Nonfiction
What is important and what is not? By learning the characteristics and features of nonfiction, readers can construct more meaning from the text.
Nonfiction Text Features
Feature |
Purpose |
Labels |
to identify a picture or photograph, and/or its parts. |
Photographs |
understand exactly what something looks like |
Captions |
understand a picture or photograph |
Comparisons |
understand the size of something by comparing it to the size of something familiar |
Cut Aways |
understand something by looking at it from the inside |
Maps |
understand where things are in the world |
Types of Print |
understand the varying degree of importance |
Close-ups |
see details in something small |
Table of Contents |
identify key topics in the order they are presented |
Glossaries |
define words found in the text |
Indexes |
an alphabetical list of most everything covered in the text, with page numbers |
*Taken from http://www.readinglady.com/mosaic/tools/Determinging%20Importance%20handout%20by%20Deb%20Smith.pdf.