Unit Plan 13 (Grade 4 ELA): Informational Text Structures
Grade 4 informational reading unit: master sequence, cause/effect, and compare/contrast across paragraphs using signal words, timelines/flowcharts/Venns, and text evidence.
Focus: Sequence, cause/effect, compare/contrast across paragraphs
Grade Level: 4
Subject Area: English Language Arts (Reading Informational)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 45–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
This week trains readers to recognize how informational texts are built. Students will detect and explain three high-utility text structures—sequence, cause/effect, and compare/contrast—not just inside a single paragraph but across multiple paragraphs. They’ll learn to use signal words, graphic organizers (timeline, flowchart, Venn), and evidence lines from the text to justify their thinking. By Friday, each learner will identify a passage’s overall structure (RI.4.5), explain what happened and why or how ideas relate (RI.4.3), and read grade-level informational text with growing independence (RI.4.10).
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to…
- Identify sequence, cause/effect, and compare/contrast structures across paragraphs and explain how the author organized ideas.
- Use signal words and specific lines from the text to justify the identified structure.
- Explain events/procedures/ideas, including what happened and why (cause/effect) or how two topics are alike/different (compare/contrast).
- Read and discuss grade-appropriate informational texts with scaffolds as needed.
Standards Alignment — CCSS Grade 4
- RI.4.5 (describe the overall structure of events, ideas, concepts; compare structures)
- RI.4.3 (explain events/procedures/ideas, including what happened and why, based on specifics in the text)
- RI.4.10 (read and comprehend informational texts independently and proficiently)
Success Criteria — student language
- I can name the structure of a section or whole article and prove it with signal words and text evidence.
- I can use a timeline/flowchart/Venn to explain order, reasons/results, or similarities/differences.
- I can tell why the author chose this structure and how it helps me understand.
- I can read a grade-level article and summarize it using the structure the author used.