Understanding Relationships in Informational Texts
Understanding Relationships in Informational Texts Objective: Students will learn to describe the relationship between two individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in an informational text by analyzing specific details in the text.
Learning Objectives
- Identify two individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in an informational text.
- Describe how these are related using details from the text.
- Use evidence from the text to explain the relationship clearly.
Materials Needed
- A short informational article suitable for 7-year-olds (e.g., about animals, simple historical events, or science topics)
- Paper and pencils
- Highlighters or colored pencils
- Chart paper or whiteboard
Key Vocabulary
- Informational Text
- A type of writing that gives facts about a topic, like books, articles, or reports.
- Relationship
- How two people, events, ideas, or things are connected or related.
- Details
- Small pieces of information that help explain or describe something.
Detailed Activities
Exploring Relationships in a Text
- Read the selected informational article aloud together or have the student read it independently.
- Discuss who or what the main people, events, or ideas in the article are.
- On chart paper or whiteboard, write down two key individuals, events, ideas, or concepts from the text.
- Use highlighters or colored pencils to find and mark details in the text that show how these two are connected.
- Together, describe the relationship between these two things using the details found.
- Have the student write a few sentences explaining this relationship in their own words.
Parent & Instructor Notes
- Encourage your child to take their time reading and to ask questions if anything is unclear.
- Help them by pointing out clues in the text that show connections, like words such as ‘because,’ ‘therefore,’ or ‘together.’
- Praise their efforts to explain relationships, even if their sentences are simple – understanding comes with practice.
Assessment Questions
- Who are two key individuals, events, ideas, or concepts from the article?
- What details in the text show how these two things are related?
- Can you explain in your own words how these two things connect or affect each other?
Extension Ideas
- Find another informational article and repeat the activity with a new pair of individuals, events, or ideas.
- Draw a diagram or picture showing the relationship between the two things from the text.
- Create a simple story or example that shows a similar relationship in real life.
Frequently Asked Questions
Try reading the text together a second time and look for connecting words like ‘because,’ ‘so,’ or ‘then.’ You can also ask guiding questions about how the two things might affect each other.
Go over the vocabulary words before reading, and use simple examples or pictures to explain them. Encourage your child to ask about any new words.
Teacher’s Guide
Common Misconceptions:
- Students may confuse the main idea with the relationship between two items.
- Students might give general descriptions instead of focusing on the connection shown by details.
Scaffolding Ideas:
For Struggling Students:
- Provide a graphic organizer with two columns for the two individuals or ideas and their details.
- Use shorter or simpler texts with clear relationships.
- Read the text aloud and discuss each paragraph before moving on.
For Advanced Students:
- Challenge them to find multiple relationships within the text.
- Ask them to explain how the relationship affects the overall meaning of the text.
- Encourage them to use more complex sentences and vocabulary in their explanations.
Pacing Recommendations:
- Spend about 10 minutes reading and discussing the text.
- Use 15 minutes to identify and highlight relationships and details.
- Spend the last 20 minutes writing and reviewing explanations together.
Standards
- 7.RI.6 — Describe the relationship between two individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.
Printable Worksheet
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