Main content
Course: 6th grade reading & vocabulary > Unit 3
Lesson 5: Reading for understanding: informational text; Boyan Slat- How can a text have two or more main ideas? | Reading
- How do writers use examples to get their points across? | Reading
- Reading more than one source on a topic | Reading
- Ocean Conservation: reading informational text; Boyan Slat and Plastic Pollution 6
© 2024 Khan AcademyTerms of usePrivacy PolicyCookie Notice
How do writers use examples to get their points across? | Reading
Examples are powerful tools for both readers and writers! As writers, we can use them to make arguments stronger. As readers, we're engaged in a push-and-pull with writers, and have to think critically about how examples are used in a text. By analyzing examples, we can determine their purpose, connection to the text, and identify any patterns or questions they raise.
Want to join the conversation?
- Jumping off beds sounds fun -_-||(54 votes)
- Yes very fun >:3 (totally don’t fall off my bed every single day.nervous laughter)(54 votes)
- Hi i think is good(26 votes)
- He probaly meant the video was good. @TheUnlockerWin10Subscribers(3 votes)
- i wonder why children jumped of their beds and got hurt.1:29(20 votes)
- They wanted to defy gravity.(25 votes)
- Can someone please tell me how David just draws like it is nothing, he drew a whole pathway in less than 5 seconds. David's drawings are too good and you can decide to hate this subjective statement, but it's true.(8 votes)
- He's a very good artist but i think that he also fast forwards a lot(2 votes)
- What does it mean to be a sceptical reader?(7 votes)
- What is the meaning of life?
Will someone explain this for me?(6 votes)- The true purpose of living is to enjoy what you have in your life. You were born with the power to make your own paths and decisions that will lead you to an eventual end. You were born to enjoy the moments and things you have to experience. Finding peace with yourself and the world around you is a great method to find who you are as a person and who you can become.(4 votes)
- What does making bubble tea from scratch have to do with reading?(5 votes)
- It's just an example(8 votes)
- why are kids jumping out of windows, just why would you do that?(6 votes)
- because there are more kids like me in the world..
jk id never do that.. without reason ofc(3 votes)
- David is the best(5 votes)
- what are good sentece starters(3 votes)
- It depends on the sentence. Some examples are
The lazy cat is sleeping.
Jill is yelling at her friend.
I want to go to the store.
First eat a cookie.
Does that make any sense(5 votes)
Video transcript
- [David] Hello, readers. Today I wanna talk about examples and how writers use them
in informational text. As writers, we employ examples to help explain ideas. And as readers, we use those examples to grab hold of those ideas and better understand them. If I tell you that I have weird hobbies, I need to back up that
statement with some examples. I need to illustrate
just how weird they are. So if I say my hobbies
include going for walks, reading books, and drinking tea, those are very ordinary interests, they're not weird at all. Not a good example. I need to be more selective and better support my claim that my hobbies are strange. So instead, I could say my
hobbies include puppeteering, making bubble tea from scratch, and learning to read Middle English. Well, now we're getting somewhere, right? Now you're starting to understand just how much of a
weirdo this David guy is. What is the function of an example? What does it do? When you come across an example, ask yourself, what purpose
does this example serve? Why did the author
introduce this detail here? How does this example
connect to the text overall? Does it form a pattern with other details? And if so, what does that pattern tell me? And finally we ask ourselves, does this example raise other questions? Let's look at a text and
evaluate its examples. Here's an excerpt from a piece about the author J.M. Barrie, the creator of "Peter Pan". "Barrie didn't have just one version "of the "Peter Pan" story, "he made changes along the way. "For example, he learned "that children were copying Peter Pan "and trying to jump out
of their beds to fly. "Some of them were getting badly injured! "So Barrie added the rule
that in order to fly, "you had to have fairy or pixie dust "blown on you first. "By adding this rule, "J.M. Barrie was trying to
help children understand "that flying is magical, "so that they wouldn't try to do it themselves and get hurt." So the author is saying that
J.M. Barrie changed "Peter Pan" and then he gives an
example of the change. Let's zero in on that example and ask those questions
that we just went over. So for this example, what is its purpose? Well, it does a couple of things. It shows us that J.M. Barrie was willing to make changes to his story after it was initially published. It shows us that the author
wants to portray Barrie as a responsible person. He heard about children
injuring themselves by copying his story and so he made an effort to prevent that by changing a detail in the story. It's also a pretty specific
example that I can picture. I can imagine kids
jumping off of tall things and getting hurt, and Barrie feeling worried about that. And because I can picture it, I can better understand it, which helps me better
understand the overall text. I only excerpted a small
portion of this text. So I'm not gonna ask how it
connects to the text overall. But this example does raise
other questions for me, like what other children's fiction accidentally encourages people to do dangerous stunts at home? Like jumping off your bed? Examples are really powerful! They can shape a reader's
impression of a topic. As a writer, employ them tactically to help develop someone's understanding. Recognize that when a series
of examples comes in sequence, it tells a story, and story is an incredibly powerful tool. Use it responsibly. As a reader, understand the
power that examples have and pay attention to
how they're being used. A well-chosen example or two can create a false narrative. As readers, we are engaged in
a push and pull with writers, especially when they are trying
to convince us of something. Make a writer work to convince you. Read with a skeptical attitude. And if you can do that,
you can learn anything. David, out.