1. TEXT FEATURES

2. Text features are parts of informational (nonfiction) text other than the body that help the reader understand the content more clearly.

3. Headings
Headings give the reader clues about what he or she will find in the text below it.
If the reader is trying to locate a specific fact, he or she can look at the headings to figure out where to find the information. That way, he or she does not have to read the entire article to find the information he or she needs!
allows a reader to be efficient in our reading -- skim the headings to focus on the purpose of our reading
Think of headings as "titles" and subheadings as "mini-titles."

4. Footnotes Located at the bottom of the page
Provide additional information about something in the body of the text
Usually linked to that text with a raised number notation
“Isabella worked hard for her new owner. She plowed, planted, and harvested his fields. Mr. Dumont said, “She could do as much work as half a dozen…people.” But Isabella did not benefit1 from her hard labor. She was still a slave.” (Roop, P. & Roop, C. Tales of Famous Heroes)
1 benefit: to be helped by

5. Captions
Captions give explanatory text about specific published photos, charts, graphs, etc.
Captions tell the reader the reason for putting the picture or illustration in the text
Captions say in a few lines what the author takes paragraphs to explain
Lions are the laziest of the big cats. They usually spend 16 to 20 hours a day sleeping and resting.
(Fact from Out to Africa website)

8. Table of Contents
All kinds of books, especially textbooks and nonfiction books, will have a table of contents at the beginning. This is a list of the main sections of the book and the page numbers they begin on. Think about books that you have seen with a table of contents and how it might have helped you.

9. On what page would you look for oatmeal raisin cookies?
Look at the following example of a table of contents page.
Table of Contents
Introduction to Baking I
Chapter 1: Cookies 1
     Sugar 3
     Oatmeal 5
     Chocolate Chip 8
Chapter 2: Cakes 10
     Butter Cakes 13
     Sponge Cakes 16
Chapter 3: Brownies 20
     Cakey 23
     Fudgy 25
     Chewy 28
Glossary 30
Index 35
On what page would you look for oatmeal raisin cookies?
Where would you find the word sift?

10. Test your knowledge about table of contents on the following example question.
Introduction to Frogs I
Chapter 1: Types 1
Chapter 2: Living Environments 10
Chapter 3: Anatomy 20
Chapter 4: In the Media 30
Chapter 5: Amusing Facts 40
Glossary 50
Index 55
According to the table of contents, where would information about Kermit the Frog most likely be found?
A. page 1
B. page 10
C. page 20
D. page 30

11. Index
Alphabetical list of key people, places and terms and their page numbers
Generally found in the back of the book

12. Basketball
Basketball quiz
College Teams
Equipment
Famous Players of the NBA
History 1-26
Rules of the Game 27-39
Teams in Europe
Teams in the US
Women Players
On what pages would you look to find information about the Boston Celtics? Where would you most likely find information about Michael Jordan?

13. Glossary alphabetical list of key terms .
a tool to help you understand the language of the subject

14. Chemistry Glossary
acid a compound that yields H+ ions in solution or a solution in which the concentration of H+ exceeding OH-.
acid ionization constant the equilibrium constant describing the degree of ionization of an acid.
actinides the row of elements below the periodic table, from thorium to lawrencium.
alkali synonym for base.
alkali metals the column of elements from lithium to francium.

15. Additional text features
Boldface Italics Color Underline
All of these are getting you to SLOW DOWN and PAY ATTENTION
Each is saying “This is important!”