Text Features: Table of Contents, Glossary, and More

Core Idea

Nonfiction books have special features that help you find and understand information. A table of contents at the front lists the chapters so you can jump to the topic you need. A glossary at the back defines important words. Other features include headings, captions under photographs, bold words, and indexes. Learning to use these features makes you a faster, smarter reader of informational texts.

How It's Best Learned

Open a nonfiction book and go on a scavenger hunt for text features: find the table of contents, a heading, a bold word, a caption, and a glossary. Practice using the table of contents to find a specific topic. Look up a bold word in the glossary. Talk about how each feature helps you as a reader.

Common Misconceptions

• Thinking text features are only for adults or older students; even beginning readers benefit from knowing how to use a table of contents and glossary.
• Believing you should skip over bold words and captions; these are signals from the author that the information is important.
• Assuming all books have the same text features; fiction books rarely have glossaries or indexes, while nonfiction books usually do.

Explainer

Text features are the special parts of a book designed to help you understand and navigate the reading. These include headings that tell you what a section is about, bold or italic words that highlight important terms, pictures and illustrations that show you what things look like, diagrams that explain how things work, captions that explain pictures, lists that organize information, and chapter titles that tell you what is coming. These features are like helpful signs that guide you through the text.

Text features are especially important in nonfiction and information books. A book about dinosaurs uses headings like "Carnivores" and "Herbivores" to organize information. Pictures of different dinosaurs help you see what they look like. Diagrams show how big they were compared to humans. Captions under pictures explain what you are seeing. All of these features work together to help you learn and understand.

But text features are also in fiction books. Chapter titles like "The Mystery Deepens" or "The Secret Revealed" tell you what to expect. Illustrations show you what characters look like. Decorative fonts might show a character's thoughts or feelings. Bold text might indicate when someone is shouting. These features add to the mood and excitement of reading.

When you approach a new book, look at the text features first. Skim the headings to see what topics are covered. Look at pictures to get a sense of what the book is about. Read chapter titles to understand the structure. These features give you a preview and help you know what to expect. Using text features is a reading strategy that makes you more efficient and engaged. Strong readers notice and use text features to guide their reading and deepen their understanding.