Rub a sewing needle with a magnet about twenty times in the same direction. Push the needle through a small piece of cork. Float the cork in a bowl of water and watch the needle turn to point north and south.
4th grade · English Language Arts · Unit 2 of 13
Text Features
Headings, glossaries and indexes
What your child practices
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.
Maine Learning Results learning standard: Reading 8; Reading 11 · headings, glossaries, maps and indexes
How we explain it
Children can open this short lesson before they practice.
- The table of contents at the front lists chapters and their pages.
- The index at the back lists topics in ABC order. The glossary explains special words.
- Captions explain pictures, headings name sections and timelines show events in order.
Example: Which text feature lists the chapters and their page numbers at the front of a book? It is at the front, not the back. It lists chapters, not word meanings. Answer: the table of contents
Text Features in Maine
In the Maine Learning Results, this is unit 2 of 13 in 4th grade English Language Arts, after Reading Detectives and before Figurative Language.
Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.
- 4th grade guide for Maine parents
- Printable 4th grade English Language Arts sheet
- Maine report cards explained
Source: Maine Department of Education
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
Which part of this book should you use to learn why summer days are longer than winter days?
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 - Wind
- Sun and Seasons
- Rain and Snow
- Thunderstorms
Sun and Seasons
Hint: Read each title and ask which one fits the topic. Remember: a glossary explains words, and an index lists every page a topic is on.
Question 2
What is the job of a heading?
- It explains what a word means
- It tells what a section of the text is about
- It tells who wrote the book
- It lists every page in the book
It tells what a section of the text is about
Hint: Headings are like titles for small parts of a text.
Question 3
Look at the table of contents. On what page does “Protecting Our Oceans” begin?
Amazing Oceans: Table of Contents Chapter Page Waves and Tides 3 Life in the Shallows 9 The Deep Sea 16 Coral Reefs 22 Protecting Our Oceans 28 Glossary 33 Index 35 - 28
- 16
- 9
- 33
28
Hint: Find “Protecting Our Oceans” in the Chapter column, then read straight across to the page number.
Question 4
Which heading best fits this section?
- Why Magnets Stick to Fridges
- How to Make a Compass
- The History of Maps
- Floating and Sinking
How to Make a Compass
Hint: These are steps for making something. What are you making?
Question 5
Use the index. Which page or pages tell about fog?
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 - 11
- 25
- 28–29
- 16–17
11
Hint: An index lists topics in ABC order. Find “fog” in the Topic column and read across to the pages.
Question 6
What does a chart or table help readers do?
- see where a place is
- find the meaning of a word
- learn who wrote the book
- compare information quickly
compare information quickly
Hint: Tables put facts in rows and columns so you can look across and compare them.