Text features scavenger hunt: a 30-minute nonfiction activity, 3–5

1. Hold up a nonfiction book and preview it aloud for two minutes: "Before I read, I check the table of contents, the headings and the pictures with captions. Now I already know what this book will teach me."
2. Name the features for the hunt. Choose 6 to 8: title, table of contents, heading, photograph with caption, diagram or labeled picture, map, bold word, glossary, index.
3. Groups get 10 minutes. For each feature they find, they write the feature, the book title and the page number on one sticky note and flag the page with another.
4. The rule: a find goes on the chart only if the group can say its job. For example: "The glossary tells us what the bold words mean."
5. Groups post their notes on the chart. Point out any feature only one group found.
6. Groups swap books and check one flagged page.
7. Close: "You have one minute to find what a beetle eats. Which feature do you use first?" The index or table of contents is fastest.

Tip: students often mix up the glossary (explains words) and the index (lists topics with page numbers). Show both side by side.

Differentiation: for younger or newer readers, hunt for only four features and give each group a book with large, clear examples. For advanced readers, add sidebars and timelines, and ask which feature helped most. For English learners, sketch a small example next to each feature name on the chart and pair them with a partner who can talk through the job. For students with fine-motor needs, let them be the group's spotter and reporter while a partner writes the notes.

Quick check: hand each student a nonfiction book they haven't seen. In 30 seconds, they point to one text feature and tell you its job in one sentence.

If you try it, tell us which book in your classroom had the most text features. We'd love some new titles for our own shelves.