Glossary · Comprehension and language
What is text structure?
Definition
Text structure is how a text is organized, such as story structure in fiction or sequence, cause and effect, compare and contrast, problem and solution in nonfiction.
Stories usually follow a pattern: characters, a setting, a problem, events and a resolution. Informational texts use several patterns, often signaled by words like first, because, however and as a result.
Knowing the structure helps a reader predict what's coming and hold the ideas together. A student who sees “There are three reasons” knows to look for three, and notices when the third arrives.
Structure is teachable. Graphic organizers (a story map, a cause and effect chart, a two-column comparison) give students a frame to sort what they read. Once the frame is familiar, students use it without the paper. Writing in the same structures reinforces it from the other side.
In a lesson
After reading a short article on why leaves change color, the student fills a cause and effect chart: shorter days and cooler nights on one side, less green pigment and yellow showing on the other.
Why does this matter for the record?
Track which structures a student can identify in a new text. Fiction structure is usually secure well before the nonfiction ones.
Rate each skill as you teach it
Needs support, Developing, Secure. The rating schedules the review and builds the report.