Introducing Text Structures – Sentence Examples for Your Lesson Planning

Build a Positive 3rd, 4th, or 5th Grade Classroom Community with These 33 Questions for Morning Meetings or Discussion

One of the best ways to introduce 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students to nonfiction text structures is by providing them with plenty of examples.  Instead of starting with paragraph length or longer examples, consider starting with sentence examples.

If students are not able to distinguish between the different text structures when they are in sentence form, then practicing with longer texts will lead to a lot of frustration and not much understanding.

Below, find sentence examples to help you introduce the following text structures:

Use the sentences below in your lesson plans as you introduce the different text structures to upper elementary students.

Nonfiction Text Structure Sentence Examples

Compare and Contrast Text Structure Sentences

  1. A noun is a word that represents a person, place, thing, or idea, while verbs describe action.

  2. A palm tree needs a lot more water than a cactus does in order to survive.

  3. Butter, flour, sugar, and eggs are important ingredients in both cupcakes and cakes.

  4. Road bicyclists are usually light and meant to be used on pavement, while mountain bikes are heavier and meant for riding on dirt trails.

You might also like these tips and activities ideas for teaching comparing and contrasting.  

Problem and Solution Text Structure Sentences

  1. If you have trouble falling asleep at night, try avoiding technology like TVs, tablets, and video games an hour before your bedtime; this might help you fall asleep more easily.

  2. People with bad eyesight struggle to see objects clearly, but glasses or contacts will help them see better.

  3. Completing lower body stretches twice a day can help relieve back pain.

  4. Putting a cold drink on a wooden table can leave a water ring, but using a coaster will prevent this.

This problem and solution text structure freebie will help your 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students came to a solid understanding of this text structure.

Cause and Effect Text Structure Sentences

  1. Blisters will form on your feet if you walk long distances in shoes that do not fit properly.

  2. After a law went into place that gave a huge tax break to companies that did their filming in Georgia, many Hollywood producers moved their movie sets to Georgia.

  3. Since the Sahara Desert is so hot and dry, it is mostly uninhabited.

  4. Getting too little sleep can lead to grumpiness, difficulty concentrating, and health problems.

You might also like these cause and effect anchor chart ideas. 

Sequencing Text Structure Sentences

  1. To publish a book, you must first write your book and edit it, then design a book cover, and finally have it published.

  2. In restaurants, meals often start with a soup and salad course before the main dish and lastly dessert.

  3. Before beginning to walk, babies first crawl and then learn to pull themselves up to a standing position.

  4. Wilbur and Orville Wright opened a bicycle shop in 1892, then began experimenting with gliders in 1900, and flew an airplane successfully for the first time in 1903.

Description Text Structure Sentences

  1. A seaplane is a type of airplane that doesn’t use a runway to take off or land – it takes off and lands on water!

  2. Fences are structures that are usually made of wire or wood and are used to enclose an area.

  3. The Nile River in Africa is over 4,000 miles long and it flows north into the Mediterranean Sea.

  4. Every year in July, the top bicyclists from around the world take place in a difficult 23 day race in France called the Tour de France.

Need some no prep, scaffolded activities to help your students better understand these 5 text structures?  This Nonfiction Text Structures Resource walks your students through each of the different text structures individually, making sure they have a solid understanding of them in isolation before having them try and distinguish between all of them.

The no prep activities include shorter texts, including sentences and paragraphs, as well as longer reading passages.

Nonfiction text structure activities that are no prep and help 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students better understand

Text Structure Freebie

Nonfiction Text Structure Freebie to teach problem and solution for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade

Use this text structure freebie to help you teach the problem and solution text structure.  

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