Find information, paragraph topics and procedural connections

Learning goal: Use headings, a glossary, an index, a menu with icons, a caption and a diagram to locate facts; identify the topic of a whole informational text and the focus of individual paragraphs; and explain why steps occur in an order. This original classroom procedure describes an invented paper-sharing system. It provides all the information needed for the questions, so outside knowledge is not required.

Original information text — Our Classroom Paper Library

1. What we keep: Our paper library holds clean sheets that students can use again. A sheet with one blank side goes in the reuse tray. Paper that is wet or has private information stays out of this tray; ask the teacher where it belongs. The tray is for usable classroom paper, not every material that can be recycled.

2. How we sort: First, check that a sheet is clean and has a blank side. Next, place it in the tray with the blank side facing up. Last, choose one sheet when you need drawing or practice paper. Checking comes before placing because an unsuitable sheet should not enter the shared tray.

3. How we find supplies: A label reading REUSE PAPER marks the tray. A separate box marked PENCILS holds writing tools. Keep the path to both containers clear. If the tray is empty, tell the teacher before taking paper from another storage place.

Glossary: Reuse means use again. Blank means having no writing or drawing on that side. Label means a short written name that identifies something.

Index: blank side, parts 1 and 2 · empty tray, part 3 · labels, part 3 · pencils, part 3 · reuse tray, parts 1, 2 and 3 · sorting steps, part 2

On-screen menu: On the invented class web page, the same text has a menu of three buttons. Each button has an icon, a small picture that stands for its section: a tray icon for What we keep, a numbered-list icon for How we sort and a tag icon for How we find supplies. Choosing a button jumps to that section.

Read the whole text before deciding its main topic. All three paragraphs explain the classroom paper library: what belongs there, how to use it and how to locate supplies. The text is not mainly about making pencils, because pencils appear only as one supply detail. A main topic should fit the whole passage, not merely one interesting sentence.

Each paragraph has a narrower focus. What we keep describes suitable sheets. How we sort describes an ordered process. How we find supplies describes labels, locations and what to do if supplies run out. Headings help predict those focuses and return quickly to a needed detail. They are useful guides, but read the paragraph to confirm the actual information.

A procedure describes how to do something. Its steps are connected by order and purpose. First check the sheet, then place a suitable sheet in the tray, and later select one when needed. Reversing the first two steps could put unsuitable paper in the shared tray. The words first, next and last signal order; the sentence beginning Checking explains the reason for that order.

The diagram represents this sequence with numbered pictures and arrows. The first picture shows a sheet being checked, the second a tray holding a blank-side-up sheet, and the third a sheet ready for a new drawing. Arrows indicate the reading order of this procedure. They do not show paper flying between boxes or the physical distance between classroom objects.

Use text features for a purpose. To find the definition of reuse, go to the glossary. To find what happens when the tray is empty, scan the bold subheadings for the supply heading and read its paragraph. Bold print marks the start of a section; it does not mean the words must be shouted. The index gives another quick way in. An index lists topics in ABC order and tells where each one is found. Look under E for empty tray: the entry sends you to part 3, so you read one paragraph instead of the whole text. In a longer book, an index gives page numbers instead of part numbers.

On a screen, an electronic menu does a similar job. The menu lists the sections in the order they appear, and each button's icon is a quick picture clue. To read the sorting steps on the class web page, choose the button with the numbered-list icon. An icon is only a clue, so read the words on the button too. A caption is another feature: it is the sentence printed with a picture that tells what the picture shows. The caption with this lesson's diagram says the numbered pictures follow the routine and the arrows show order. Practice these features with an adult-selected book and website as well as this short passage.

The author's main purpose is to explain a paper-sharing routine. The text answers what belongs in the tray and how students use it. A reader might also enjoy helping classmates, but that possible feeling is different from identifying what the author explains. Support a purpose statement with the actual content.

Worked example 1: Ask “What does blank mean here?” The glossary defines it as no writing or drawing on that side. A sheet can have writing on the other side and still qualify if it is otherwise suitable.

Worked example 2: Ask “Why check first?” The procedure says an unsuitable sheet should not enter the shared tray. Explain the connection between the check and the next action instead of merely reciting first and next.

Worked feature choice: Question: where do pencils go? The index entry pencils points to part 3. Go to the heading How we find supplies and read: a separate box marked PENCILS holds writing tools. On the class web page, the tag icon's button opens the same section. Either feature finds the fact without rereading parts 1 and 2.

Worked example 3: State the whole-text topic as the classroom paper library. Then state the second paragraph's focus as the order for checking, placing and choosing paper. The two answers have different scopes and can both be correct.

Guided practice: Ask and answer who uses the paper, what qualifies, where suitable sheets go, when a sheet is chosen, why checking comes first and how labels help. Demonstrate locating answers through headings and the glossary. Track the numbered diagram while rereading the procedure.

Independent tasks: Give the main topic, identify all three paragraph focuses, explain one step connection and describe how a particular diagram panel clarifies the text. Find a real index entry and an adult-selected electronic menu, then explain how each helps locate information. These additional feature tasks need direct observation.

Feedback: If a learner puts all paper in the tray, return to the stated conditions and exclusions. If the main topic names only pencils, ask whether it fits paragraphs one and two. Accept concise paraphrases that preserve the procedure's meaning, and distinguish reading this routine from a universal rule for every classroom.