Lesson: Non-Fiction Feature Wheels

Objective:  Students will be able to utilize text features of non-fiction texts to make predictions about non-fiction text passages or books.

Do-Now:  What are the four most important things to do to make predictions?  What is important to look for when you are making a prediction?  Does  prediction always have to be right or wrong? 

Connection:  When we look at non-fiction texts its really important that we look at the features.  Features of non-fiction text are so important to understanding what a non-fiction book is going to be about.  It is important way we activate our brains to be ready for our reading.  Today we are going to choose 4 non-fiction text features to focus our reading on and use those features to make a prediction about the text and generate a main idea statement. 

Teach/Model: 

Make a list of text features with the students and what their purposes are so they can choose which text features they are going to focus on.

Title- gives us the main idea or a large idea about what the whole text is going to be about

Subheadings:  give main ideas or focuses of chapters or sections of a text

Pictures- show illustrations about the topic

Diagrams- show a demonstration of how something works or parts to an object

Captions- explain what is happening in a picture

Glossary-give the definitions of certain words that are found within the text

Table of Contents- helps direct the reader to specific sections of a text

Today we  are going to choose 4 features to focus on.  Watch me as I focus on 4 features and use those features to make a prediction.

Use the text feature wheel template to identify the four text features you are going to use to make your predictions.  Fill in those features in your wheel and then make a prediction about the topic of the text and what you think the main idea of your text will be. 

Model this for th students using a few different features. 

Independent Practice:  Students will choose 4 text features they will use to make a prediction.  Instruct students or pre-copy the wheel to have an area for predictions after they have completed the wheel.