Using Headings and Subheadings to Locate Information

Students learn best when they move from passive readers to active navigators of texts. Headings and subheadings come alive when learners physically interact with them, testing predictions and organizing ideas in real time. Hands-on activities turn abstract text features into tools they can use independently in every subject.

• 2nd Year
• The Power of Words: Exploring Literacy and Expression
• 4 activities
• 25 min–40 min

Learning Objectives

1. Analyze the organizational structure of a non-fiction text by identifying the function of headings and subheadings.
2. Predict the specific content likely to be found under a given heading or subheading.
3. Explain the author's purpose in using headings and subheadings to improve reader comprehension.
4. Classify information within a text based on its corresponding heading or subheading.
5. Compare the efficiency of locating information with and without the use of headings and subheadings.

Stations Rotation

⏱ 30 min·Pairs

Scavenger Hunt: Heading Challenges

Provide non-fiction books or articles with clear headings. Students work in pairs to answer 10 targeted questions, like 'Find three facts under "Life Cycle".' Pairs note the heading first, then skim for answers, discussing efficiency. Debrief as a class on patterns found.

Prepare & details

Analyze how headings and subheadings organize information in a text.

Facilitation Tip: In Scavenger Hunt: Heading Challenges, provide exact page numbers and line references so students practice precision, not guessing.

Setup: Tables/desks arranged in 4-6 distinct stations around room

Materials: Station instruction cards, Different materials per station, Rotation timer

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

Stations Rotation

⏱ 25 min·Small Groups

Prediction Relay: Subheading Guesses

Display a text with headings visible but content covered. In small groups, students predict content under each subheading on sticky notes, then reveal and check accuracy. Groups revise predictions collaboratively. Share best guesses whole class.

Prepare & details

Predict what information will be found under a specific heading.

Facilitation Tip: During Prediction Relay: Subheading Guesses, give teams 30 seconds to agree on predictions before revealing the actual text to spark lively debate.

Setup: Tables/desks arranged in 4-6 distinct stations around room

Materials: Station instruction cards, Different materials per station, Rotation timer

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

Stations Rotation

⏱ 35 min·Individual

Text Surgery: Add Your Headings

Give students a paragraph-heavy non-fiction passage without headings. Individually, they add headings and subheadings, explaining choices. Pair up to compare and refine, then vote on class favorites. Display improved versions.

Prepare & details

Explain why authors use headings to help readers navigate non-fiction.

Facilitation Tip: For Text Surgery: Add Your Headings, model how to underline key phrases in a paragraph that could become a heading before students attempt it themselves.

Setup: Tables/desks arranged in 4-6 distinct stations around room

Materials: Station instruction cards, Different materials per station, Rotation timer

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

Jigsaw

⏱ 40 min·Small Groups

Jigsaw: Section Experts

Divide a long text into sections by headings. Small groups become experts on one section, noting key info. Regroup to teach others and quiz on locating facts quickly. Rotate roles for full coverage.

Prepare & details

Analyze how headings and subheadings organize information in a text.

Facilitation Tip: In Jigsaw Navigation: Section Experts, assign each group a unique colored highlighter to visually track their section’s overlap with other groups’ findings.

Setup: Flexible seating for regrouping

Materials: Expert group reading packets, Note-taking template, Summary graphic organizer

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

Teaching This Topic

Teach this as a structural habit, not a one-time lesson. Model your own thinking aloud when you read headings, asking, 'What do I expect to find here?' and 'How will this help me later?' Avoid over-explaining; let the activities reveal the purpose. Research shows students grasp text organization faster when they create headings themselves, so balance analysis with production.

What to Expect

By the end of these activities, students will confidently use headings and subheadings to preview, locate, and explain information in non-fiction texts. They will articulate why authors structure content this way and apply the same organization in their own writing.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During Scavenger Hunt: Heading Challenges, watch for students who treat headings as decoration by picking any heading without checking the content beneath it.

What to Teach Instead

After they return from the hunt, have each student explain to a partner how they verified their chosen heading matched the information on the page.

Common Misconception

During Prediction Relay: Subheading Guesses, listen for students who guess subheadings based solely on the main heading’s topic rather than the paragraph’s details.

What to Teach Instead

Pause the relay and ask teams to highlight the sentence in their paragraph that confirms or refutes their prediction before moving on.

Common Misconception

During Jigsaw Navigation: Section Experts, notice groups that assume all headings are equally important and skip over subheadings entirely.

What to Teach Instead

Direct students to use their assigned color highlighters to mark every heading and subheading in their section, then compare counts across groups.

Assessment Ideas

Exit Ticket

After Text Surgery: Add Your Headings, collect students’ revised passages and headings, then use a rubric to score how accurately their titles preview the content and how logically they group ideas.

Quick Check

During Scavenger Hunt: Heading Challenges, circulate and ask individual students to point to the heading they think contains information about a specific topic, then justify their choice using the text.

Discussion Prompt

After Jigsaw Navigation: Section Experts, facilitate a whole-class discussion where students compare how different groups organized the same text and decide which structure was most effective for finding information quickly.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge students to rewrite a messy, unformatted passage into a well-structured article with headings and subheadings, then swap with a partner to test navigation.
• Scaffolding: Provide pre-printed headings on sticky notes so struggling students can physically move them onto a text to see logical groupings.
• Deeper exploration: Ask students to find a non-fiction text with weak or missing headings and redesign them to improve clarity, justifying each choice in writing.

Key Vocabulary

Heading	A title for a section of a text that indicates the main topic of that section.
Subheading	A secondary title that divides a section into smaller parts, providing more specific information about the content within that part.
Text Structure	The way information is organized in a written text, including the use of headings, subheadings, and other formatting elements.
Skimming	Reading a text quickly to get the main idea, often by looking at headings and the first sentence of paragraphs.
Scanning	Looking through a text specifically to find a particular piece of information, such as a name, date, or fact, often guided by headings.