Text Features Lesson

Text Features

Text Features Help Students
Understand Nonfiction Text

Examples of Text
Features
With Definitions

Explanations for
How Text Features
Help Readers

What are text features?

• Authors include text features to help the

reader better understand what they have read.

• Text features provide information that may not

be written in the text itself.

• Text features can be found in textbooks,

magazine articles, newspapers, reports, web
pages, and other forms of nonfiction text.

Table of Contents

•Lists the major parts
of a book along with
their page numbers.

•It outlines the main
topics or main points.

•Readers can use the
table of contents to
help locate
information in the
book and see how
everything is
organized.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: All About Animals
Animal Adaptations ……..Page 1
Animal Food……….……..Page 2
Animal Habitats . ………..Page 3
Animal Homes ..……….…Page 4
Chapter 2: All About Plants
Photosynthesis ………….Page 5
Types of Plants ………….Page 6


Where would a reader find information about where an animal lives?

Draw

Circle the page where a reader can find information about where an animal lives.

Glossary

•A list of key terms in
alphabetical order.

•Each key word is defined.

•Sometimes a glossary also
tells you how to
pronounce a word.

•Readers use the glossary
to look up key terms to
find out their meaning.
This helps the reader
better learn and
understand the subject.

A
Acid rain (AS ihd rayn) rain
that carries certain kind of
pollution.
Adapt (uh DAPT) to change in
order to survive in new
environments

How would the glossary help
the reader understand text
about animal adaptations?

Open Ended

How would the glossary help the reader understand text about animal adaptations?

The reader would understand animal adaptations better because the glossary tells the reader what it means to adaptl

​

How would the glossary help the reader understand text about animal adaptations?

Index

•Is an alphabetical
listing of the key
names, terms,
events, and topics
with page
numbers.

•Readers use the
index to help find
pages that
contain
information they
are looking for.

A
Abu Simbel, temple of, p73
Acadia, Canada, 212-213
Acid rain, 396, c396-c397, 396-397
Animal Adaptations p1
Animal Food p2
Animal Habitats p3
Animal Homes p5

​Where would a reader find information in the text about acid rain?

Multiple Choice

​Where would a reader find information in the text about animal homes?

• p73

• p1

• p5

• p397-397

Titles

•Titles tell the reader the
topic of the text.

•Titles show the main idea
of the text.

•Titles help the reader by
letting them know what
they are about to read.

•Titles focus the reader on a
topic so they can make
connections between what
they already know and the
text.

What do the titles of the
articles in these
newspapers tell you?

Open Ended

What do the titles of the articles in these newspapers tell you?

What do the titles of the articles in these newspapers tell you?

The titles are about space, so the articles should also be about space.

Multiple Choice

How does this subtitle provide more information to the reader?

• It provides more details about what specifically is in the article.

• It provides a vocabulary lesson on what "belched" means.

​The pictures would help me understand what manatees and macaws look like and where they live.

​

How might these
photos help the reader
understand the text?

Captions

•A caption
explains what
is shown in a
picture or
illustration.

•Captions help
the reader
understand
information
that may or
may not be in
the text.

Photo by MARCIN SZCZEPANSKI
These gold coins were found on
the ocean floor!

How does this caption help the reader
understand the picture? If this article was
about finding treasure, how would this caption
help the reader understand the text?

Open Ended

How does this caption help the reader understand the picture?  If this article was about finding treasure, how would this caption help the reader understand the text?

Subheadings

•Subheadings divide the
text into sections.

•Subheadings tell the
main idea of each section
of text.

•They are printed in large
or bold type to make
them stand out.

•Subheadings help the
reader to locate
information in the text
by telling them where to
look.

Helpful Ants
Although ants are frustrating when they get in
homes, ants do help the environment. They
help control the population of damaging pests
such as termites.

Types of Ants
Types of ants include fire ants, which cause a
painful sting, and carpenter ants, which
damage wood structures while nest building.
Other types of ants include honey, pharaoh,
house, Argentine, and the thief ant.

Where would the reader look
to find out about a fire ant?

Draw

Circle the subheading which lets readers know where to look in order to find out about a fire ant.

Types of Ants

Text (Bold, Color, & Italics)

•The style and color of the text
sends the reader signals
about how to read the
content.

•Key words to notice are in
bold or in color.

•Text in italics is used in
picture captions, book titles,
and any other element that
needs to stand out.

•Text in bold, color, or italics
draw the readers attention to
important information.

The Wetlands of the South
Why are the South’s wetlands so
important?
The Okefenokee (oh kuh fuh NOH
kee) Swamp is a large wetland in
the South. A wetland is a place
where the ground is soaked with
water for at least part of the year.

How do the words in italics
help the reader understand
the text?

Open Ended

How do the words in italics help the reader understand the text?

Textbox

•A textbox provides
more information than
is in the text about a topic.

•A textbox can include
interesting facts or
important information
the author wants the
reader to know.

•Textboxes help readers
understand by creating
interest or emphasizing
important information.

One of the textboxes above asks
the reader to solve a mystery
about a Tasmanian Devil. Why
would he include this mystery?

Open Ended

One of the textboxes above asks
the reader to solve a mystery
about a Tasmanian Devil. Why
would an author include this mystery?

Maps

•Maps are drawings that
show the basic shape of the
land and other geographical,
political, or historical
features.

•They present information in
a visual form.

•They help the reader
understand where an event
happens.

•They help the reader
understand how far away an
event took place.

How would a map of the
United States help the
reader understand an
article about Texas?

Open Ended

How would a map of the

United States help the

reader understand an

article about Texas?

Diagrams

•A diagram is a drawing
that shows or explains
something.

•Help understand steps and the information in the text

This diagram can help the reader understand volcanoes in various ways. Which way does the diagram NOT help the reader?

•To understand a diagram the reader
should read the titles,
labels, captions, and
numbered parts.

Multiple Choice

This diagram can help the reader understand volcanoes in various ways. In which way does the diagram NOT help the reader?

• It helps the reader understand the parts of a volcano.

• It helps the reader understand how the volcano erupts.

• It helps the reader know in what country this volcano is located.

Tables, Charts, Graphs

•Tables, charts, and graphs organize large amounts of
information in a small space.

•Present all
kinds of data, from
numbers and
amounts, to
calendars and menus.

•Help the
reader compare
information in the text.

This table will help readers understand about volcano
eruptions. According to this table, which volcano has the most eruptions?

Multiple Choice

This table will help readers understand about volcano
eruptions. According to this table, which volcano has the most eruptions?

• Mount Baker

• Mount St. Helens

• Three Sisters

• Lassen Peak

Timelines

•Timelines show
important events in
chronological order
or time order.

•Timelines help the
reader better
understand the
order of events and
how one event may
have lead to
another.

Which subject's curriculum typically includes the most timelines in its textbooks?

Multiple Choice

Which subject's curriculum typically includes the most timelines in its textbooks?

• Math

• Science

• Reading

• Social Studies

Draw

Underline the best resource that a reader could use in order to know more about the attendance at the San Diego Zoo.

​Please write this
text features list in your writing journal.