Maybe it has to do with the fact that it’s like 5 mini topics that the students have to be aware of in order to distinguish between them? Perhaps it has to do with the fact that it’s another one of those more “inferred” skills that is often hidden in complex text? Or maybe that there’s often more than one structure imbedded in a story?
Nevertheless, it remains a pretty big standard in upper elementary that must be covered.
In order to tackle this challenging topic, I decided to take all of my material and organize it into a 3 week period of time using the “I do, We do, You do” model of instruction.
The "I do, We do, You do" instructional model is a teaching approach that follows a structured progression of learning activities. In the "I do" phase, the teacher demonstrates a new concept or skill, providing a clear example for students to observe. This is followed by the "We do" phase, where students participate in guided practice with the teacher, receiving support and feedback as they apply the newly introduced information. Finally, in the "You do" phase, students independently practice and apply the knowledge or skills they have acquired. This model aims to gradually shift responsibility from the teacher to the students, fostering a progressive and interactive learning experience.
Week 1: (I do)
- I introduce the idea of text structure through a Khan Academy video. Link HERE!
- I spend each day this week going over a specific structure focusing on key words, purpose, and examples as a whole group. There are some great flip books available on TPT that provide great background information on each structure and can provide a great point of reference moving forward.
Week 2: (we do)
After students have a good grasp of each text structure, it’s time to start identifying them
within actual texts. We accomplish this through repeated practice in the following
ways:
- Text Structure Jeopardy
- Text Structure 4 Corners Game
- Text Structure Match it game
Week 3: (you do)
- By this week, we want to assess, both informally and formally, how students are progressing. To get an individual measure on each student’s progress, we have them complete the following independently: *Text Structure task cards (digital or paper/pencil)
- After looking at their scores, I continue to either extend their learning through following: *Text Structure BOOM Cards set or pull back individual small groups to re-do some of the “practice” activities found in week
- Finally, we have them take a final assessment. (Digital or paper/pencil)
I hope this gives you some ideas about how to go about structuring your text structure unit! (see what I did there??) As always, please don't hesitate to contact me if you have further questions or comments regarding this topic or anything in general!
:) Jennifer
