Hello, reader explorer! I am Piper, the penguin who loves sorting every text into the right iceberg box! 🧊

Today we will track down three big text types and the clues that reveal them.

We will investigate:

📖 Narrative texts that entertain with characters and events.

🧠 Informative texts that explain facts and ideas.

📣 Persuasive texts that try to convince us.

Then we will compare headings, diagrams, opinions, evidence, and author's purpose!

Ready to become a Text Type Tracker? Slide into the first clue! ❄️

A narrative is written to entertain us. It tells a story with a beginning, middle, and end.

Narratives usually have:

👧 Characters

🌳 A setting

⚡ A problem

✅ A resolution

Clue words might include feelings, actions, dialogue, and time words like one day or later.

An informative text is written to inform or explain. It teaches us facts.

These texts often use:

🔹 headings and subheadings

🔹 diagrams or labels

🔹 topic words

🔹 facts instead of opinions

Piper says: if the writer is teaching how something works, that is a huge informative clue!

A persuasive text tries to make the reader agree with the writer.

It often includes:

💬 an opinion

💪 reasons

📌 evidence or examples

🗣️ strong words like must, best, or important

Readers should look at the features around the words too.

Narratives might use paragraphs, dialogue, and pictures of characters.

Informative texts may include headings, captions, diagrams, charts, and bold words.

Persuasive texts might use slogans, rhetorical questions, and reasons grouped into paragraphs.

When you are unsure, ask: What is the writer trying to do?

The author's purpose is the reason the text was written.

There are three big purpose questions:

1️⃣ Is the writer trying to entertain me?

2️⃣ Is the writer trying to inform me?

3️⃣ Is the writer trying to persuade me?

Some texts blend purposes, but one purpose is usually strongest.

For challenge questions, choose the main purpose, not just a tiny detail.

Sometimes a question asks you to compare texts. Here is Piper's quick routine:

🔹 Find each text's purpose.

🔹 Notice the features.

🔹 Look at the language.

For example, a story about a lost puppy and a fact sheet about caring for puppies are both about dogs, but they are not the same text type.

Topic does not decide the text type. Purpose and structure do.