Example 1

The Sound of Pulling Texts Apart

Very carefully, you stack the small rectangular blocks together one by one. As you slide a single part out you realize how important that piece was to the structural integrity of the wooden tower. It begins to wobble and you know if any other section is removed the whole thing while lose shape and purpose. Another cornerstone is removed and… Jenga! It is undeniable that each piece of a text is imperative to the meaning as a whole; take out one and the entire thing begins to lose its form and become unclear. Understanding how each part of the text is important is vital in comprehension and analysis.

Example 2

Everlasting Format

It should be obvious to students that if one part of the puzzle is removed, the picture becomes unclear. It should also be obvious that if you put the puzzle together out of order, the picture will be unclear. Thus, authors make specific choices about the pieces of the text they include and the order in which they are presented. This standard asks students to analyze those choices and understand how they influence the central idea and effect of the overall text.

Here are some ideas for introducing students to text structure in both non-fiction and fiction/literary texts:

• If you’ve ever gone to the movies after slamming a Venti beverage of choice from Starbucks, you know how frustrating it is to miss a chunk of the plot while you run to the bathroom. Well, a poorly structured text is just as confusing, so authors work hard to structure their texts in a way that best communicates their meaning. As readers, it’s our job to analyze the text’s structure in order to better understand the meaning and overall development of ideas. When conducting this analysis, we need to look for the “flow” or relationship between the sentences and paragraphs and try to understand the author’s purpose in organizing the information this way. Some common structures⁵ in non-fiction or technical texts include:
  • Cause and Effect: The information will be ordered according to cause-effect relationships – use a flow chart to follow.
  • Sequence: Literally a chain of information given in sequential order, often some version of chronological order – a flow chart or timeline is also good here.
  • Compare and Contrast: Two or more items in a text are evaluated for similarities and differences – use a Venn diagram or make a columned chart to write out observations.
• In fictional texts or poetry you need to be able to identify how each section is important to the overall development of the plot or theme. How do all these smaller pieces connect to form one, cohesive, meaningful whole? This is all about discerning the purpose of each part of the text. Why does the author choose to include this section or scene? Why are the details presented in this order? How does our experience or understanding of the text change if these pieces are missing or reordered?

_{5 Text Structures Retrieved February 25, 2012. From http://teacher.scholastic.com/reading/bestpractices/nonfiction/fiveTextStructures.pdf}

Example 3

X Amount of Words

Once your students know the rules and how to set up a game, playing is easy and possibly even enjoyable. If you can show them how to look at a text as an object that can be taken apart and put back together in a specific way, then it becomes a kind of equation. Consider the job of tracking the structure and explaining its significance a game that students should play to win.

Quiz Questions