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.
4th grade · English Language Arts · Unit 2 of 20
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.
New York State Learning Standards learning standard: 4R5; 4R7 · 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 New York
In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 2 of 20 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.
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
What is the job of a heading?
- It tells what a section of the text is about
- It tells who wrote the book
- It lists every page in the book
- It explains what a word means
It tells what a section of the text is about
Hint: Headings are like titles for small parts of a text.
Question 2
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 - 28–29
- 8–12
- 17
- 24, 26
8–12
Hint: An index lists topics in ABC order. Find “clouds” in the Topic column and read across to the pages.
Question 3
What is the difference between a glossary and an index?
- A glossary lists chapters; an index lists pictures
- A glossary is at the front; an index is in the middle
- A glossary gives page numbers; an index gives meanings
- A glossary gives meanings; an index gives page numbers
A glossary gives meanings; an index gives page numbers
Hint: Both are at the back of the book. One explains words, and one tells you where to find topics.
Question 4
Look at the table of contents. On what page does “Wind” 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 - 30
- 13
- 19
- 32
19
Hint: Find “Wind” in the Chapter column, then read straight across to the page number.
Question 5
Which heading best fits this section?
- How Snowflakes Form
- Birds That Fly South
- Winter Sports
- Life Under the Snow
Life Under the Snow
Hint: A good heading tells what the whole section is about. Where do the mice and voles spend the winter?
Question 6
You want to find every page that mentions volcanoes in a big science book. Where is the best place to look?
- the first caption
- the table of contents
- the index
- the glossary
the index
Hint: The index is at the back. It lists topics in ABC order with ALL the pages where they appear.