Text Feature
Hunt
An Introduction to Nonfiction Text
Features
Text features are the parts of a nonfiction book
that help you find information easily or tell you
more about the topic.
Some examples are:
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Titles
Table of Contents
Headings
Photographs
Illustrations
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Captions
Bold words
Glossary
Electronic Menu
Icons
Title: the name of the book
• 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.
Table of Contents:
gives the heading and beginning page
number for each section of the book
Table of Contents
Flowers………………..………..3
Vegetables………………..…..9
Fruit……………………….......12
Trees……………………………15
Glossary……………………….20
• The table of contents shows how
the book is organized so you can
find information more easily.
• The heading titles give the reader
an outline of what the book is
about.
Headings: divide the text into sections
• Headings tell the main idea of
each section of text.
• Headings are printed in large
or bold type to make them
stand out.
• Headings help the reader to
locate information in the text
by telling them where to look.
Photographs:
a picture taken with a camera that show how
something looks in real life
• Photographs show
how something
looks, which helps
the reader better
understand the
topic they are
reading about.
Illustrations: a hand-drawn picture
• Illustrations
help the
reader “see”
what is
being talked
about in the
text.
Captions:
the words next to or below a picture that tell what
it is or what it is about
• A caption explains
what is shown in a
photograph or
illustration.
• Captions help the
reader understand
information that may
or may not be in the
text.
Bold Words: important words that are darker
than the text around them
• Bold words tell the reader to pay attention – these words are
important!
• Bold words can be used for titles, headings, and key words like
important vocabulary words.
• Sometimes the important words will be a different color or in italics.
• Sometimes the meaning of the important words can be found in the
glossary.
Glossary: tells what important words mean
• A glossary is like a small
dictionary of words. It tells or
shows what words mean.
• The words in the glossary are
in alphabetical order.
• The words in the glossary
were used in the book.
• A glossary is usually found at
the end of the book or near
the back.
Glossary
flower: the part of the plant that makes new seeds
fruit: the part of the plant that holds the seeds
seed: the part of the plant that can grow into a new
plant
Electronic Menu: a list of things you can choose
from to do something on the computer
screen shot from www.starfall.com
• An electronic menu gives you
options, just like a menu at your
favorite place to eat.
• An electronic menu lists all of
your options. It helps the user
know what is on the computer
program or website.
• An electronic menu helps you
navigate, or find your way,
around a program or website.
Icon: a picture that represents something else
• Icons can be used to find
information in a
computer program or
website.
• The picture in the icon
represents the
information that you can
find or the task that you
can do.
screen shot from www.starfall.com
Why are text features important?
• Text features help the reader to quickly find important information.
• Text features teach the reader about the topic.
• Text features can help the reader answer questions about a topic and
the text they are reading.