Unit Plan 6 (Grade 5 ELA): Advanced Nonfiction Text Features & Structures
Grade 5 ELA unit: read nonfiction with headings, captions, diagrams, and maps; compare text structures (sequence, compare–contrast, cause–effect); cite evidence.
Focus: Headings, captions, diagrams; comparing overall structures
Grade Level: 5
Subject Area: English Language Arts (Reading Informational)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 45–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
This week turns readers into nonfiction navigators. Students will use headings, subheadings, captions, diagrams, charts, and maps to extract meaning, then analyze how authors organize information using overall text structures (description, sequence/chronology, compare–contrast, cause–effect, problem–solution). They’ll quote accurately and paraphrase to explain how visuals and structure shape understanding. By Friday, each learner can compare two articles on the same topic with different structures, integrate information from text + visual, and support claims with line-tagged evidence.
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to…
- Use text features (headings, subheadings, captions, diagrams/tables/maps) to locate, interpret, and integrate information (RI.5.7).
- Identify an article’s overall structure and compare/contrast how two texts on the same topic are organized (RI.5.5).
- Quote accurately and/or paraphrase to support analysis of features and structure (RI.5.1).
- Write concise, teaching captions and short analytical responses that cite specific lines or labels from visuals (RI.5.7, RI.5.1).
Standards Alignment — CCSS Grade 5
- RI.5.5, RI.5.7, RI.5.1
Success Criteria — student language
- I can name the structure (e.g., cause–effect) and point to signal words/sections that prove it.
- I can explain what a diagram/chart/map shows and why it matters to the paragraph near it.
- I can quote or paraphrase details with line/figure labels to support my point.
- My captions tell what it shows and why it matters.