Kim Costanza
Surgeons for the Day exploring Nonfiction text features
Just wanted to post our latest activity. Students dressed as surgeons to find text features in nonfiction text
Introduction (5 minutes)
Begin by asking students what they know about text features. Write their responses on the chart paper.
Explain that text features are elements in a text that help readers understand the information better.
Share examples of common text features, such as headings, subheadings, bold or italicized words, photographs, captions, maps, diagrams, and tables.
Text Features Scavenger Hunt (15 minutes)
Divide the class into pairs or small groups.
Distribute different informational texts to each group.
Instruct students to search for and identify as many text features as they can find in their assigned text within a given time frame.
Encourage them to write down or discuss the features they find.
Group Discussion (10 minutes)
Bring the class back together for a group discussion.
Ask each group to share some of the text features they found.
Discuss the purpose and importance of each text feature, allowing students to share their ideas.
Write the identified text features and their purposes on the chart paper.
Text Feature Analysis (15 minutes)
Select a particular text feature (e.g., headings) and focus the discussion on it.
Ask students to find examples of that text feature in different informational texts and share their findings.
Discuss why the author might have used that particular text feature in each instance.
Applying Text Features (10 minutes)
Provide students with a short passage or article without any text features.
Instruct them to add appropriate text features to the text to enhance its readability and understanding.
Encourage creativity and critical thinking in selecting relevant text features.
Independent Practice (10 minutes)
Distribute worksheets with short passages and ask students to identify and label the text features present in each passage.
Review the answers together to ensure understanding.
Conclusion (5 minutes)
Recap the lesson by asking students to share one new thing they learned about text features.
Emphasize the importance of using text features to aid comprehension while reading informational texts.
Extension Activity:
For additional reinforcement, encourage students to bring in their favorite informational books or articles from home and share them with the class. Have them identify and explain the text features found in their chosen texts.
