Text Feature Examples at Your Students’ Fingertips!

Text features are the parts of a text that help the reader to understand the text’s message. When you start to list these features, you come to realize that there are quite a lot of them! Each of these text features has a different yet equally important role to play in enhancing the readability of the text they appear in.

If your students are feeling overwhelmed by the number of text features they have to remember, then we have the resource for you! This two-page text features cheat sheet has been designed by our expert teacher team so that your students will always have a list of text features with accompanying examples at their fingertips!

The sheet provides a definition and visual example of the following text features:

• Table of contents
• Numbers
• Glossary
• Formatted text
• Index
• Photographs
• Bullet points
• Captions
• Headings
• Subheadings
• Paragraphs
• Maps
• Tables
• Graphs
• Diagrams
• Timelines

This list of text features with examples downloads as a black-and-white PDF or editable Google Slides document. 

Reduce your students’ confusion about which text feature is which by revisiting the cheat sheet regularly with your students. 

A Versatile Resource for Exploring Text Features

This two-page summary sheet that highlights nonfiction text features is a valuable resource for students. Here’s how your students could effectively use this cheat sheet:

1. Reference Guide – Encourage students to use the list of text features as a reference guide when reading nonfiction texts. They can refer to the text feature examples to help them identify and understand the purpose of each feature as they encounter them in their reading assignments.
2. Text Analysis – Assign specific nonfiction texts or articles to students and ask them to analyze the text features present. Using the cheat sheet, students can identify each feature and explain how it contributes to the overall understanding of the text. This analysis helps them become more critical readers.
3. Parental Involvement – Share the list of text features with parents or guardians during parent-teacher conferences or through take-home materials. This allows parents to support their child’s learning by reinforcing the importance of recognizing and understanding nonfiction text features.

Download This List of Text Features

Use the Download button above to access either the easy-print PDF or the editable Google Slides version of these text feature definition flashcards. (Note: You will be prompted to make a copy of the Google Slides template on your personal drive before accessing it.)

Perfect for student notebooks, this resource makes a great starting point when it comes to exploring the purpose of nonfiction text features.

This resource was created by Samantha Rose, a teacher in Florida and a Teach Starter collaborator.

More Resources Targeting Text Features for Kids

Teach Starter has more great resources to save you time when teaching text features to your class. Click below for some more curriculum-aligned, teacher-created activities!

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Nonfiction Text Features Cut and Paste Worksheets

Use this text features matching worksheet when exploring the features of nonfiction texts with your students.

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Glossaries Worksheets

Download these glossary worksheets to provide your students with practice working with this valuable nonfiction text feature.

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Text Features Flashcards

Teach students the definitions of text features such as headings, sidebars, captions and many more with this set of flashcards for elementary students.