Having Fun with Common Core: Text Structures, Chronology

At grades 4 and 5, CCSS for ELA in the Reading Informational Text #5 focuses on Text Structures—chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution.

Craft & Structure #5
Grade 4	Grade 5
Describe the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in a text or part of a text.	Compare and contrast the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more texts.

Chronology text structures are easy to find—just look at some biographies or history books. Some good choices include:

Balloons Over Broadway byMelissa Sweet

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba andBryan Mealer

The Boy Who Invented TV: The Story of Philo Farnsworth by Kathleen Krull

The Day-Glo Brothers by Chris Barton (illus. Tony Persiani)

The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins by Barbara Kerley (illus Brian Selznick)

The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau by Dan Yaccarino

Mama Miti by Donna Jo Napoli (illus Kadir Nelson)

Marvelous Mattie by Emily Arnold McCully

Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai by Claire A. Nivola

Pop: The Invention of Bubble Gum by Megan McCarthy

Rocks in His Head by Carol Otis Hurst

The Secret World of Walter Anderson by Hester Bass (E.B. Lewis)

Those Rebels, John & Tom by Barbara Kerley (illus. Edwin Fotheringham)

What to Do About Alice? by Barbara Kerley illus. Edwin Fotheringham)

Life cycle books are also a good choice. Here are some of my favorites:

 Arctic Lights, Arctic Nights by Debbie S. Miller

Family Pack by Sandra Markle (illus. Alan Marks)

Little Lost Bat by Sandra Markle (illus. Alan Marks)

A Mother’s Journey by Sandra Markle (illus. Alan Marks)

Waiting for Ice by Sandra Markle (illus. Alan Marks)

What to Expect When You’re Expecting Hatchlings: A Guide for Reptile Parents (and Curious Kids) by Bridget Heos

What to Expect When You’re Expecting Joeys: A Guide for Marsupial Parents (and Curious Kids) by Bridget Heos

What to Expect When You’re Expecting Larvae: A Guide for Insect Parents (and Curious Kids) by Bridget Heos

Where Butterflies Grow by Joanne Ryder (illus Lynne Cherry)

The Bumblebee Queen by April Pulley Sayre (illus Patricia J. Wynne)

I’ll talk about other kinds of text structures next week. Stay tuned.