Text Structure: Description

I have to admit that description has always been my least favorite text structure. It doesn't have the drama of cause and effect. It doesn't have the happy ending of problem and solution. For a writer, it doesn't offer the challenge of compare and contrast. Description just...is.

But several people asked if I was going to create a unit for description text structure, just as I've done for cause and effect, chronological order, problem/solution, and compare and contrast. When I looked around at my files, I realized that I really did already have some texts that fit the text structure.

And I enjoyed revisiting them. I found that the text structure of description can be interesting to write, and (hopefully!) to read. As I worked on "A Ferry to Cross the Water", I entertained family members with new and exciting facts about ferryboats. We don't have many ferries around here, so we all found the idea of a cruiseferry pretty interesting.

Revisiting "Schoolhouses of Long Ago" was a pleasure. This was one of the first longer texts that I tried to write, and I was pleased to work with it again. To add some complex text, I plumbed the depths of Google Books and found a book from 1832--with an author who had definite opinions about the state of America's schools. (Whatever problems my school may have, at least we are not subject to the "depredations of stray cattle" as described in the old book!)

You can find the resources for teaching description text here. I hope that you find them useful!