Fill with Signals

This interactive worksheet helps students in Grades 4, 5, and 6 strengthen reading comprehension and vocabulary skills by focusing on signal words that reveal how informational texts are organized. Students complete short passages by selecting appropriate transitions and connectors-such as because, unlike, next, and as a result-from a word bank. Each passage is built around one text structure, allowing learners to see how specific signal words guide meaning, sequence ideas, and clarify relationships between concepts.

Learning Goals

• Identifying Structural Signals (Grades 4-6)
  Students recognize how transition words indicate text structures like cause/effect, compare/contrast, chronological order, problem/solution, and description.
• Vocabulary Development and Word Choice
  Learners practice selecting precise connectors that fit context and meaning.
• Understanding Logical Relationships
  Students analyze how ideas are linked through cause, comparison, sequence, and explanation.
• Improving Reading Comprehension
  Recognizing signal words helps students better understand how informational texts are organized.

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created and Standards-Aligned
  Designed by educators to support informational reading, vocabulary, and writing standards.
• Hands-On, Interactive Format
  Fill-in-the-blank passages actively engage students in analyzing structure.
• Supports Writing Skills
  Reinforces how transitions create coherence and clarity in students’ own writing.
• Flexible Classroom and Homeschool Use
  Ideal for literacy lessons, centers, independent practice, or formative assessment.

This printable worksheet helps students develop stronger nonfiction reading and writing skills by focusing on the role of signal words in text organization. By filling in transitions and connectors, learners gain confidence in recognizing structure, understanding relationships between ideas, and applying cohesive language in their own writing. Suitable for classroom and homeschool settings, this resource supports clear comprehension and purposeful communication in informational texts.

This worksheet is part of our Identifying Text Structures collection.