Text Structures Teaching Resources
Bring text structures to life in the classroom with text structure posters for your classroom walls, printable worksheets and downloadable Google Slides templates that easily break down the way authors organize information in a text.
Familiarity with different text structures is crucial for helping our students develop reading comprehension skills and become more confident readers. So how do you teach students all about text structures? We're so glad you asked!
Our teacher team has created hundreds of resources with this concept at the heart. With editable resources at the ready, you can save time on your lesson planning, so you have more time with your family!
Each resource in this ELA collection is curriculum-aligned to help students meet Common Core and state-level standards for understanding text structures. Each has undergone a thorough review by our teacher team to ensure it's ready for your students.
New to teaching text structure, or just looking for fresh ways to engage your students? Read on for a primer from our teacher team, including a handy definition you can use to explain the meaning of text structure to your students.
What Is a Text Structure? A Kid-Friendly Definition
Whether you've been teaching students who've already passed this stage of literacy instruction or teaching classes for younger learners, you may need a quick refresher! Don't worry — the ELA teachers on the Teach Starter team are here to back you up with a simple definition you can use to explain text structures.
Text structures are thee different ways that an author has organized information within the text. These types of organization appear in both fiction and nonfiction texts.
Text structures help us use many of our reading comprehension strategies like visualizing, inferencing and monitoring comprehension.
6 Text Structure Examples to Share With Students
Looking for text structure examples to share with your students during your lessons? Here are some of the more common — and more helpful— text structures students may encounter in their reading:
- Problem and solution
- Chronological
- Cause and effect
- Inductive and deductive
- Description
- Sequence/process
How to Teach About Text Structures — Fun Ideas for Teachers
Looking for fun ideas for teaching text structures in the classroom? Try these tips from our teacher team!
- Practice sequencing stories with cards that map out a familiar task — but only if students can put them in the right order!
- Before reading a text featuring "cause and effect" out loud to the class, supply students with cause and effect graphic organizers. Students can be instructed to make notes of the different cause and effect examples they hear throughout your read-aloud.
- Create a text structures anchor chart with your class to help break down the different ways authors organize information.
- Add a text structures sorting activity to your reading center!
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Sweet Hearts Fact and Opinion - Valentine's Day Activity
Practice sweet reading skills on Valentine’s Day with a set of Sweetheart Fact and Opinion task cards.
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Types of Poetry For Kids - Classroom Posters
A set of 9 posters examining different types of poetry.
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Narrative Text Structure Anchor Charts
Brighten up your classroom narrative writing display with this set of narrative writing posters!
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Read Across America Scavenger Hunt for Upper Grades
Print a Read Across America 2024 Library Scavenger Hunt and take a journey across the US with your class!
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Dr. Mae Jemison – Biography Structure Sorting Task
Read and sort to help students learn about the structure of a biography with our cut and paste biography worksheet.
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Fact and Opinion Board Game
Practice differentiating between fact and opinion with a fun and engaging board game.
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Text Structures Slide Deck
An editable text structure instructional slide deck to use when teaching text structures to your students.
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Text Structures Sorting Activity
A set of 24 text structure cards to use in a sorting or scoot activity.
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Primary Weekly Poetry Guide - Weeks 4 and 5
Use this weekly poetry guide to celebrate National Poetry Month in your primary classroom.
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Primary Weekly Poetry Guide - Week 1
Use this weekly poetry guide to celebrate National Poetry Month in your primary classroom.
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Fishbone/Herringbone Diagram Graphic Organizer
A blank fishbone and herringbone diagram to use in any subject area.
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Narrative Text Structure - PowerPoint
A 20-slide editable PowerPoint template to use when teaching your students about the text structure and language features of narrative texts.
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Sequencing Activity - Stop Polluting The Ocean (Opinion Text)
A sequencing task using an opinion text.
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Writing Checklists - Various Genres
Use these Writing Checklists to ensure that your students have everything they need in their pieces of writing.
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Advertising Resource Pack
An educational resource pack with opinion writing tasks and worksheets about advertising.
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Descriptive Writing Poster
A poster outlining the main points and structure of a descriptive text.
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Information Text Structure Worksheet – The Apple iPad
Teach your students about informational text structure with this cut-and-paste sequencing worksheet.
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Opinion Sentence Worksheet
Some opinion sentence starters to be completed with evidence.
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Sporting Picture Stories - Sequencing Activity
A set of sequencing cards for students to use as an independent writing activity.
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How to Wash Your Hands - Sequencing Cards
A set of 8 cards showing the steps for how to wash your hands properly
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How to Make a PB and J Sandwich - Sequencing Cards
A set of 6 cards showing the steps to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
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Exploring Informational Texts Teaching Slides
Teach your students how to write an informational text using this detailed slideshow targeted at lower elementary school students.
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Cause and Effect - Scenario Worksheet
A worksheet and answer sheet to use when teaching students the about the cause and effect text structure.
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Opinion Writing Checklist - Structure, Language and Features
A checklist for students to use when proofreading and editing their opinion writing.
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Opinion Texts Sequencing Activity
3 jumbled opinion texts for students to sequence in the correct order.
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Procedural Recount Text Structure Anchor Chart - With Annotations
A poster about the procedural recount text type, including an annotated example.
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Factual Recount Text Type Poster - With Annotations
A poster about the factual recount text type, including an annotated example.
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Introduction to Narrative Features PowerPoint - Grade 3 and Grade 4
A 23 slide editable PowerPoint template to use when teaching your students about the features of narrative texts.
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Sequencing Activity - Dogs Make the Best Pets (Opinion Text)
A sequencing task using an opinion text.
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Sequencing Activity - Homework is Unnecessary (Opinion Text)
A sequencing task using an opinion text.
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Celebrating Poetry Month in the Primary Grades – Weeks 4 and 5
Celebrate National Poetry Month in the primary classroom with this planning guide and set of resources.
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Celebrating Poetry Month in the Primary Grades - Week 1
Celebrate National Poetry Month in the primary classroom with this planning guide and set of resources.