English · Foundation

Active learning ideas

Using Text Features (Headings, Pictures)

Active learning helps students see how headings, pictures, and captions work together to build meaning. Moving around, talking, and handling real texts makes abstract features concrete and memorable for young learners.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9EFLA08

• 20–35 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Stations Rotation
• 30 min · Pairs

Text Feature Scavenger Hunt

Provide non-fiction books or big books on animals. In pairs, students hunt for headings, pictures, and captions, noting one example of each on a recording sheet. Discuss findings as a class, sharing how each feature helps understanding.

Explain how a heading helps you know what a section is about.

Facilitation Tip

During the Text Feature Scavenger Hunt, circulate with a checklist and ask each pair to justify one feature they found before moving on.

What to look for

Provide students with a page from a simple non-fiction book. Ask them to point to the heading and say what they think the page is about. Then, ask them to point to a picture and explain one thing it tells them.

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Activity 02

• Stations Rotation
• 25 min · Small Groups

Heading Prediction Game

Display headings from texts without the content. Students predict in small groups what information might follow, using sticky notes. Reveal sections with pictures and captions, then compare predictions.

Analyze how pictures and captions add to the information in a text.

Facilitation Tip

In the Heading Prediction Game, pause after each guess to confirm or revise predictions using the actual text to build accuracy.

What to look for

Show students a book with clear headings and pictures. Ask: 'What do you think we will learn about under the heading 'Big Trucks'?' Then, point to a picture and ask: 'What does this picture tell us about big trucks?'

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Activity 03

• Stations Rotation
• 35 min · Small Groups

Caption Creation Station

Students select pictures from magazines or draw their own. They write captions to add information, then share with the group, explaining how the caption supports the picture.

Predict what information you might find under a specific heading.

Facilitation Tip

At the Caption Creation Station, model one caption aloud before releasing students so they hear how to add specific, new information.

What to look for

During shared reading, pause at a heading and image. Ask: 'How does this heading help us know what we are reading? How does this picture help us understand the words?' Encourage students to use the terms 'heading', 'picture', and 'caption'.

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Activity 04

• Stations Rotation
• 20 min · Individual

Feature Labelling Walk

Walk around the classroom or school with printed texts. Individually label headings, pictures, and captions on worksheets, then pair up to verify.

Explain how a heading helps you know what a section is about.

Facilitation Tip

On the Feature Labelling Walk, use a think-aloud to label two features with precise language before asking students to label independently.

What to look for

Provide students with a page from a simple non-fiction book. Ask them to point to the heading and say what they think the page is about. Then, ask them to point to a picture and explain one thing it tells them.

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teach by doing together first, not by telling. Model how you use a heading to predict, then check your thinking against the text. Avoid worksheets that separate features from meaning. Research shows young learners grasp multimodal texts best when they physically manipulate pages and talk about what they see.

By the end of these activities, students will confidently point to headings and explain their purpose, match pictures to key details, and write captions that add new information. You will see them using the terms correctly during discussions and tasks.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Heading Prediction Game, watch for students who guess headings based only on size or color rather than meaning.

  Pause the game and ask, 'What words in the heading give us clues about what we’ll read next?' Have students underline those words before confirming with the text.

• During Text Feature Scavenger Hunt, watch for students who treat pictures as decorations instead of information sources.

  At each station, ask, 'What does this picture tell us that the words don’t?' Require students to name one detail before checking it off.

• During Caption Creation Station, watch for students who copy sentences from the text for their captions.

  Give each student a sticky note and say, 'Write one new piece of information the picture shows that isn’t already in the words.' Model an example first.

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Methods used in this brief

• Stations Rotation