Informational Text
Features
Laurie Larsen
Butterfield Canyon
Informational Text Features
Informational text features help the reader more easily navigate the text and often provide additional information to help students comprehend the content.
Print Features Organizational Aids Graphic Aids
Guide readers through the patterns of organization Help readers find important information Represent information in some specific way
Feature Helps the Reader... Feature Helps the Reader... Feature Helps the Reader...
Table of Con- Identify key topics in the book and Bold Print By signaling the word is impor- Diagrams Understand a more detailed or sim-
tents the order they are presented in tant and/or found in the glos- plified view of information.
sary
Index See everything in the text listed al- Flow Diagram Understand a complex sequence of
phabetically, with page numbers Colored Understand the word is impor- movements or actions
Print tant
Glossary Define words contained in the text Sketches Visualize an important concept
Italics Understand the word is impor-
tant Comparisons Understand the size of one thing by
Preface Set a purpose for reading, get an
comparing it to the size of something
overview of the content Bullets Emphasize key points/
familiar
concepts
Pronunciation Say the words
Guide Graphs Understand relativity between ele-
Titles Locate different categories in
ments
the text
Appendix By offering additional information
Headings Identify topics throughout the Figures Combine text information with
book as they skim and scan graphical aids
Illustrations Subheadings Navigate through sections of Maps Understand where things are in the
Expand the meaning of the text
text world
Feature Helps the Reader... Captions Understand a picture or photo- Charts/Tables Summarize/Compare information
Photos Understand exactly what something graph
looks like Cross- Understand something by looking at
Labels Identify a picture or photo- Sections it from the inside
Drawings Understand what something could or graph and/or its parts
might have looked like Overlays Understand additional information
Sidebars Gather additional or explana-
Magnification See details in something small tory information. TIme-lines Understand the sequence of time
Teaching Text Features
Model, Model, Model
Shared/Guided Reading, Interactive/Shared writing
Labels
Cut away diagram
Teaching Text Features
Model, Model, Model
Shared/Guided Reading, Interactive/Shared writing
Text Feature Scavenger Hunt
Students search through informational text with a partner
looking for as many features as they can find. They record
the feature and its purpose.
Text Feature Scavenger Hunt
Reader______________________ Date________________
Your job is to investigate text features and try to find examples of as many different features as you can.
Text Feature Purpose Found in Page
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________________ _________________________ _____________ ______
Teaching Text Features
Model, Model, Model
Shared/Guided Reading, Interactive/Shared writing
Text Feature Scavenger Hunt
Students search through informational text with a partner
looking for as many features as they can find. They record
the feature and its purpose.
Investigations
Synthesize learning and use informational text features to
teach the craft writing expository text.