Text Structures by Carol Nichols, Metropolitan State College of Denver, [e-mail]

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Text Structures by Carol Nichols, Metropolitan
State College of Denver, nicholsc_at_mscd.edu

• Structure of Narrative and Expository Texts

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Text Structures

• The readers ability to see the pattern or the
  direction the writer is taking in a piece of text
  has an influence on effective and efficient
  comprehension.

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Narrative Text Structure (Fiction)

• Much of the narrative text has a similar
  structure. Generally the following five elements
  can be found in narrative text

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Elements in most narrative (fiction) text
structure

• A setting (where and when the story happens)
• A character or characters
• Events that take place in a certain order
• A problem a character has or an objective the
  character is trying to achieve
• A solution to the problem or information telling
  if the objective was achieved or not

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Helping students learn the structure of narrative
text

• The use of a graphic organizer before, during,
  and/or after the reading of narrative text can
  help students learn the structure of the text.
  A graphic organizer is a visual representation of
  the structure of the text.
• A graphic organizer can be designed to help
  students recognize the structure of narrative
  text. Professional materials usually refer to
  this as developing a sense of story or story
  grammar.
• On the next slide is a sample graphic organizer
  for narrative.

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Customized story grammar graphic organizers

• If story grammar graphic organizers are used
  frequently, the teacher sometimes customizes the
  graphic organizer for the specific piece of
  narrative the students will read. Customizing
  the organizer is not essential, but it does offer
  some variety for the students.

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Customized story grammar graphic organizers for
fiction

• On the following slides are samples of some
  customized graphic organizers to help students
  learn the structure of narrative.

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Story grammar graphic organizer customized for
the book Stone Soup. Organizer designed by
Shauna Liebendorfer
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Customized story grammar graphic organizer for
the book The Napping House by Don and Audrey Wood

• Organizer designed by Haley Szmak

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Customized story grammar graphic organizer for
the book Sylvester and the Magic Pebble

• Organizer designed by Renae Benedict

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Knowledge of narrative text structure

• Narrative (fiction) text generally has one
  structure as seen on earlier slides.
• Many teachers in elementary grades teach students
  the structure of narrative through the use of a
  story grammar graphic organizer.

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Knowledge of expository text structure

• Some students start to experience problems with
  reading during the intermediate grades 4th,
  5th, and 6th grades.
• During intermediate grades there is generally
  more emphasis on reading expository text found in
  science, social studies, and other textbooks. In
  primary grades there is usually a greater
  emphasis on narrative (fiction).

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Problems reading expository text

• Some educators feel these problems may be caused,
  in part, because students have not learned to
  recognize the structures that can be found in
  their textbooks.
• In some elementary-grade classrooms, expository
  text structures are not taught as extensively as
  narrative text structure. One reason some
  students have problems with textbook reading is
  their lack of ability to identify the
  organization of a passage of expository text.

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Structures of expository textsnonfictionscience,
social studies, etc.

• Expository (nonfiction) text can be made up of at
  least six different structures. These structures
  are cause and effect compare and contrast,
  time sequence, problem/solution,
  definition/description, and enumeration or steps
  to accomplish something.
• The learning of each of the structures can be
  enhanced through the use of graphic organizers.
• The following slides will show a sample of some
  graphic organizers for some of the expository
  text structures.

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Source of the Cause/Effect Graphic Organizer on
the next slide

• Carol Nichols, Ed.D. Professor, Metropolitan
  State College of Denver, Department of Teacher
  Education, Reading Program.

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Source of the Compare Contrast Diagram on the
next slide

• Black, Howard and Black Sandra, Organizing
  Thinking Graphic Organizers. Critical Thinking
  Press Software, Midwest Publications, P. O. Box
  448, Pacific Grove, CA 93950.

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Source of the Time Sequence Linear Graphic
Organizer on the next slide

• Carol Nichols, Ed.D. Professor, Metropolitan
  State College of Denver, Department of Teacher
  Education, Reading Program.

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A Time Sequence Cycle graphic organizer is on
the next slide.

• The organizer helps student recognize how a
  series of events interact with one event leading
  to the next, etc. until the cycle starts over
  again. Some life cycle descriptions in science
  would be good for this type of organizer.
• Childrens literature also has many examples of
  this type of structure. One example is If You
  Give a Mouse a Cookie.

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Source of the Problem/Solution Graphic
Organizer on the next slide

• Ambruster, Anderson, and Ostertay, Teaching Text
  Structure to Improve Reading and Writing, The
  Reading Teacher, International Reading
  Association, November 1989.
• The organizer has the student identify the
  problem, the action taken to solve the problem,
  and the results of this action.

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Adapting the Problem/Solution Organizer

• The prior organizer only represents one action
  taken to solve the problem.
• If the text describes several attempts to take
  action to solve the problem, the graphic
  organizer would then be designed to give the
  student space to note all of the action taken to
  solve the problem

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Description graphic organizers which show the
central theme, main ideas, and supporting details
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Description Graphic Organizers

• NCREL (North Central Regional Educational
  Laboratory) website under the topic Graphic
  Organizers.
• http//www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/le
  arning/Ir1grorg.htm has a graphic organizer
• called a Spider Web which is an effective
  design to show the central idea, its attributes,
  and its functions.

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Source of the Steps Graphic Organizer on the
next slide

• Black, Howard and Black Sandra, Organizing
  Thinking Graphic Organizers. Critical Thinking
  Press Software, Midwest Publications, P. O. Box
  448, Pacific Grove, CA 93950, page 25.

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Providing Help to Students Reading Expository Text

• Spend more time on building background for the
  reading selection
• This background building includes, in a general
  sense, concept building.
• It also includes creating a mental scheme for the
  text organization. The use of graphic organizers
  will help students learn text organization