Informational Text Features

Diagrams

*A drawing that shows or explains something. *Helps the reader understand steps, how objects are made, or information in the text.

Glossary

*A list of key terms in alphabetical order. *Helps the reader quickly find a key term from an alphabetical list

Maps

*Drawings that show the basic shape of the land and other geographical, political, or historical features. *They present information in a visual form. *They help the reader understand where an event happens. *They help the reader understand how far away an event took place.

Captions

*Explains what is shown in a picture or illustration. *Helps the reader understand information that may or may not be in the text

Photographs and Illustrations

*Helps reader understand information in a visual way *Helps reader understand the story * Helps reader understand an idea that was unclear

Index

*Is an alphabetical listing of the key names, terms, events, and topics with page numbers. *Helps the reader to quickly find pages that contain information they are looking for.

Table of Contents

*Lists the major parts of a book along with their page numbers. *Helps the reader locate information and see the main topics or main points

Graphs, Charts, and Tables

*Organize large amounts of information into a small space. * Presents all kinds of data, from numbers and amounts, to calendars and menus * Helps the reader summarize and compare information.

Sidebar/Textbox

*Provides more information than is in the text about a topic. *Can include interesting facts or important information the author wants the reader to know. *Helps readers understand by creating interest or emphasizing important information.

Text (Bold, Color, Italics)

*Sends signals to the reader on how to read the content *Signals key words *Draws the readers attention to important information

Timelines

*Show important events in chronological order or time order. *Helps the reader better understand the order of events and how one event may have lead to another.

Subheadings

*Tells the main idea of each section of text *Helps the reader to locate information in the text by telling them where to look.

Title

*Tells the reader the topic of the text. *Shows the main idea of the text. *Helps the reader by letting them know what they are about to read.