Organizational Structures
What are Organizational Structures?
Organizational structure, or text structure, refers to how ideas in a text are organized, and how relationships between details are organized. Texts have different audiences and different purposes, so they require different organizational structures. In social studies, many of the information texts learners use follow one or more of the following organizational structures:
Cause and effect
Chronological/Sequence
Compare and contrast
Description
Persuasive
Problem and solution
Big Ideas
When learners are familiar with organizational structures, they are better prepared to:
understand the author’s purpose
determine the main idea and supporting details
recall information from a text
summarize what they read
FINAL Organizational Structures Getting Started.mp4Getting ready
Before learners begin to identify and use organizational structures, they need to know that:
information texts use different structures than narrative texts texts and authors have specific purposes
a text or section of a text has a main idea the author wants the reader to understand
topics or events can be related in different ways (e.g., cause and effect, compare and contrast, problem and solution)
longer texts can include more than one organizational structure
texts on the same topic can use different organizational structures, depending on the author’s purpose
Identifying Organizational Structures
FINAL Identifying Organizational Structures.mp4Explicit Instruction
Learners require explicit instruction and modeling before reading to identify organizational structures and use them to support reading comprehension.
To support learners in identifying organizational structures, teachers can use mentor texts to:
introduce an organizational structure
highlight and review the meaning of signal words that might indicate the text’s organizational structure
think aloud to model the relationships between details (e.g., is the author describing a topic? Is the author comparing and contrasting information?)
Guided Practice
Learners will require time to practice the various strategies modeled by the teacher.
Information texts use various text structures to organize information and present ideas. Learners can use evidence from the text to determine the organizational structure.
Learners skim the text for titles, subtitles, headings, signal words, and other text features that could indicate the text’s organizational structure
Learners read the whole text, using evidence from words, phrases, and sentences to confirm the text’s organizational structure
Learners discuss their findings with a partner, using evidence from the text to support their decision
Using Organizational Structures to Support Comprehension
FINAL Using Organizational Structures.mp4Explicit Instruction
Learners require explicit instruction and modeling before reading to identify organizational structures and use them to support reading comprehension.
To support learners in using organizational structures to understand a text, teachers can use mentor texts to model how to:
use the organizational structure to determine the main idea
use the organizational structure to help summarize the text using an appropriate graphic organizer (cause and effect, chronological/sequence, compare and contrast, description, persuasive, problem and solution)
compare and contrast organizational structures used by various texts on the same topic and thinking aloud about how the organizational structures differ
lead a discussion about why a particular organizational structure was used in a text
take notes from a text using the organizational structure as a guide
Guided Practice
Learners will require time to practise the various strategies modeled by the teacher.
Organizational structures provide ways for readers to organize their notes in order to remember key information from the text. Learners can use a text’s organizational structure to take notes in response to an inquiry question.
Learners use an inquiry question to determine a purpose for reading
Working with a partner, learners identify the text’s organizational structure
Learners select a graphic organizer (cause and effect, chronological/sequence, compare and contrast, description, persuasive, problem and solution) appropriate to the text’s structure and fill it in with their partner
Learners review their graphic organizer (cause and effect, chronological/sequence, compare and contrast, description, persuasive, problem and solution) and generate a main idea statement
Graphic Organizers and Thinking Routines
FINAL Thinking Routines.mp4After learners have identified and used organizational structures to help them comprehend a text, they can use a thinking routine to support their thinking about what they have read. A thinking routine is a brief sequence of steps designed to deepen learners' thinking and help to make their thinking visible. Below thinking routines are identified to support leaners' understanding of each organizational structure.