How Nonfiction Is Built
Aligned to RI.4.5 — Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.
What this lesson teaches
Authors organize nonfiction in patterns that help you understand it. Some texts tell events in time order, some compare two things, some show a cause and its effect, and some name a problem and its solution. Spotting the pattern helps you follow the ideas.
Worked examples
Example 1
A page that says 'First the seed sprouts, next roots grow, then a stem rises, finally a flower blooms' uses a time-order structure, marked by words like first, next, and finally.
Example 2
A page that says 'Unlike the desert, the rainforest gets rain nearly every day' uses a compare-and-contrast structure.
Example 3
Structure is a clue to purpose. A problem-and-solution page is usually trying to persuade you that the solution is right.
Practice questions
- Name one way an author can organize a nonfiction text.
- Find a paragraph that puts steps in time order and list the order words.
- Explain how knowing the structure helps you understand what you read.
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
Cómo se Arma la No Ficción
Los autores organizan la no ficción en patrones que te ayudan a entenderla. Algunos textos cuentan eventos en orden de tiempo, otros comparan dos cosas, otros muestran una causa y su efecto, y otros nombran un problema y su solución. Reconocer el patrón te ayuda a seguir las ideas.
Ejemplo 1: Una página que dice 'Primero brota la semilla, luego crecen las raíces, después sube el tallo, finalmente florece' usa una estructura de orden de tiempo, marcada por palabras como primero, luego y finalmente.
Ejemplo 2: Una página que dice 'A diferencia del desierto, la selva recibe lluvia casi todos los días' usa una estructura de comparación y contraste.
Ejemplo 3: La estructura es una pista del propósito. Una página de problema y solución normalmente quiere convencerte de que la solución es la correcta.
More Reading: Textos Informativos lessons
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