Text features are the elements that organize text in order to aid in understanding. These include page numbers table of contents images and photographs chapter titles, headingsand sub-headings, labels, captions diagrams, and many more.
Teaching children about the text features is important for improving their comprehension of reading. It is especially beneficial when students are learning how to read nonfiction texts.
What is a text feature?Text Features: What Are They?
Text features are those parts of a nonfiction piece or book that are not included in the main body. These include the table contents and index, headings, captions under diagrams or pictures, and glossary terms.
They`re similar in structure to story elements in fiction, but they provide additional assistance for comprehension and provide an easy path for the reader. They help students discover information that they might not have discovered in the text or connect to their previous knowledge.
Children often ask, “How would I read this if there was no text feature?”
It is important that students are taught to recognize and understand text features to improve their comprehension of nonfiction content. This is especially true for science and social studies content.
Text Features Bingo is a great way to teach students. It can be played in small groups or in a whole class. This is a great method to engage students in meaningful learning. Look for more at Learn more about text features.
Beginning Techniques For Using Text Features
Text features offer additional clues for students in comprehending information from informational texts. Students are left on their own in their quest to find relevant information in a text without their help.
When teaching children about text features, it is essential to explain their significance and how they support comprehension strategies. This can be accomplished by focusing on particular text features or by teaching students how to use them.
Scavenger hunts are an excellent method to introduce and practice text features. This activity is especially great for children who are young because they will have fun searching and documenting the text features they find.
A think-aloud for small groups is another way to teach the features of text. This is most effective when you cluster groups to ensure that there is a wide range of strengths and background knowledge.
Students can use text features for their research and reading after they have a good understanding. If it`s a book, an article, or a website, text features help students determine organization and locate crucial information quickly.
Advanced Techniques For Using Text Features
If students have a greater understanding of the text`s features and how they work and function, they can apply them to improve their comprehension of reading. They can also access prior knowledge, make connections and improve their understanding of the text`s content.
One way to do this is by using the text feature walk. This fun activity for small groups is highly effective and has been demonstrated to increase the number of accurate predictions.
To accomplish this, have students go through the pages in a science or social studies book. Explain that all pages, except the main body are text-based features.
Headings, captions, images, captions, labeled maps glossaries, maps and labeled diagrams are all text features. The goal is to make students go through the page and discuss what each text feature does, why it is there, and how they think it connects to their principal idea.
Whats A Visual Text Feature
Visual text elements are symbols, icons, or other graphic elements that are used to convey information. They could include cartoons, comic strips maps, timelines, signs, or even photos or images of people.
These can be used to help students connect ideas and provide a brief overview of the text. These can be used to test understanding of more abstract concepts or the vocabulary.
In the classroom, visual text can be displayed in many different ways. It could be found in the form of billboards posters, graphs, charts as well as timelines, maps, or digital stories. Instructing children to make use of these non-linguistic text features will help them comprehend more complex texts and appreciate reading a wide range of books.