One reason it is beneficial is because it includes key vocabulary featured in both kinds of texts (Hill & Flynn 2006). The elements of each genre include specific vocabulary words that students need to know. With some direct instruction students could use this graphic organizer to identify these elements in text.
Another benefit to the organizer is its use of visuals and symbols. When students have visuals to use with identification it helps them understand the meaning and make connections (Hill & Flynn 2006). From there students can use language to explain and interpret the symbols as well (Hill & Flynn 2006).
I did have students in my classroom use this organizer and I supplied English language learners with sentence starters where they had to fill in a missing word and other students with missing phrase sentence starters. The students were very successful with this guided activity. The challenges they faced were filling in the character box (may not be the best representation for characters) and fitting facts into the ice cream cone shape. I could change the ice cream cone to a train or even make the cone the topic and layer three scoops of ice cream as the facts. Knowing my students and their learning styles and habits will make it manageable to adapt this graphic organizer or others to meet their needs. With more practice and some accommodation they will be able to identify these story features independently.
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