Thanksgiving Reading Comprehension Passages for Text Structure - PDF and Digital

Make nonfiction text structure fun and easy to teach this Thanksgiving with high-interest reading passages! This bestselling set of Thanksgiving reading comprehension passages, graphic organizers, and nonfiction text structure lesson plans will provide the perfect activities to fill your Thanksgiving week with fascinating facts and rigorous reading practice! (Don't worry, Virginia teachers: the vocabulary page is also adapted for teaching this topic as organizational pattern.)

Here's what's included:

• 6 reading passages on the following topics:
• Thanksgiving Traditions (description)
• Thanksgiving Around the World (description)
• Thanksgiving in the Great White North (compare and contrast)
• Healthy Eating: Thanksgiving Edition (problem and solution)
• The History of Pie (sequence/chronological order)
• What's the Deal With Black Friday? (cause and effect)
• Reading check questions (one page for each passage)
• Graphic organizers (two bubble maps, a sequence chart, two different flow charts, and a Venn diagram)
• Lesson ideas
• Text structure notes page
• Organizational pattern notes page aligned with Virginia SOL ("organizational pattern" and "generalization" terms used instead)
• Google Slides version
• Easel Activity
• Answer keys

This resource includes the following digital versions:

• Google Slides (link in PDF)
• Easel Activity (link in My Purchases)

Need more Thanksgiving reading activities? Pair this resource with Thanksgiving Nonfiction Text Features, or purchase both in the complete Thanksgiving Nonfiction Bundle!

Each passage is written in one of the five main text structures (description, cause and effect, problem and solution, compare and contrast, and sequence/chronological order) and comes with a specifically designed graphic organizer that students can use to map the main ideas. There are also five reading comprehension questions to use with each article.

I've included a text structure vocabulary page with definitions and cue words for each type of text structure (plus a separate vocabulary page for Virginia teachers using the terms "organizational pattern" and "generalization" instead), as well as two lesson ideas - one group project for a 2-3 day period (great for practicing with text structure) and one that can fill part of a class period each day for six days for a more in-depth look at each text structure.

Text structure can be a difficult topic to teach, since students really need to read several full-length texts in order to get a sense of how each one works. I've simplified the process for you by providing clear-cut examples of each one in engaging, holiday-themed articles - all in a simple, easy-to-implement format. I hope your students enjoy learning fun facts about Thanksgiving while they practice nonfiction reading skills!

Answer keys are included.

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