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Nonfiction Text Structure Detective

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Nonfiction Text Structure Detective

Detective with magnifying glass examining text

🔍 Part 1: Text Structure Detective Work

1. Match each signal word or phrase to its text structure. Draw a line to connect them.
• "as a result"
• "first, next, then"
• "in contrast"
• "the solution is"
• "for example"
Compare/Contrast
Cause and Effect
Problem/Solution
Sequence
Description
2. Read any nonfiction text assigned by your teacher. What text structure does the author mainly use?

Cause and Effect

Problem and Solution

Compare and Contrast

Sequence/Chronological

Description

3. Find and write down THREE signal words or phrases from your text that helped you identify the structure:

Signal word 1: _________________________

Signal word 2: _________________________

Signal word 3: _________________________

📊 Part 2: Graphic Organizer

4. Choose the graphic organizer that matches your text structure and fill it out with information from your reading:

For Cause and Effect:

Cause: ________________________________

Effect: ________________________________

For Problem and Solution:

Problem: ______________________________

Solution: ______________________________

For Compare and Contrast:

Topic 1: _____________ Topic 2: _____________

Similarities: ____________________________

Differences: ____________________________

For Sequence:

First: _________________________________

Next: _________________________________

Then: _________________________________

Finally: _______________________________

5. Complete this sentence about the main idea:

The author organized this text to show that ________________________________________

________________________________________________________________.

💭 Part 3: Reflection and Analysis

6. Explain how identifying the text structure helped you better understand the passage. Use this sentence starter:

Understanding the text structure helped me because...

7. If you were teaching a friend how to identify text structures, what advice would you give them? Write 2-3 sentences:
8. How might understanding text structure help you in other subjects like science or social studies?
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