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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.
Year groups
Primary, Years 3–6
File type
PDF
Preparation
Print ready

Updated Apr 05, 2022

Subject
Reading, English
Topic
Nonfiction, Anchor Chart
Resource types
Anchor Charts, Teacher Tools
Preparation
Print ready
England expectations
Official curriculum expectation · Comprehension

From the author

About this resource

This resource is a set of 2 charts">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.

Good to know

Questions teachers ask about this resource

Why does the chart note that a nonfiction text can have more than one structure even though it follows one MAIN structure?

It cautions against over-simplifying: a passage might mostly use cause-and-effect but include a brief comparison, for example, so the chart reminds students to identify the dominant structure rather than expect only one signal throughout.

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National Curriculum in England

National Curriculum in England expectations

England expectations

  • Official curriculum expectation · Comprehension — England Years 3–4 English reading comprehension: identifying how language, structure, and presentation contribute to meaning.

Core concepts

  • Text structure

  • Problem and solution

  • Cause and effect

  • Compare and contrast

  • Sequencing

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