Snow can be like a blanket for small animals. Under the snow, mice and voles dig tunnels where they stay warm and hidden all winter.
Grade 4 · English Language Arts · Unit 3 of 16
Text Features
Headings, glossaries and indexes
What your child practises
Using the parts of a nonfiction book to find information: reading a table of contents and index, knowing what glossaries, captions, labels and timelines are for, and choosing headings.
Alberta Curriculum learning outcome: Identify the purpose, form, and structure of a variety of texts and how they can communicate ideas and information. · text features that help readers find information
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Use the index. Which page or pages tell about clouds?
Wild Weather: Index Topic Pages clouds 8–12 fog 11 hail 17 lightning 24, 26 rainbows 15 snowflakes 16–17 thunder 25 tornadoes 28–29 - 15
- 25
- 8–12
- 28–29
Show answer
8–12
Hint: An index lists topics in ABC order. Find “clouds” in the Topic column and read across to the pages.
Question 2
You want to find every page that mentions volcanoes in a big science book. Where is the best place to look?
- the glossary
- the index
- the table of contents
- the first caption
Show answer
the index
Hint: The index is at the back. It lists topics in ABC order with ALL the pages where they appear.
Question 3
Why do authors add labels to a diagram?
- To make the picture bigger
- To name the parts of the picture
- To show the page numbers
- To list the chapters
Show answer
To name the parts of the picture
Hint: Labels are words with lines pointing to parts of a picture.
Question 4
What is the job of a heading?
- It tells what a section of the text is about
- It tells who wrote the book
- It explains what a word means
- It lists every page in the book
Show answer
It tells what a section of the text is about
Hint: Headings are like titles for small parts of a text.
Question 5
Look at the table of contents. On what page does “Clouds” begin?
Wild Weather: Table of Contents Chapter Page Sun and Seasons 2 Clouds 8 Rain and Snow 13 Wind 19 Thunderstorms 24 Glossary 30 Index 32 - 19
- 24
- 13
- 8
Show answer
8
Hint: Find “Clouds” in the Chapter column, then read straight across to the page number.
Question 6
Which heading best fits this section?
- Winter Sports
- Birds That Fly South
- Life Under the Snow
- How Snowflakes Form
Show answer
Life Under the Snow
Hint: A good heading tells what the whole section is about. Where do the mice and voles spend the winter?