Nonfiction Text Features

Building academic language

Word

• Use visuals and/or sentences as you define each vocabulary word and allow students to discuss how the visual relates to the new word.
• Post the other Frayer Models around the room and remind students of how to complete the models.
• Conduct a carousel activity by separating the students into groups of three or four and asking them to rotate from one Frayer Model to another. Each group will have their own colored pencil or marker to add thoughts and notes about the tiered vocabulary words.
• Separate students into groups with a completed Frayer Model and have them answer questions aloud about the word. For example:
  • What does the word mean?
• Have students use sentence frames for support in their oral discussion.
• Allow students to create and share aloud their own sentences with the new vocabulary words. For example:
  • I look in the ____ of a book to find ____.

Sentence

• Distribute the Starfish Text Features worksheet, read the directions to the students, and ask a volunteer to repeat the instructions back to you.
• Ask the students what they think the text is about. Point out the heading, "Starfish."
• Think aloud to model analyzing the heading. Ask: "Which type of text feature is this? How do we know?" Have students explain the clues.
• Point to the next feature, the diagram. Have students work independently to label it.
• Choose non-volunteers to share their answers and ask students to correct their answers as necessary.
• Have students work in pairs to discuss the next two features.

Discourse

• Distribute the Nonfiction Feature Match worksheet, read the directions to the students, and ask a volunteer to repeat the instructions back to you.
• Have students work with partners to complete the worksheet.
• Provide sentence stems for students to share with partners as they work. For example:
  • This feature is ____. I know this because ____.