English Language Arts and Reading.4.9.D.i

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The student is expected to

recognize characteristics and structures of informational text, including:

 

the central idea with supporting evidence;

multiple genres TEKS talk image

Knowledge and Skills Statement

Multiple genres: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts--genres. The student recognizes and analyzes genre-specific characteristics, structures, and purposes within and across increasingly complex traditional, contemporary, classical, and diverse texts.

Have students work in small groups to read an informational text. Then engage students in a discussion regarding the central idea of the text. Provide a graphic organizer for students to use when identifying important ideas and supporting details. Review the graphic organizer and have students use that information to determine the central idea and supporting details of the text.
 

Further Explanation

In this example, students must understand that informational texts have distinguishing characteristics, such as the use of a central idea to guide the focus of the writing. Students will examine the important ideas and supporting details in the text to determine the central idea.

An informational text’s central idea is the overall message the author wants to share. The central idea can be clearly stated in the text or it may require that students make an inference. Authors may introduce hints such as facts, details, or examples about the message before stating the central idea.
a text that presents information to explain, clarify, and/or educate
In reading, students are expected to have a clear idea of the particular attributes of informational texts. Students should know that informational text has unique characteristics, such as a central idea, and often includes graphic features, such as tables and diagrams. Students should also recognize the way an informational text is structured or organized. For example, an author may choose to organize an article using a compare-and-contrast approach to draw attention to the pros and cons of a particular topic or a chronological structure when explaining the timeline of a developing issue.

Research

1. Schugar, H. R., & Dreher, M. J. (2017). U. S. fourth graders' informational text comprehension: Indicators from NAEP. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education. 9(3), 523–552. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1134190.pdf

Summary: The study is focused on the reading of informational texts, based upon an international assessment that found that elementary school students in the U S. perform significantly lower on measures of informational reading than on measures of literary reading. Students who cannot read informational texts may face challenges with school tasks and in the workplace. A key finding supports classroom talk as a way to provide students with the academic vocabulary they need in order to comprehend informational texts.

2. Meyer, B. J., & Ray, M. N. (2011). Structure strategy interventions: increasing reading comprehension of expository text. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education,4(1), 127–152. Accessed online at https://eric.ed.gov/?q=expository+text&pr=on&ft=on&id=EJ1070453

Summary: In this literature review, researchers examine empirical studies designed to teach the structure strategy to increase reading comprehension of expository texts. Strategy interventions employ modeling, practice, and feedback to teach students how to use text structure strategically and eventually automatically. The analysis suggests that direct instruction, modeling, scaffolding, elaborated feedback, and adaptation of instruction to student performance are keys in teaching students to strategically use knowledge about text structure.