Teach students how to identify common text features in nonfiction, such as headings, subheadings, captions, and graphs. This skill is essential for understanding and navigating informational texts.
Reading Nonfiction: Identifying Text Features
When you read a nonfiction book or article, you'll notice that it's always organized in a certain way. Text features are the different elements that make up a nonfiction book, such as headings, subheadings, diagrams, captions, glossaries, and indexes.
What are text features?
Definitions, Paragraphs, Math problems
Headings are the titles of different sections within a book. They give you an idea of what you will read about in each section. Subheadings are smaller titles within a section that provide more detail about the content.
What are headings?
Titles of sections, Pictures, Examples
Diagrams are illustrations that show how something works, what its different parts are, or how to do something. Captions are explanations that accompany these illustrations to give you more details about the visuals.
What are diagrams?
Illustrations, Fictional characters, Poems
Glossaries are lists of words and their meanings. They are usually found at the end of the book and can help you understand difficult vocabulary words. Indexes are lists of topics and page numbers where you can find information about those topics.
What is a glossary?
Lists of words and their meanings, Lists of fictional characters, Pictures
By learning about text features, you can better understand nonfiction books and articles. They can even help you find information more quickly!