Narrative and Expository Texts

Narrative v. Expository
English language learners often encounter difficulties when reading narrative and expository texts due to the differences in structure, features, and conventions. Therefore, ELL students need to have the necessary tools in order to tackle each genre to ensure comprehension.


Narrative texts generally have a title page and a table of contents to introduce you to the text. The story structure consists of a setting, characters, a plot, and often times a theme, or overarching idea. The plot and theme could be difficult for an ELL student if they do not have the background knowledge to support it. They may not have had the experiences they need in order to connect to the story or to make meaning of the text.


Expository texts have more features that an ELL student needs to learn how to use in order for it to be a tool for them. Like narrative texts, they have a title page and a table of contents that can preview what they text is about. In addition, it has headings, captions, graphs, charts, and bold words. All of these things can help direct a student to important information; however, they need to know what they are and how to use them in order for them to provide any assistance. Likewise, an appendix, bibliography, glossary, and index are all features that need explicit instruction on how to use. These features can be overwhelming and confusing if you do not know their purpose, yet many ELL students can benefit from them if they know how and why they would use them.


Graphic Organizers
Graphic organizers are a great way to help students learn the different components of fiction and nonfiction texts and they serve as a tool to aide in comprehension. Below are some of my favorite graphic organizers:


Nonfiction:

A concept map is great for when students encounter new vocabulary in a text. In the concept map students list synonyms and antonyms for the word to help build a large bank of new vocabulary.

The second organizer is to help students identify the main idea and supporting details. This organizer helps students pull out the important information, which can then be used to support summary writing.


 


Fiction:
Story maps are simple, yet very helpful for kids who are working on the different elements of a story. It includes setting, characters, problem, events, and resolution.




 


 A Predicting Outcomes organizer is great because it teaches kids to use clues from the text, as well as background knowledge, to support their predictions.






Poetry:

In an inference graphic organizer students use details or statements from the poem and combine it with what they know to make an inference.

In the Thinking About Poetry organizer students write down what they are thinking after each stanza and provide evidence for why they think that. I like this organizer because it encourages students to think about and adjust their thinking as they gain new information from the text. 







Other great resources to find graphic organizers:
www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/