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environment shaped her earliest memories. With more information, we might find out that her purpose for
telling the story is not exactly as it appears here, but at this point—other than the fact that the piece is
anonymous—we don’t have reason to believe she has any other motive than to tell us about her formative
years.

Putting It Together

Lesson Objective

In the upcoming section, we’ll examine how informational texts incorporate different elements and see
how the author’s point of view affects the information and the way in which it is presented.

Previously Covered

At this point you should be familiar with some proven reading strategies that will help students identify,
analyze, and organize informational texts before, during, and after reading. You should be aware that
effective and efficient readers use a variety of comprehension skills—such as skimming and scanning—to
make meaning of texts as they read.

Putting It Together

Informational texts incorporate visual elements we don’t always encounter in narrative text. Graphics,
such as diagrams, charts, illustrations, and graphs support facts and ideas with important details that
students must learn to identify and reference during reading if they are to understand the whole of the
information provided.

Visual sources also help students identify what the author feels is the most important information and an
integral part of the way information is organized.

Cause and effect, problem and solution, compare and contrast, sequencing, classifications, and
generalizations are a few of the organizational structures authors use to convey information. Identifying
these methods helps students read efficiently and organize ideas for synthesizing and summarizing.

Readers must select comprehension strategies that fit a particular text based on knowledge of how the
information is presented. When students understand text structure, they can anticipate what information
will be revealed and make and revise predictions while reading.

Structure Definition

Cause/Effect Informational texts often describe cause-and-effect relationships.
The text describes events and identifies or implies causal factors.
Example: an article that presents the topic of clear-cutting and
describes the effect on the environment
Compare/Contrast Authors use comparisons to describe ideas to readers. Similes,
metaphors, and analogies are used in compare-and-contrast
organizational structures. Example: a photo essay that compares
clear-cutting in Pacific Northwest to a similar situation in a particular
region of Central America