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Supporting Your Child’s Literacy Development: Craft and Structure in Informational Texts

When reading nonfiction, understanding how a text is organized is just as important as understanding the content itself. Nonfiction texts often use specific structures, such as headings, subheadings, and diagrams, to help guide the reader through the information.


These features allow readers to navigate the material more easily, making it simpler to grasp the main ideas and details.


Today, we’ll explore Craft and Structure in nonfiction texts with a fun and engaging activity called Headline Hero. This strategy will help your child understand how nonfiction writers organize their ideas and use features like headings to convey meaning.


What Is Craft and Structure in Informational Texts?

Craft and Structure in reading nonfiction refers to how well a student understands how a text is organized and how different features (like headings, subheadings, and charts) help convey information. These organizational tools guide the reader, making it easier to find key information and understand the main points.


For example, a text might use headings to break the material into sections, each focusing on a different aspect of the topic. Subheadings and bullet points further organize the information, and diagrams can help clarify complex ideas. Understanding these tools is essential for effectively navigating nonfiction texts, whether reading a science article, a history book, or a how-to guide.



Strategy: Headline Hero

Headline Hero is a simple strategy that teaches children how to recognize and use these organizational features in nonfiction texts. Here’s how you can practice this skill at home in just seven minutes:


Step 1: Choose a Nonfiction Passage

Pick a nonfiction text that includes headings or subheadings. This could be an article, a chapter from a nonfiction book, or any informational text that breaks the material into sections with clear labels. The key is to select a text that clearly uses headings to organize the information.


Step 2: Read Together

Spend the first 1-3 minutes reading the passage together. As you read, make sure to focus on the headings and pay attention to how they divide the content into different sections. You might want to read each section aloud or take turns, depending on your child’s reading level. The goal is to engage with the content while also being mindful of the organizational features of the text.


Step 3: Discuss the Headings

After reading, take 1-2 minutes to discuss the headings in the text. You can ask questions like:

  • “How do these headings help you understand what this section is about?”

  • “What information do you think we will learn in this section based on the heading?”


These questions will encourage your child to think critically about the headings and how they function as clues for understanding the text. Headings often give us a preview of what’s to come, so this step helps your child recognize their importance in guiding the reader.


Step 4: Create a New Heading

In the final 2-3 minutes, challenge your child to come up with a new heading for one part of the text. You can ask:

  • “If you were the author, what would you name this section?”

  • “Can you create a heading that summarizes the main idea of this section?”


This activity encourages your child to engage with the content more deeply, as they think about how to summarize key points in just a few words. It also helps them see headings not just as labels, but as tools for structuring and understanding information.



Why This Works

The Headline Hero strategy is effective because it emphasizes the importance of organizational features in nonfiction texts. By teaching your child to recognize and use headings, you’re helping them understand how nonfiction writers organize their ideas. This makes it easier for them to navigate the text, find the main points, and better retain the information.


Creating their own headings also encourages critical thinking. It forces your child to distill the main idea of a section into a few words, helping them practice summarization skills that are essential for comprehension and communication.


To see the Headline Hero strategy in action, check out our model lesson video! In this video, we demonstrate how to guide your child through the process of using headings to navigate a nonfiction text. It’s a great way to visualize the strategy and see how it can be implemented at home.


The Headline Hero strategy is a fun, interactive way to help your child understand the structure of nonfiction texts. By focusing on how headings and subheadings guide the reader, you’re helping your child become a more confident and effective nonfiction reader. Try out this activity today and watch your child’s understanding of nonfiction texts grow!


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