Text Structure: Spot the Signals

Use signal words to identify nonfiction text structures in this fourth- and fifth-grade worksheet! To start, learners will read definitions of four text structures, then match each structure to its signal words. Then, in the second half of the worksheet, students will read six different scenarios. Learners must underline the signal words and determine its text structure.

This resource helps upper elementary school readers understand common nonfiction text structures: sequential, compare-contrast, cause-effect, and problem-solution. As students become familiar with the ways authors organize information, they can better understand how ideas in a text relate to one another, helping to improve reading comprehension. 

Practice identifying and analyzing nonfiction text structures in informational reading passages with Nonfiction Sequencing: The Birth of an Island and Nonfiction Cause and Effect: Making Morning Dew.