Nonfiction Text Structures Anchor Chart – Reading Set

A nonfiction text-structures anchor chart defines five expository structures with their transition words and pairs a completed reference page with a matching fill-in-the-blank practice page.
Grades
Grades 3–6
File type
PDF
Preparation
Print ready

Updated Sep 27, 2026

Subject
Reading, ELA
Topic
Nonfiction, Anchor Chart
Resource types
Anchor Charts
Preparation
Print ready
Ontario expectations
C1.3 — Ontario grade 4 language c1.3

From the author

About this resource

This resource is a set of 2 anchor charts for teaching nonfiction text structures. The first chart is complete. The second chart is fill in the blank. These charts work well displayed on a bulletin board or inserted into students' interactive reading notebooks.

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

  • Identify and name five nonfiction text structures: problem/solution, sequencing, description, cause/effect, and compare/contrast

  • Use structure-specific transition and key words (e.g., 'therefore,' 'alike,' 'first...next...finally') to recognize which structure a passage uses

  • Recognize that a nonfiction text can contain more than one structure even when one is dominant

Teaching tips

  • Post the completed chart as a permanent classroom reference during nonfiction reading units.

  • Use the second, blank page as a quick formative check by having students fill in definitions and key words from memory.

  • Pair the key-words column with a text-structure scavenger hunt in students' current nonfiction reading.

Skills covered

  • Nonfiction text-structure identification — students match transition words like 'therefore' and 'first, second, next' to the structure (problem/solution, sequencing, etc.) they signal.

  • Anchor chart reference use — students consult a five-structure comparison table while reading informational text.

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Ontario curriculum

Ontario curriculum expectations

Ontario expectations

  • C1.3 — Ontario Grade 4 Language C1.3: identify text patterns, such as spatial order in a graphic text, and text features, such as type styles and hyperlinks, associated with various text forms, including cultural texts, and explain how they help readers, listeners, and viewers understand the meaning.

Core concepts

  • Text structure

  • Problem and solution

  • Cause and effect

  • Compare and contrast

  • Sequencing

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