Elements of Informational TextN

Elements of Informational Text

Facial Expressions—including fear—may not be as universal as we thought

Standards

10.1(A)

10.1(D)

10.4(F)

10.5(A)

10.5(E)

10.5(G)

10.7(D)(i)

Learning Intention

What will our lesson look like today?

I will explore the elements of informational text and learn how they contribute to effective communication and understanding.

Success Criteria

Language Objective

• I can accurately identify main ideas and supporting details.
• I can analyze text structure and its impact on comprehension.
• I can demonstrate understanding of the author's purpose in informational text.

I will use academic vocabulary related to informational text elements to discuss and analyze texts.

Do Now:

• Read the excerpt from "McDonald's: It's the glue that holds communities together"
• identify key elements such as the main idea, supporting details, and the author's purpose.

informational text elements- nouna common set of features, such as a central idea, supporting evidence, and pertinent examples, that appear in informational texts

Vocabulary

pertinent example- nouna related situation that shows that what is being demonstrated is true

supporting evidence- nountext evidence, descriptions, examples, reasons, expert opinions, facts, and statistics that further explain key aspects of the controlling idea

conclusion- noun the closing paragraph or section of an essay, argument, or narrative

informational text-nounwriting that presents information or ideas about real people, places, things, or events

thesis statement-nouna statement that shares the central idea of an essay

Define

An informational text presents readers with information or ideas about real people, places, things, and events. In order to present information clearly, writers use a common set of informational text elements. These include the following:

• thesis: the main idea of an informational essay
• supporting evidence: relevant details from the text that an author includes to support his or her ideas and opinions
• pertinent example: a situation that is related and shows that what is being demonstrated is true
• conclusion: the closing paragraph or section of an essay

These features are both characteristics and structural elements of informational texts. Characteristics are qualities that define a certain type of writing, and structural elements are parts that help to give structure to the writing and organize details, ideas, and information in a logical and engaging way. To identify informational text elements, readers should look for key details in the text and the connections and relationships between them. Analyzing the characteristics of an informational text helps the reader understand how the details and information presented work together to support a controlling idea.

Directions: Review the Checklist for Elements of Informational Text below. Then read the Skill Model to examine how one student used the checklist to analyze characteristics and structural elements of informational texts in “Facial expressions—including fear—may not be as universal as we thought.” As you read, identify the question from the checklist the student used for each annotation. * Watch Concept Definition Video

Checklist for Elements of Informational Text

• relevant evidence
• pertinent examples
• the conclusion

To analyze characteristics and structural elements of informational texts, use the following questions as a guide:

• How are the informational text elements related?
• How are the informational text elements organized?
• How do the informational text elements provide structure?
• How do the evidence, examples, and conclusion work together to support the thesis?

In order to identify characteristics and structural elements of informational texts, note the following:

• a clear thesis
• although the thesis is often located in the introduction, it may also be found in the body or conclusion of an informational text
• the thesis may be explicitly stated, although other times it might be implied or suggested

Skill Model

Analyzing characteristics and structural elements of informational texts can help you comprehend and analyze the ideas presented in the text. Let’s look at how one reader analyzes the characteristics and structural elements of “Facial expressions—including fear—may not be as universal as we thought

The thesis is spread across two sentences. It states that several facial expressions have different meanings to people in different locations. These findings call into question common beliefs about how humans perceive emotions.

Skill Model

The reader identifies the thesis. The reader notes that, in this case, the thesis is spread across two sentences. The reader highlights the thesis and restates it to confirm her understanding. Highlighting and restating the thesis helps the reader remember the main point of the essay. This will allow the reader to look for supporting evidence and pertinent examples later in the essay. She continues reading “Facial expressions—including fear—may not be as universal as we thought” and analyzes the supporting evidence the author uses to support the thesis.

The author uses a study conducted by Crivelli as supporting evidence for the thesis. The study gives pertinent examples of a group of people who interpret facial expressions differently than people commonly do in the West.

Skill Model

In this passage, the reader highlights evidence that supports the thesis. She highlights the pertinent examples given by the author as evidence. The author then comments on whether or not she thinks the evidence presented supports the thesis. Having this evidence highlighted and her opinions on them recorded will aid her analysis of the text as a whole once she has finished reading the entire essay.

Your Turn!

You will answer the accompanying questions on Elements of Informational Text - Facial expressions—including fear—may not be as universal as we thought

Thank you!

Got an idea?

Let the communication flow!

With Genially templates, you can include visual resources to wow your audience. You can also highlight a particular sentence or piece of information so that it sticks in your audience’s minds, or even embed external content to surprise them: Whatever you like! Do you need more reasons to create dynamic content? No problem! 90% of the information we assimilate is received through sight and, what’s more, we retain 42% more information when the content moves.

• Generate experiences with your content.
• It’s got the Wow effect. Very Wow.
• Make sure your audience remembers the message.

Got an idea?

Let the communication flow!

With Genially templates, you can include visual resources to wow your audience. You can also highlight a particular sentence or piece of information so that it sticks in your audience’s minds, or even embed external content to surprise them: Whatever you like! Do you need more reasons to create dynamic content? No problem! 90% of the information we assimilate is received through sight and, what’s more, we retain 42% more information when the content moves.

• Generate experiences with your content.
• It’s got the Wow effect. Very Wow.
• Make sure your audience remembers the message.

Got an idea?

Let the communication flow!

With Genially templates, you can include visual resources to wow your audience. You can also highlight a particular sentence or piece of information so that it sticks in your audience’s minds, or even embed external content to surprise them: Whatever you like! Do you need more reasons to create dynamic content? No problem! 90% of the information we assimilate is received through sight and, what’s more, we retain 42% more information when the content moves.

• Generate experiences with your content.
• It’s got the Wow effect. Very Wow.
• Make sure your audience remembers the message.

Got an idea?

Let the communication flow!

With Genially templates, you can include visual resources to wow your audience. You can also highlight a particular sentence or piece of information so that it sticks in your audience’s minds, or even embed external content to surprise them: Whatever you like! Do you need more reasons to create dynamic content? No problem! 90% of the information we assimilate is received through sight and, what’s more, we retain 42% more information when the content moves.

• Generate experiences with your content.
• It’s got the Wow effect. Very Wow.
• Make sure your audience remembers the message.

Got an idea?

Let the communication flow!

With Genially templates, you can include visual resources to wow your audience. You can also highlight a particular sentence or piece of information so that it sticks in your audience’s minds, or even embed external content to surprise them: Whatever you like! Do you need more reasons to create dynamic content? No problem! 90% of the information we assimilate is received through sight and, what’s more, we retain 42% more information when the content moves.

• Generate experiences with your content.
• It’s got the Wow effect. Very Wow.
• Make sure your audience remembers the message.