Features of Text

7/28/2019 Features of Text

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FeaturesofText

Analyze information found in

maps, charts, tables, graphs and

diagrams

Describe the defining

characteristics of literary forms

and genres, including poetry,drama, chapter books,

biographies, fiction and non-fiction

Use text features, such as chapter

titles, headings and subheadings;

parts of books, including the index

and table of contents and online

tools (search engines) to locate

information

5th Grade


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What Students Need to Know: maps

charts

tables

graphs

diagrams

literary forms and genres

poetry

drama

chapter books

biographies

fiction

non-fiction

text features

chapter titles

headings

subheadings

parts of book

index

table of contents

online toolssearch engines

What Students Need to beAble to Do:

analyze (information in maps, charts,

tables, graphs, diagrams)

describe (characteristics of literary

forms and genres)

use (text features, parts of books,

online tools)

locate (information)

Important Vocabulary

GenreAn established class or category of artistic composition or literature (e.g., po-

etry, drama or novel)


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features of text

NOTE: There were no questions dealing with the Features of Text indicators on the 2005 5th grade achieve-

ment test.

One of the challenges in teaching informational text is helping students under-

stand how maps, charts, tables, graphs, diagrams, etc. as well as the chapter

titles, headings and subheadings, index and table of contents can be helpfultools to comprehending whats being read. Many students tend to skip overthese supplements to the text and end up missing important concepts being

presented.

At earlier grade levels students learn to read the information in this graphicsand text features. By this level it is assumed that they know how to read such

things. They are now at the stage where they need to analyze the importanceof the graphics to the message being presented in the text. Questioning needs

to go beyond asking for literal answers that can be obtained by reading graph-ics. Discussion should focus on how the graphic enhances the meaning of the

text and its effectiveness.

Students are introduced to chapter titles, heading and subheadings, the indexand table of contents in early grades. However, many dont use these as anaid in locating information, so instruction at this level needs to focus on the

usefulness of these book parts when trying to locate specific information.

Finally, the Features of Text power standard includes the indicator that asksstudents to describe the defining characteristics of literary forms and genres.

Each genre has its own unique characteristics. The more familiar students are

with these characteristics, they better they will be at predicting what is tocome as they are reading.


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Suggested

Strategies forTeaching

Features of Text


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Sorry, I Lost My Headings

This activity forces students to read text sections and generate a tentative

heading or subheading for a sections information. It also gives good practicefor text-marking and note-taking.1. Take a chapter or article and photocopy it with the headings blocked out with

tape or correction fluid. Put a line or a box where each student-generatedheading will be.

2. Model for students how you notice and mark (by underlining and note-taking) the important information in a section of text, and then think aloud

for them how you create your own headings.

3. Discuss with students whether each of your headings is too general or toospecific. This can be a very useful and powerful step. It helps students to

refine their thoughts to be clear and focused, and to see ideas at the rightdistance. It will help students in writing as well.

4. Have students work in pairs or individually to fill in the rest of the headingsand discuss them with others before sharing all the headings as a class.

Text Transformation

For this activity, students transform a text into a different genre. This requires

a large amount of inference, comprehension of the important parts of text, andknowledge of the characteristics of different genres. Examples include the fol-

lowing:

Turn a textbook chapter into a newspaper article

Turn a narrative into a poem

Turn a biography into a letter

1. Model the types of thinking skills that you want students to practice, such as

cause and effect, fact and opinion, sequence, persuasion, and so on. Tellstudents that you want to see evidence of this thinking in their text transfor-

mations.2. Emphasize that one must concentrate on the most important information in

the text in order to carry over that information to a different text form. Tell

students to think about what the author of the original text would want themto remember when creating a new version of his or her text.

3. If needed, you can use an intermediary scaffold, such as a graphic organizerfor the main idea, to capture the elements needed for the new version of the

text.


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What Does It Not Say?

To help students read and interpret graphs, charts, tables, diagrams, etc. try

this process.1. Display a graph, chart, map, diagram, etc. on the overhead.2. Ask students to read the item displayed and think about everything that it

tells them.3. As students share information, record it on the left-hand side of a T-chart.

4. Then ask students to think about what the chart does not say.5. Record this information on the right-hand side of the chart.

6. Discuss some of the items they brainstorm about what the chart does not

say. For the example below you might want to discuss what may have

caused such a dramatic rise in deaths.Example:

Influenza Deaths Influenza Deaths

1977 1999

Approximately 18,000 Approximately 65,000

What Does the Chart Say? What Does the Chart Not Say?Influenza deaths have increased since What caused such a dramatic rise in deaths?

the 1970s.

In 1977, there were approximately 18,000 Deaths where? In the USA?

flu-related deaths.

Following this type of format, students will begin to look deeper into the graph-ics that accompany text. Help them see that the truth is often distorted by in-

formation presented in graphics and a good reader is able to read beyond thegraphic.


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Predict from Pictures or Other

Graphics

Select a picture, possibly from a newspaper or magazine, that has a caption. Thepicture should show people interacting or reacting to something. Cover the caption, andshow the picture to the students. Ask them to look at it carefully for a few minutes andtry to mentally compose an explanation for what is happening in the picture. Ask them tolook at all areas of the picture for details and helpful information.

Then ask students to write as much as possible to explain what is happening in thepicture. Read the caption to the students and ask them to compare it with their ideas.(Captions are intended to be short explanations for pictures, so the student work willprobably be much more comprehensive.)

Try this same strategy with other illustrations, posters, diagrams, graphs, etc.

Demonstrate to your students that readers have ways of figuring out what books areabout before they begin reading. Explain that the cover of the book offers clues. Invite stu-dents to look at the cover of a book then turn to a partner and share ways that the covercan help them make a prediction. Students should share things such as the title, cover il-lustration, and authors name. Have them discuss how these things help readers get anidea of what the story will be about.

Encourage students to recognize that the pictures on the cover of the book help withpredicting setting, characters and events. The title tells us what the story will probably beabout and knowing what authors write about sometimes helps us (for example, EricCarles books are often about insects).

Then have younger students do a picture walk, looking at the illustrations and mak-ing predictions about the story. Older students can look through the text at illustrations,chapter titles, the back of the book, sections that are bold-faced, charts, graphs, etc.

Surveying and Predicting


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Diagrams in Informational Text

Students must be explicitly taught how to read and interpret diagrams found in informational text.Following are some suggestions to use for guided reading and guided writing.

Guided ReadingEngage students in a discussion about the role of diagrams. Ask questions similar to the following: How did the diagrams help you better understand the topic of the book? Did the diagrams cause you to notice things you might not have noticed in an unlabeled photo-

graph?

Guided WritingA guided writing experience to link to the guided reading session could focus learners on using dia-grams as tools in their writing. Using content from their guided reading selection or content areastudies, writers could consider which type of diagram would best suit the writing they are planning.In this small, supported setting they could consider the purpose and audience for their writing andplan how their message could be communicated through text and a diagram. The goal would be tohelp writers assimilate diagrams into their writers toolbox.

Using Boldface Type

Guided ReadingUse a science text, social studies text, or any other age-appropriate text that features boldface typewithin the context of paragraphs and is appropriate to the reading level of the learners. Show the stu-dents how to skim for the bold words. Then focusing on the bold words, make predictions about thekey content of this section of reading. Discuss: How can the bold words guide us as readers? What support do they offer a reader? Do these words tend to be in the glossary?Read the passage to see how closely your predictions reflect the passage. Move to the next section oftext. Skim for bolded words. Predict. Discuss. Read. The goal is to emphasize to the students theimportance of the bold words in most texts. These are clues designed to assist comprehension by tar-

geting our attention to important ideas.

Guided WritingGuide the students in planning a piece of independent or group writing. Explain that their writing willhave the purpose of explaining the content in such a way that a younger student could understand. Be-fore they begin writing, they will need to select a few words that they believe are essential to under-standing the content. Within their writing, they will highlight these words with bold writing to assistthe younger students in grasping the concepts. When the writing is clear and important words writtenin bold type, the writers are ready to meet with a group of younger children to share their writing andthe content they have learned.


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Showing Passage of Time

Guided ReadingProvide students with an informational text that shows passage of time. This could be a passage thatshows a life cycle such as the life cycle of the butterfly, a scientists journal showing observational logswith dates and times, or a biography that spans time in a human life.

Engage the students in sharing observations of how the passage of time was reflected in each of thesebooks. What tools did the writer use in the text and in the visuals? How do these help us understand?

Guided WritingGuided writing experiences focused on passage of time might include a daily observational log of the weather, the growth of a seedling, or the maturation of a tadpole in

your classroom personal autobiographies.

The key is to continue to emphasize how we show passage of time. What are our options for expressingtime? (diagrams, timelines, journal entries, etc.) Which formats fit which purposes? Does a chart com-municate needed information?

Preview, Represent, Talk, ReadGuided ReadingTeach a guided reading group the strategy of

Preview Represent Talk Readto assist students in reading informational text. It is important to take time to really look at the visualfeatures of a page and attempt to comprehend before reading. Preview, Represent, Talk, Read helpsreaders get the most from a passage. Teach students topreviewthe visuals on the page and try to under-stand what each means. Then have themrepresentwhat theyre thinking by making a quick sketch orby dramatizing. They thentalkabout what they think is happening. Finally, they readand discuss

again.

It takes time topreview, represent,andtalkbefore reading but it brings tremendous power and under-standing to the reading of the passage and results in greater levels of learner understanding.


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Questions about Structure

The following questions may be helpful when discussing the structure of a text

with your students: What is the genre of your book? Give examples that support your decision.

What literary techniques did you find? flashback? foreshadowing? figurative

language? Find examples of two of these techniques, and share.

Did the author create different moods? Find passages in the text that reveal

two different moods, and share. Point out the words, phrases, and actionsthat helped create the mood.

Features of Text

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