Language Arts · Grade 1

Active learning ideas

Navigating Text Features

Active learning works for this topic because young readers need to physically interact with text features to internalize their purpose. When students hunt, predict, build, and sort, they connect abstract symbols like headings to real-world questions they have while reading.

• Ontario Curriculum Expectations
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.5

• 20–30 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 30 min · Pairs

Scavenger Hunt: Feature Find

Supply a variety of non-fiction books. In pairs, students hunt for one heading, one caption, and one diagram, noting what information each provides. Pairs share findings with the class, discussing how features speed up locating facts.

Explain how a heading helps us anticipate the content of a section.

Facilitation Tip

During Feature Find, provide books at varied reading levels so every student experiences success finding multiple headings and captions.

What to look for

Provide students with a page from a non-fiction book. Ask them to point to one heading and explain what they think the section will be about. Then, ask them to find a caption and read it aloud, explaining what it tells them about the picture.

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 02

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 20 min · Pairs

Prediction Pairs: Heading Guesses

Partners select a non-fiction book and read only the headings. They predict section content on sticky notes, then read to check accuracy. Discuss why headings help anticipate ideas.

Justify an author's choice to use a photograph over a drawing in a non-fiction text.

Facilitation Tip

For Heading Guesses, model how to underline key words in headings to predict content before reading the text.

What to look for

Give each student a simple diagram (e.g., a plant cell, a bicycle). Ask them to write one sentence explaining what the diagram shows and list two labels they see on the diagram.

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 03

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 25 min · Individual

Diagram Lab: Label and Caption

Students draw a simple diagram of a familiar object, like a tree. Individually add labels and a caption, then swap with a partner for feedback on clarity. Share revisions whole class.

Analyze how labels on a diagram contribute to understanding a concept.

Facilitation Tip

In Diagram Lab, assign pairs the same image so they can compare their labels and captions after building their own versions.

What to look for

Present students with two versions of the same information: one with clear headings and captions, and one without. Ask: 'Which version is easier to read? Why? How do the headings and captions help you understand the information faster?'

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 04

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 25 min · Small Groups

Feature Sort: Match and Justify

Prepare cards with text excerpts, headings, captions, and diagrams. Small groups sort matches and justify choices, like why a photo needs a caption. Present one sort to class.

Explain how a heading helps us anticipate the content of a section.

Facilitation Tip

During Feature Sort, use sticky notes so students can physically move and re-categorize features as their understanding grows.

What to look for

Provide students with a page from a non-fiction book. Ask them to point to one heading and explain what they think the section will be about. Then, ask them to find a caption and read it aloud, explaining what it tells them about the picture.

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness
• Decision-Making

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should model thinking aloud when using text features, showing how headings act as a roadmap and captions answer the ‘who, what, where’ of an image. Avoid rushing through activities, as students need time to articulate how features help them. Research suggests frequent, short practice with immediate feedback builds automaticity, so return to these skills often in mini-lessons.

Successful learning looks like students using headings to locate sections, reading captions to add meaning to images, labeling diagrams with clear terms, and justifying why a text feature helps them understand a topic faster. They should discuss their choices with partners and explain their thinking in simple sentences.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Scavenger Hunt: Feature Find, watch for students who scan only the first heading and assume it applies to the whole book.

  Have students circle or highlight every heading they find and explain what each section is about in one sentence.

• During Prediction Pairs: Heading Guesses, watch for students who ignore the heading and guess based only on the picture.

  Ask partners to underline two words in the heading before making their guess, then compare their predictions to the actual text.

• During Diagram Lab: Label and Caption, watch for students who skip adding labels or write vague captions.

  Model adding at least two specific labels and a caption with a number detail, then have peers check each other’s work for clarity.

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Methods used in this brief

• Outdoor Investigation Session