Non-Fiction Text Structure Identifying & Analyzing for Understanding created by Laurie Walsh Copyright ©2013 all rights reserved

Why? Authors of non-fiction use text structure to organize information This helps readers find what they need quickly and keep their thinking organized. (Just like honeybees organize their hives so they don’t waste time.) And... it helps writers organize THEIR thinking! created by Laurie Walsh Copyright ©2013 all rights reserved

Description created by Laurie Walsh Copyright ©2013 all rights reserved

Description What author does:Words to watch for: explains topic, idea, person, place or thing may list characteristics, features, examples focuses on one topic such as for instance characteristics are for example in addition also most important created by Laurie Walsh Copyright ©2013 all rights reserved

Questions to Ask Yourself... 1.What is being described? 2.How is it described? 3.What are the most important traits or characteristics? 4.Can the topic be classified? created by Laurie Walsh Copyright ©2013 all rights reserved

Honeybee Hives A beehive is an enclosed structure where honeybees create their home. There are many types of hives. Specifically, some bees live in man- made hives. These hives are made from wood and look like a tall dresser with drawers. Some hives are made of large baskets turned upside-down. Often, wild bees find their own hive locations, such as in tree hollows. No matter the exterior, the interior of hives are very similar. Bees create hexagonal cells out of wax (excreted from their bodies) that are called honeycomb. In addition to storing honey, the honeycomb houses the larvae and as well as the pollen stores and honey. created by Laurie Walsh Copyright ©2013 all rights reserved

Problem & Solution created by Laurie Walsh Copyright ©2013 all rights reserved

Problem & Solution What author does:Words to watch for: states problem offers solution(s) to the problem could include pros and cons of the solutions problem solution issue main challenge this led to therefore if, then as a result created by Laurie Walsh Copyright ©2013 all rights reserved

Questions to Ask Yourself... 1.What is the problem? 2.What is the solution? 3.What is the cause of the problem? created by Laurie Walsh Copyright ©2013 all rights reserved

Honeybee Health Over the last several year, the honeybee has faced a great many problems; the largest of these is pesticides. Scientists believe that as a result of farmers using insecticides to kill harmful insects, this leads to accidentally harming the bees. In Europe last year, government officials had an idea... ban the pesticides that are believed to be causing the death of the bees. Time will tell, but it looks like they may have found a solution. The initial results look promising as bee populations seem to be thriving and healthy. created by Laurie Walsh Copyright ©2013 all rights reserved

Compare & Contrast created by Laurie Walsh Copyright ©2013 all rights reserved

Compare & Contrast What author does:Words to watch for: explains how two or more things are alike and different compared contrast similar both as opposed to like, unlike as well as difference on the other hand created by Laurie Walsh Copyright ©2013 all rights reserved

Questions to Ask Yourself... 1.What is being compared? 2.What characteristics do they have in common? 3.What characteristics belong solely to one? 4.How are they the same? 5.How are they different? created by Laurie Walsh Copyright ©2013 all rights reserved

Honeybees vs. Bumblebees Honeybees and bumblebees seem quite similar, but they are actually quite different! Both are types of bees of course, but that’s where the similarities end. The body of a honeybee is slender, as opposed to the bumblebee’s, which is quite round. The bumblebee is much larger in size in contrast to the smaller honeybee; although both do have furry bodies for pollen collection. Honeybees are very social creatures and depend largely on the work of all of the colony members to survive, unlike bumblebees that generally lives a solitary life. created by Laurie Walsh Copyright ©2013 all rights reserved

Cause & Effect created by Laurie Walsh Copyright ©2013 all rights reserved

Cause & Effect What author does:Words to watch for: lists one or more events and the consequence of those events explains how or why something happened problem is since consequently causes the effect of as a result due to as a result of if/then brought on by influenced by created by Laurie Walsh Copyright ©2013 all rights reserved

Questions to Ask Yourself... 1.What happened and why? 2.Were there many causes? 3.Were there many results? created by Laurie Walsh Copyright ©2013 all rights reserved

The Smoker Beekeepers the world over use smoke to calm their bees. Why does smoke have that effect on bees? The calming effect is due to an adaptation in the bees. When the beekeeper pumps the smoke around the hive it leads to the masking of the “alarm pheromones” (or scent) that the bees give off when they’re panicked due to an intruder. Another instinctive behavior the smoke causes is one of “flight due to danger” - in other words, they get ready to abandon the hive. Because the bees think there is a fire, they eat a lot of the honey to tide them over until they can create more. The result of that is that it slows them down. As a consequence of both of these triggers, the bee keeper can interact with the bees and their hive without agitating them. As a result, the bees are much calmer, do not get stressed, and do not sting the bee keeper (as much!) created by Laurie Walsh Copyright ©2013 all rights reserved

Sequenc e created by Laurie Walsh Copyright ©2013 all rights reserved

Sequence What author does:Words to watch for: lists items or events in chronological order writes the information in the steps that it occurs lists items or events in number order time related words first, second, third next last after before following preceding created by Laurie Walsh Copyright ©2013 all rights reserved

Questions to Ask Yourself... 1.What are the steps or directions to follow? 2.What sequence of events is the author describing? 3.What is the first of the events? 4.What is the final event? created by Laurie Walsh Copyright ©2013 all rights reserved

Honeybee Life Cycle - The Worker The honeybee worker starts out its first stage of life like most insects: as an egg. First, the queen bee lays an egg in a cell of the hive. After about 3 days, the egg turns into a larva. The nurse bees feed each larva bee milk as they grow. Then, after about 10 days the larva turns into a pupa and the worker bees finally cap the cell where the pupa stays for days. Lastly, the bee emerges and gets ready for her very, very busy, albeit short, life. created by Laurie Walsh Copyright ©2013 all rights reserved