Non-Fiction Text Structures with Gail Gibbons

Learning and understanding the five text structures for non-fiction can be hard for 8 and 9 year old students.  In fact, it can be hard on a teacher to teach the five text structures to 8 and 9 year old students.  But luckily, Gail Gibbons has made it a little easier on all of us!
Non-fiction texts are not my students first choice of genre to read.  Plus, informational text is a huge part of the state reading assessment in Ohio.  Exposing my students to all kinds of non-fiction is crucial when it comes to third grade.  So, I know that I need to spend quite a bit of time each year discussing "structure" and how it can help students understand the way in which an author builds a text.  Text structure refers to the way  an author organizes information in a text.  Teaching our students to recognize the structure of content-area texts, can help students focus attention on concepts, relationships, and help them monitor their comprehension as they read.

Since there are five nonfiction text structures (description, sequence, problem & solution, compare & contrast, and cause & effect), I usually spend a day on each one.  Pinterest and Teachers Pay Teachers have been such time-savers and life-savers when it comes to teaching this skill.   Before I jump ahead to how Gail Gibbons ties into all this,  let me quickly give you an overview of how I usually teach non-fiction text structures to my students.

I start the unit usually mid-year (that way the students have a solid foundation of reading skills before discussing text structure).  First, I have the students create a text structure resource (flip chart), while I fill in our text structure anchor chart.  Along with discussing the definitions, signal words, and graphic organizers for each structure, I also read a non-fiction picture book each day that represents the particular structure. The Teacher Next Door has a great list of picture books that I use each year. For example, I read What the Moon is Like by Franklyn M. Branley to introduction description. Along with reading a picture book, we explored my classroom library to look for other non-fiction texts that represent the particular structure of the day.  Thank you to Teaching with a Mountain View and The Teacher Next Door for some great resources and ideas.
The fun begins after the five days of teaching the text structures.  Once the students learn all five, it's time for the students to apply their knowledge.  We do partner work using informational non-fiction task cards on text structure, complete a carousel activity where the
students apply their text structure knowledge to one topic, and students also work independently on identifying text structures of short reading passages to monitor student's knowledge.   We wrap it all up by playing a board game called Text Structure: Whats the Scoop?

OK.....Are you asking yourself, "How does Gail Gibbons tie into all of this?"  Let me explain....

One afternoon, this past winter, I was cleaning up my classroom before leaving for the night.  I was picking up the millions of pencils on the floor, putting desks back into collaborative circles, and straightening up my library.  As I was straightening up my book baskets, I noticed one of my Gail Gibbons books was placed in the the Jan Brett basket.  I grabbed it,  put it back into the correctly labeled basket, but felt an urge to thumb through my Gail Gibbons collection.  It suddenly dawned on me that Gail does such a great job of using a variety different text structures in her writing. (Don't you just love that our teacher brains never turn off!) I didn't have much time to explore because I had to leave school, but I knew I could explore this idea further that night at the public library with my own kids.

After reading through all my personal Gail Gibbons books and exploring the available public library books, I came to the conclusion that Gail Gibbons does a fantastic job writing her books with the purpose of certain text structures.  Take a look at some of my finds below (these are only a few....).
Authors write non-fiction texts to describe and tell the reader about something or about a place.  This text structure is called description.  Owls by Gail Gibbons describes the many different kinds of owls, their habitats, life styles, and much more.  Description signal words (or transition words) may include words such as: characteristicsalsofor examplemost important, to illustrate, and in fact.  Owls  include labeled illustrations, diagrams, and definitions.
Authors write non-fiction texts by describing items or events in order.  This text structure can also show the steps of something. In Ice Cream: The Full Scoop, Gail Gibbons writes in detail the history of ice cream and includes the journey of ice cream from farm to factory to freezer.  Signal words that are found in this text structure include: firstbeginsthennextbeginning, and finally. Other books that show sequence by Gail Gibbons include From Seed to Plant and Sunken Treasure.
Authors can also write an informational text to show how one or more causes lead to one or more effects.  Gail Gibbons wrote The Reasons for Seasons, which is written to explain how the position of Earth in relation to the sun causes our four seasons.  Signal words for a cause and effect text structure can be: so, sincebecauseif...thenthis led todue to, and for this reason.  I found this text structure to be the hardest for my students.
Authors will write a text to show how two or more ideas or items are similar and different.  This text structure is fairly easy for students to understand.  These texts may use a clustered approach where the author gives details about one topic followed by details about the other.   On the other hand, texts could be written with an alternating approach where the author goes back and forth between the two topics.  Signal words for this text structure can include: same assimilaralikeas well asdifferon the other hand, bothinstead, and but.  Gail Gibbons wrote Marshes & Swamps to explain how marshes and swamps are alike and different by the animals and plant life that can be found in them.

Problem and solution text structure is written to present a problem, and show how it can be (or has been) solved.  This structure can be tricky because it can sometimes be confused with cause and effect.  Such signal words can include: to solve thissolutionproblemthe puzzle is..., the dilemma is..., and one answer is... An example of a Gail Gibbons book that demonstrates the text structure of problem and solution is Recycle!.  Recycle! graphically illustrates the contents of a landfill and how recycling can down on the need for landfills.

How do you teach text structure to your students?  Do you have a favorite author to use when teaching text structure?  Share your thoughts with me!!


  1. Wow!! What a post!! There are a lot of ideas to think over and then work to apply. Thank you!

    1. Thank you! It is definitely a skill students need to practice a lot!

  2. I am so glad you wrote this post up. I just taught text structure to my kids, and I think I want to pull these to show a bit more. Thanks Sarah.

    1. Thank you. It's crazy how many books Gail Gibbons has to offer, and so many uses for them, as well!