Grade 6 · Reading Non-Fiction: Central Ideas · Central Ideas and Structure
Text Structure and Features
Use headings, captions, charts and paragraph order to read non-fiction faster and more accurately.
Learning objectives
- Name five common non-fiction structures
- Explain how a heading or caption changes what you notice
- Combine information from words and a chart
Common Core ELA alignment
RI.6.5
Analyse the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to the development of the ideas. Grade 6 emphasis: work with a single text or clear pairing, with teacher-modelled evidence and summary.
RI.6.7
Integrate information presented in different media, formats and words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue. Grade 6 emphasis: work with a single text or clear pairing, with teacher-modelled evidence and summary.
SL.6.2
Interpret information presented in diverse media and formats and explain how it contributes to a topic, text or issue under study. Grade 6 emphasis: work with a single text or clear pairing, with teacher-modelled evidence and summary.
MYP criteria
- Criterion A — Analysing
- Criterion B — Organizing
ENGAGE
Read the shape first
Expert readers look at headings, images and captions before reading a single paragraph. In ten seconds they know what kind of text it is and where the answer will be.
Think about it
- What do you look at first on a web page?
- How would a heading called Three causes change your expectations?
EXPLAIN
Five structures
| Structure | Signal words | Reader question |
|---|---|---|
| Chronological | first, then, by 1920 | What happened in what order? |
| Cause and effect | because, as a result, leads to | Why did this happen? |
| Compare and contrast | however, both, unlike | How are these alike and different? |
| Problem and solution | challenge, one answer is | What is broken and what fixes it? |
| Description | for example, features | What is this thing like? |
Features carry meaning
- Headings predict the paragraph and help you find information again.
- Captions often contain a fact that is not in the main text.
- Charts show quantity and trend faster than a sentence can.
- Bold words usually mark terms the writer will define.
Try this
Turn each heading into a question before you read that section, then read to answer it.
EXPLORE
Words plus data
A report states: Household water use falls when the price of water rises. A chart beside it shows use dropping from 180 to 150 litres per person per day after a price increase, then rising slowly back to 165 over five years.
Careful
The words say use falls. The chart adds that the fall is partly temporary. Neither source alone gives the full picture.
Think about it
- What does the chart add that the sentence does not say?
- Write one sentence that fairly combines both sources.
MYP_PRACTICE
Criterion B task
Take a page of any textbook. Rewrite its content as a plan using headings only, then explain in 80 words why you chose that structure.
EXIT_TICKET
Check yourself
Think about it
- Which structure do you find hardest to spot?
- Name one heading you turned into a question today.
Interactive practice · match
Match structure to purpose
Match each purpose with the structure that serves it best.
Your answer
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Key vocabulary
- Text structure
- The pattern a writer uses to organise information.
- Caption
- The text under an image or chart explaining what it shows.
- Signal word
- A word that reveals the structure of a passage.
- Integrate
- To combine information from more than one source into one understanding.
Practice questions
0/2 correct
Level 1 · Criterion A
Which signal words suggest compare and contrast?
Level 2 · Criterion A
Why should you read the caption of a chart?
MYP criterion tasks
Level 3 · Criterion A
Write one sentence that combines the report sentence and the chart fairly.
Reflect & track
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