Foundations of Literacy and Expression · Senior Infants

Active learning ideas

Critical Analysis of Text Features in Academic Texts

Active learning helps young students notice how text features work because they engage with real materials in purposeful ways. When children touch, point, and talk about features like titles and pictures, they move from passive observation to noticing how features guide understanding.

• NCCA Curriculum Specifications
• NCCA: Junior Cycle English - Reading
• NCCA: Junior Cycle English - Engaging with and Responding to Texts

• 25–40 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Jigsaw
• 25 min · Pairs

Book Scavenger Hunt: Find the Features

Provide informational picture books. In pairs, students hunt for one title, one picture label, one bold word, and one diagram per page, circling them with crayons. Pairs share one find with the class, explaining what it shows.

How do text features guide the reader's understanding and interpretation of complex information?

Facilitation Tip

During the Book Scavenger Hunt, model how to scan a page slowly, pointing to each feature as you name it, so children learn to observe systematically.

What to look for

Provide students with a page from a simple informational book. Ask them to point to and name two different text features they see. Then, ask them to explain what one of those features helps them understand about the page.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

Activity 02

• Jigsaw
• 30 min · Small Groups

Feature Matching Game

Print cards with text features (e.g., heading next to matching content snippet) and shuffle. Small groups match pairs, then read aloud to justify choices. Extend by creating their own simple labels for drawings.

What is the purpose of different visual elements (e.g., graphs, charts) in conveying data?

Facilitation Tip

For the Feature Matching Game, place all materials on the floor so students can see and physically handle the cards, which makes abstract ideas concrete.

What to look for

Show students a picture with a caption and a simple diagram related to the same topic. Ask: 'How does the picture help us see what the text is talking about? How does the caption add more information? How is the diagram different from the picture, and what does it show us?'

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

Activity 03

• Jigsaw
• 40 min · Small Groups

Text Feature Detective Stations

Set up stations with books: Station 1 titles/predictions, Station 2 pictures/details, Station 3 labels/names. Groups rotate, noting how each feature helps understanding in journals with drawings.

How can text features be used to highlight or obscure certain information, influencing reader perception?

Facilitation Tip

At Text Feature Detective Stations, start with one feature per station so students focus on comparing how different features work before moving to mixed sets.

What to look for

Give each student a card with a picture of a text feature (e.g., a heading, a bold word, a simple chart). Ask them to write one sentence explaining what that feature does to help a reader.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

Activity 04

• Jigsaw
• 35 min · Individual

Build-Your-Own Feature Book

Individually, students draw a simple info page about a familiar topic, adding title, labels, and pictures. Share in whole class circle, discussing how features make it clear.

How do text features guide the reader's understanding and interpretation of complex information?

What to look for

Provide students with a page from a simple informational book. Ask them to point to and name two different text features they see. Then, ask them to explain what one of those features helps them understand about the page.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

A few notes on teaching this unit

Use a gradual release model: first, demonstrate how a title or picture connects to the text, then guide students through guided practice with questions, and finally let them explore independently. Avoid rushing to naming features before students have time to describe what they see and guess how it helps. Research shows that children learn text features best when they connect visuals to meaning, so always pair discussion with pointing to or touching the feature on the page.

Successful learning looks like students pointing to features with confidence, explaining their roles in simple terms, and using features to locate or confirm information. By the end, children should volunteer observations like 'the title tells us what the book is about' without prompting.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Book Scavenger Hunt, watch for students who point to pictures but do not connect them to the words on the page.

  After the hunt, gather students and ask, 'What did the picture of the cat show that the words also told us?' Have the student point to the words that match the picture, reinforcing the link between visual and text.

• During Feature Matching Game, watch for students who treat all features as interchangeable, such as matching a title card to a bold word card.

  During the game, pause and ask, 'Why did you match that card here?' If the match is incorrect, guide the student to read the words on the card and compare them to the feature on the page, such as noting that a title is usually at the top and in larger print.

• During Text Feature Detective Stations, watch for students who ignore the role of bold words or headings, assuming they are just decoration.

  At the station, ask the student to read the bold word aloud, then point to where else on the page they see that same word. This helps them notice that bold words are repeated to emphasize key ideas.

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Methods used in this brief

• Jigsaw