Text Features & Presentation
Identify how language choices, text structure and presentational features (illustrations, diagrams, bold print, layout) contribute to the overall meaning and effect of a text
What a learner can do afterwards
- Explain how an author's word choices create a particular effect (e.g., 'The author uses "crept" instead of "walked" to make it feel sneaky and tense')
- Identify how a text's structure helps the reader (e.g., 'The headings help you find information quickly', 'The story builds suspense before the ending')
- Explain how a presentational feature contributes to meaning (e.g., 'The bold words are important vocabulary', 'The diagram shows how the water cycle works')
1 · Read
Writers choose words that give details and suggest feelings. Compare a chosen word with a plainer one. 'Whispered' tells you a voice was quiet; 'said' does not tell you its volume. A whisper can suggest secrecy, depending on the story. Explain the effect using the words on the page.
'The cat crept toward the mouse' suggests slow, quiet movement. 'Walked' gives less detail about that movement. In this scene, 'crept' can make the moment feel tense.
A mystery can give clues before revealing the answer. While you wait, you may wonder what happened. That waiting and wondering is suspense. Saving the answer until after the clues can build it.
A diagram can show parts or stages in a process. Pictures and arrows can help readers follow how stages connect. Arrows leading back round can show a repeating process. These boxes show three stages of a frog's life in order; they do not show every change.
A heading names a section's topic. A chapter title may hint at its events. Numbered steps show jobs in order. A 'What you need' list before the steps helps you gather materials first. A box can keep an extra fact apart from an explanation or draw attention to a reminder.
A caption is text beside or below a picture. It can explain what you see or add details the picture cannot show. Labels name particular parts of a picture. A photo shows an appearance at one moment. A map shows where places are in relation to one another.
Bold print is darker and thicker than ordinary print. It can draw attention to a vocabulary word or a warning. Making a claim bold does not make it true. When every word is bold, bold print no longer singles out particular words.
Match a picture to the question it helps answer. A photo of a finished model shows the goal, but not all the steps for making it. A picture can repeat words and still help you understand them. A picture of someone waving does not show how a task is done. It may introduce the person instead.
Authors choose their words, the order of the text and the pictures on purpose. Asking why helps you understand more.
The lesson, questions and learning cards were written for this dataset.
The readings and learning cards were written for this dataset.
More to read
Different questions on one page
Lena reads a page headed 'Inside the engine'. The heading tells her what the section covers. Lines connect names to parts of an engine drawing. A caption gives the year this engine was built. Lena uses the heading for the topic, the labels for part names and the caption for the date. She matches each question to the feature that answers it.
Prepare before starting
A craft page lists paper, pencils and glue before the numbered jobs. This lets the reader collect the materials before beginning. Each number marks the next job. If the materials list came after the jobs, the reader might have to stop and fetch something. The order of the page helps the reader prepare and follow the task.
Listen to the footsteps
Compare 'The child stepped into the room' with 'The child stomped into the room'. Both describe entering. 'Stomped' adds heavy footsteps and may suggest anger. Read the next sentences before deciding how the child feels. A word gives you a clue, but the rest of the story can change how you understand it.
The result and the instructions
A model-house page has a photo of the finished house. It shows the reader what to aim for. The written steps explain how to build it. A caption names the person who made the model. The photograph cannot give all those instructions or tell you the person's name on its own. The parts of the page answer different questions.
2 · Watch
به انگلیسیTake it off screen
Where it sits
Learn first
Optional connections
Where this leads
23 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.