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PlayOwl

English · Grade 4

Nonfiction Structure and Explanations

Using original informational texts about the Erie Canal, canal locks and two reptiles, children identify five text structures (description, sequence, cause and effect, problem and solution, compare and contrast) and explain events, procedures and ideas, including what happened and why, using specific details.

  • 4 lessons
  • About 100 minutes
  • Text structure check: 8 questions
  • Ways to answer: choose an answer, highlight a text, match pairs, put in order, sort into groups and true or false
See plans Included with Family, Teacher and School plans. Open in PlayOwl

What learners will discover

  • Identify the overall structure of a text or part of a text using signal words and the author's purpose.
  • Explain the steps of a technical procedure in order and why each step matters.
  • Explain what happened and why in a historical text, using cause and effect.
  • Compare and contrast information within a text.

Lessons

  1. Five ways to organize information 3 steps2 practiceabout 24 min
  2. Explaining a procedure 4 steps3 practiceabout 24 min
  3. What happened and why 4 steps2 practiceabout 26 min
  4. Compare and contrast 4 steps3 practiceabout 26 min
  5. Text structure check 8 questions at the end

Keep exploring

Games to practice with

  • Memory LanternsFlip glowing lanterns to find pairs that belong together.
  • Sentence TheatreYour words direct the show: change a word and the stage changes too.
  • Missing ChapterA page has gone missing. Use the clues to put the right one back.

More 4th grade reading

Guides for grown-ups