A. Literacy Connections and Applications / C. Comprehension: Understanding and Responding to Texts · Understanding and Responding to TextsHow Texts Are Organized: Patterns, Headings and the Index
C1.3 C1.1About 40 minutes
Learning goals- I can find the order of importance pattern, where the most important information comes first.
- I can find the cause and effect pattern and the signal words that show it.
- I can use headings to find and predict information.
- I can use an index to find a topic quickly.
- I can explain how patterns and features help me understand a text.
Words to know
text pattern
The way a writer organizes the ideas in a text, such as in order, by importance, or by cause and effect.
order of importance
A pattern where the most important information comes first and the less important details come later.
cause
The reason something happens. It answers why?
effect
What happens because of the cause. It answers what happened?
signal words
Words that tell you which pattern is being used, like because, so and as a result for cause and effect.
heading
A title for one section of a text. It tells what that part is about.
index
An alphabetical list of topics at the back of a book, with the page numbers where each topic can be found.
Remember from Grade 2
In Grade 2 you learned the chronological order (time order) pattern (first, next, then, last) and the journal entry. You used a table of contents, headings, charts and icons.
This year you will add two new patterns, order of importance and cause and effect. You will use headings in new ways and learn a new feature, the index.
Hook: The news reporter's secret
News reporters know a secret: many people only read the first sentence of a news story. So reporters put the most important information first! Read this short news story.
Storm Closes Schools in Ottawa
Thirty-five centimetres of snow fell on Ottawa last night, and all city schools are closed today.
Snowplows worked through the night to clear the main roads. Buses are cancelled. City workers are asking people to stay home if they can.
The snow began at about 6 p.m. The weather forecast says the sun will come out tomorrow. Some children are already building snow forts in their front yards.
Pattern 1: Order of importance
In order of importance, the writer puts the most important information first, then the details that matter less.
- Most important (first sentence): Lots of snow fell, and schools are closed. If you only read that, you would know what you need!
- Important details (middle): plows, buses cancelled, stay home.
- Least important (end): what time it started, kids building forts.
This pattern helps readers get the big news fast. News articles, posters and safety rules often use it.
Worked exampleLet's find the order of importance
Here are three sentences from a fire safety poster, out of order. Which should go first?
- Our smoke alarms have new batteries.
- If you hear the smoke alarm, get out of the house right away and stay out.
- Smoke alarms make a loud beeping sound.
- Ask: Which sentence is most important for keeping people safe?
- Getting out right away and staying out could save a life. That is the most important.
- Knowing the alarm beeps loudly is helpful. That is next.
- New batteries is a small detail. That goes last.
First: If you hear the smoke alarm, get out right away and stay out. Then the loud beeping sound, then the new batteries.
Pattern 2: Cause and effect
A cause is why something happens. An effect is what happens because of it.
It rained all night (cause), so the soccer game was cancelled (effect).
Writers use signal words to show cause and effect: because, so, since, as a result, that is why, this makes, if... then.
Read this text and look for the signal words.
Why Do Leaves Change Colour?
In summer, leaves are green because they are full of a green material that helps the tree make food from sunlight.
In fall, the days get shorter and cooler. As a result, the tree stops making the green material. The green fades away, so yellow and orange colours that were hiding in the leaf can now show. Some trees, like many maples, also make bright red colours in the fall.
When the weather gets cold, the leaves fall off. That is why the ground is covered in crunchy leaves in October!
Worked exampleLet's find a cause and its effect
From Why Do Leaves Change Colour?: Find one cause and its effect and the signal word.
- Find a signal word. As a result is one.
- What comes before as a result? The days get shorter and cooler. That is the cause (why).
- What comes after? The tree stops making the green material. That is the effect (what happened).
- Check: Does it make sense to ask, Why does the tree stop making green? Because the days get shorter and cooler. Yes!
Cause: the days get shorter and cooler. Effect: the tree stops making the green material. Signal words: as a result.
Feature 1: Headings
A heading is a title for one part of a text. In a fact book about beavers, you might see headings like:
- What Beavers Look Like
- Building a Lodge
- What Beavers Eat
Headings help you:
- Predict what a section will be about.
- Find information fast, without reading the whole book.
- Organize the facts in your head, like putting clothes into the right drawers.
Feature 2: The index
An index is at the back of a nonfiction book. It lists topics in ABC order with the page numbers where you can find them.
A table of contents is at the front and lists chapters in order. An index is at the back and lists small topics in ABC order. Use the index when you are looking for one exact thing.
| Index of Busy Beavers | |
|---|
| dams | 8, 9, 14 |
| food | 16–17 |
| fur | 4 |
| kits (babies) | 20–22 |
| lodge | 10–13 |
| predators | 18 |
| tail | 5, 9 |
| teeth | 6–7, 16 |
Worked exampleLet's use an index
You want to know what beavers eat. Use the index above.
- Think of a key word for your question: eat. It isn't in the index. Try a similar word: food.
- Topics are in ABC order, so look near the f words: food, fur... Found it: food, 16–17.
- Turn to pages 16 and 17.
- Bonus: teeth also lists page 16. Teeth might tell how beavers chew their food!
Look up food: pages 16 to 17.
Just for funCause: I started reading a book about glue.
Effect: I couldn't put it down!
Why patterns and features help
- Order of importance helps you get the main news fast.
- Cause and effect helps you understand why things happen.
- Headings help you predict and find information.
- An index helps you find one exact topic quickly.
When you notice the pattern, the text becomes easier to understand and remember.
Hands-on activityMake an index
You need: a nonfiction book from home or the library, paper and a pencil.
- Find the index at the back of the book. Read 5 topics and their page numbers. Choose one topic and turn to that page. Was the topic there?
- Now make your own mini index. Write a 4-page booklet about your home (or your pet, or your favourite sport). Give each page a heading.
- On the last page, write an index: list 6 important words from your booklet in ABC order with the page number for each.
- Ask a grown-up to use your index to find something. Did it work?
Bonus: Find a cause and effect sentence in a book or newspaper. Circle the signal word (with permission, or copy it out).
Your turn
1In Storm Closes Schools in Ottawa, what is the most important information? Where is it?
Lots of snow fell (35 cm) and schools are closed. It is in the first sentence.
2Why do news stories use order of importance?
So readers get the most important news first and fast, even if they don't read the whole story.
3Find the cause and the effect: Because the pond froze solid, we could go skating.
Cause: the pond froze solid. Effect: we could go skating.
4Name three cause and effect signal words.
Any three: because, so, since, as a result, that is why, if... then.
5Using the Busy Beavers index, which pages tell about beaver babies?
6Where is an index found in a book? How is it ordered?
At the back. It is in ABC (alphabetical) order.
7What would you expect to read under the heading Building a Lodge?
How beavers build their homes, what they use (sticks, mud), and where the lodge is. (Any sensible answer about building a lodge.)
More practice: warm-up
1Is the index at the front or the back of a book?
2In cause and effect, which part tells why?
3I forgot my mittens, so my hands were cold. What is the signal word?
4Which comes first in order of importance: the most important or the least important information?
A title for one part (section) of a text.
More practice: on your own
1Find the cause and effect: The wind knocked down a tree, and as a result, the power went out.
Cause: the wind knocked down a tree. Effect: the power went out. Signal words: as a result.
2You want to know about beaver dams in Busy Beavers. Which pages? Why might tail also help?
Pages 8, 9 and 14. Tail also lists page 9, so page 9 might tell how beavers use their tails while building dams. (Page 9 appears in both topics.)
3Put these in order of importance for a lost-dog poster: He likes belly rubs. / Lost: small brown dog named Biscuit. Call 555-0123. / He was last seen near Maple Park.
- Lost: small brown dog named Biscuit. Call 555-0123. 2. Last seen near Maple Park. 3. He likes belly rubs. The most useful information for finding the dog comes first.
4When would you use the table of contents instead of the index?
When you want to see the big chapters in order or browse what the book is about. The index is better for finding one small topic.
5In Why Do Leaves Change Colour?, why does the ground get covered in leaves in October?
Because the weather gets cold, so the leaves fall off. The text says, That is why the ground is covered in crunchy leaves.
Challenge
1Write your own cause and effect sentence about winter. Use a signal word and label the cause and the effect.
Example: It snowed all night (cause), so we shovelled the driveway (effect). Check that the cause answers why and the effect answers what happened.
2One cause can have more than one effect. The snowstorm in Ottawa is the cause. Name three effects from the news story.
Any three: schools closed, buses cancelled, snowplows worked all night, people asked to stay home, kids built snow forts.
3Why does an index use ABC order instead of the order things appear in the book?
Because you are looking for one word, and ABC order lets you find it fast, like a dictionary. If the topics were in book order, you would have to read the whole list.
Quiz
1. Which text pattern puts the most important information first?
2. Because it was icy, Dad put salt on the steps. What is the effect?
3. Which is a cause and effect signal word?
4. Where do you find an index?
5. Index topics are listed in...
6. How do headings help readers?
What this lesson teaches: Grade 3 students identify text patterns such as order of importance and cause and effect, and features such as headings and an index, and explain how they help readers understand (C1.3). Noticing signal words like because, so and as a result is part of using cohesive ties to comprehend (C1.1).
How to help at home:
- Read a short news story (local paper or a kids' news site) and ask, "What's the most important thing they told us first?"
- Play "Why did it happen?" during the day: "The milk spilled. What was the cause?"
- When your child has a question about an animal or sport, have them find the answer using the index of a library book instead of reading the whole book.
Common difficulties:
- Mixing up cause and effect. Remind them: the cause comes first in time and answers why?; the effect answers what happened? Signal words can appear in different places (We stayed in because it rained puts the effect first).
- Index vs. table of contents. Front = chapters in order; back = topics in ABC order.
- Index searching. If the exact word isn't listed, help them think of a related word (eat → food).