Students then use the write around protocol to develop author’s purpose in including each part to determine how it works together as a whole
Lessons for big idea 2:
· Using same text used to model big idea 1, think aloud to model identifying different structures within that text to each part
o Use questions such as: What do I notice? Why is the author switching the type of text structure?
· Annotate structure on the model text and why you think the author has done this
· Students use the text they used to develop big idea 1 with parts identified; students can use handout 3 to identify different structures
· Students discuss why that structure is a good match for that particular section and how that helped them as a reader
Julie Johnson, Instructional Specialist Monroe 1 BOCES Susan Harrison and Lisa Mauger, ELA Teacher Consultants to Monroe 1 BOCESPage 1