1. Genre—Nonfiction Nonfiction is writing about real people, places and events. You encounter nonfiction when you read a movie review, a newspaper editorial, or a history textbook. Unlike fiction, nonfiction contains mostly factual information, although the writer selects the information in accordance with his or her purpose. Nonfiction and informational texts include a wide variety of writing, from recipes to speeches to sports articles and encyclopedias.

2. Sub-Genre Text Books Most text books are designed to teach a certain subject to a certain group of students. Text books follow a pattern, for example: History books go in chronological order, in the order of the time events happened. A Spanish Language text book follows the order of the structure of language. Every book is different but contains the same text features, parts of your text book that have been created to help you locate and learn information.

3. Common text features Table of Contents Headings Text Boxes Bold, color, or italicized words Glossary and Index Additional resources Text boxes and Fun Facts Photographs Zoom-ins Cut-aways Captions Labels Lines and arrows Maps Charts and Diagrams

4. Heading Dreams of a Better Life The people who came to Ellis Island were from many different places. They came from small villages and large cities all over the world. At first, most immigrants came from Ireland, Germany, and Scandinavia. Then people from other European countries started to arrive. Most of the immigrants who landed on Ellis Island were poor. They had saved for months and years to buy their boat tickets to the United States. They were willing to give up their homes and everything they had. Headings alert readers to what the upcoming information is going to be about.

5. Photographs Authors carefully select photos to accompany their text and show what exactly something looks like.

6. Captions Captions are written by authors to explain the photograph. Often times, there is new information not found in main text. Is this snake staring at you? Snakes do not have eyelids like humans. Instead, they have clear scales that protect their eyes and allow them to see.

7. Cut away Authors include cut-always to show readers what something looks like inside.

8. Zoom Authors include zoom in photos to show what objects look like up close. From this zoomed in photograph, we can see that tarantulas have tiny hairs all over their body.

9. Tables Identity Crisis: Dolphin or Porpoise? What is the difference between a dolphin and a porpoise! "Dolphin" usually refers to the specific group of small, toothed cetaceans in the family Delphinidae. There are over 30 species of true dolphins, including familiar species like the bottlenose, spinner, and spotted dolphins. Although the largest members of this group are commonly called whales because of their size, they are actually most closely related to other dolphins. The large dolphins include killer whales and pilot whales. "Porpoise" refers to six species in the family Phocoenidae. All porpoises are relatively small by cetacean standards, measuring 7 feet (2 meters) or less as adults. The notable differences between dolphins and porpoises are these:

10. Graph Dolphins Porpoises Always have cone—shaped teeth Always have cone—shaped teeth Usually have a beak Usually have a beak Usually have a hooked or curved Usually have a dorsal fin shape like a triangle (some have no dorsal fin) dorsal fin (some have no dorsal fin) Authors use tables to easily organize information

11. Diagrams Diagrams are visual text features that show how things work or the order of a process.

12. Maps Maps allow readers to relate the information to the location of where it takes place. Harriett Tubman’s Underground Railroad Harriet Tubman was a runaway slave from Maryland who led others to freedom. Over the course of 10 years, and at great personal risk, she led hundreds of slaves to freedom along the Underground Railroad, a secret network of safe houses where runaway slaves could stay on their journey north to freedom.

13. Labels with lines or Arrows Body of a Shark Labels with lines or arrows allow authors to pinpoint areas and parts to clarify for readers.

14. Text Features work together with the author’s words to increase a readers understanding of the information.

15. The earth consists of several layers. The three main layers are the core, the mantle and the crust. The core is the inner part of the earth, the crust is the outer part and between them is the mantle. The earth is surrounded by the atmosphere. Till this moment it hasn't been possible to take a look inside the earth because the current technology doesn't allow it. Therefore all kinds of research had to be done to find out, out of which material the earth consists, what different layers there are and which influence those have (had) on the earth's surface. This research is called seismology.

16. Heading Examples of three helpful text features on one page. Layers of Earth The earth consists of several layers. The three main layers are the core, the mantle and the crust. The core is the inner part of the earth, the crust is the outer part and between them is the mantle. The earth is surrounded by the atmosphere. Till this moment it hasn't been possible to take a look inside the earth because the current technology doesn't allow it. Therefore all kinds of research had to be done to find out, out of which material the earth consists, what different layers there are and which influence those have (had) on the earth's surface. This research is called seismology. Bold Words Cut Away

17. Source Page: http://www.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/WalnutGrov eES/misc/Text%20Features.pdf Thanks to Robin Davidson and Anna Mary Smith!

18. Remember Text Features are our friends because….. 1.They help us learn vocabulary 2.They help us visualize 3.They help us understand main ideas 4.They help us understand data through graphs, charts and maps 5.They help us gather information