Text Features
Title: The title to a book or section of a book, is to give the reader an idea about what will be in the book or section. The title of this chapter is What Are Living and Nonliving Things. It is an introduction to the new lesson in the chapter. The large, bold print gives the students the first bit of information about the key ideas in this new lesson. This is a good time to ask the students question to start building on their prior knowledge, like "What do we know about living and nonliving things?" and "What would you like to learn about in this lesson?"
Heading: The heading is a description that helps the reader group information the will be read. The headings and subheadings are usually also in large print, but not as large as the title. Students can flip through the chapter and read the headings and subheadings, then I can ask the students about the information they will likely find in this chapter. The headings in this chapter are Living Things, Nonliving Things and Compare Living and Nonliving Things. So by reading the heading right before they read the chapter, the students already have the key ideas of the chapter grouped in an easily understood way.
Charts: Charts give information in a visual way so that it is more easily understood by the reader. Charts can hold more information and details about the text. This text contains a chart comparing a pencil and a plant, the students can check a box next to the item if it needs water and air and if it grows. This chart is very simple and easy to understand, but it can be made larger and with more details by just asking a few more questions. I could also add more examples of living and nonliving things to the chart to expand the students knowledge.
Diagrams: Diagrams are drawings of the parts of something. The example in this text is a picture of a park. The diagrams point to living things, such as the people in the park and the flowers. The diagram also points to nonliving things such as the concrete stairs and the building in the background. It is a visual way to show examples, that is also very easy for students to understand. This diagram will be helpful to students who are more visual learners or struggling readers.
Bolded Vocabulary: The letters in bold print call attention to important words or terms. They can also show which words that the students might need to look up in the glossary if they do not know the defination the word. As we read the text and discuss the information as a class, we can keep track of the vocabulary words on our word wall and look them up later. The bolded vocabulary words in this section are living and nonliving.
Sidebars and Fact Boxes: These text features tend to grab the attention of the students and are a great way for the author to fit in more information. They can also be used to ask thought provoking questions about the text. In this chapter, the side bars are called "Think About It?" and they ask questions about the text or give activity ideas, such as making a growth chart so each student can track how much they grow each month. The "Think About It?" boxes can be used to also review the information we have just learned in each section to evaluate how well the students are comprehending the information.
Heading: The heading is a description that helps the reader group information the will be read. The headings and subheadings are usually also in large print, but not as large as the title. Students can flip through the chapter and read the headings and subheadings, then I can ask the students about the information they will likely find in this chapter. The headings in this chapter are Living Things, Nonliving Things and Compare Living and Nonliving Things. So by reading the heading right before they read the chapter, the students already have the key ideas of the chapter grouped in an easily understood way.
Charts: Charts give information in a visual way so that it is more easily understood by the reader. Charts can hold more information and details about the text. This text contains a chart comparing a pencil and a plant, the students can check a box next to the item if it needs water and air and if it grows. This chart is very simple and easy to understand, but it can be made larger and with more details by just asking a few more questions. I could also add more examples of living and nonliving things to the chart to expand the students knowledge.
Diagrams: Diagrams are drawings of the parts of something. The example in this text is a picture of a park. The diagrams point to living things, such as the people in the park and the flowers. The diagram also points to nonliving things such as the concrete stairs and the building in the background. It is a visual way to show examples, that is also very easy for students to understand. This diagram will be helpful to students who are more visual learners or struggling readers.
Bolded Vocabulary: The letters in bold print call attention to important words or terms. They can also show which words that the students might need to look up in the glossary if they do not know the defination the word. As we read the text and discuss the information as a class, we can keep track of the vocabulary words on our word wall and look them up later. The bolded vocabulary words in this section are living and nonliving.
Sidebars and Fact Boxes: These text features tend to grab the attention of the students and are a great way for the author to fit in more information. They can also be used to ask thought provoking questions about the text. In this chapter, the side bars are called "Think About It?" and they ask questions about the text or give activity ideas, such as making a growth chart so each student can track how much they grow each month. The "Think About It?" boxes can be used to also review the information we have just learned in each section to evaluate how well the students are comprehending the information.