Learn about how the publishers of your history textbook use certain features to make it easier for you to learn and understand information.

1. Making Predictions
Keys to Unlocking Your Textbooks

2. Textbook Structures
 Most textbooks have common features.
 Strategic readers automatically consider
how a particular text is structured in
order to improve comprehension.
 Becoming familiar with text features
will help you be a better reader.

3. Let’s Be Information
THIEVES
 Title - What can we predict?
 Headings - What questions do you think they will answer?
 Introduction & first paragraph - Can you predict the main
idea?
 Everything you know - What background knowledge do you
already have about his topic?
 Visuals - What do the visual clues tell us?
 End of Chapter questions - Can you predict what they will be
by looking at summaries, bold-faced or italicized words, or
sub-headings?
 So What? - Why did the author write this? Why is the
information important to know?

4. NB # - Textbook Features
 Try to create a mental image of your history
textbook.
 With your partner, brainstorm a list of textbook
features that the publisher uses to help you
understand new information.
 As we review the features, circle the ones you
predicted correctly. Add the ones you didn’t get to
your list.

5. Text Feature 1 -
Chapter Titles
 What will this
chapter be about?
 What do you already
know about this
topic?
Text Feature 2 -
Standards
 What are you
expected to
know?

6. Text Feature 3 -
Visuals
 What kinds of visuals
do you expect to
see?
 maps
 charts
 photos
 captions
 diagrams
 timelines
 What pictures are on
the page?
 What do they tell you
about what you will
be learning?

7. Text Feature 4 -
Introduction
 What will you learn?
 What is the Big Idea?
 If YOU were there . . .
taps into what
cognitive strategy?
 What is the purpose of
Building Background?
Text Feature 5 -
Key Terms
What new vocabulary
will you learn?
Where can you find
the definitions for
those terms?

8. Text Feature 6 -
Typography
 How does the
publisher indicate
important words,
terms, or ideas in
the text?
 Highlighting
 Italics
 Bold-face
 Color
 Font size
 Font style

9. Text Feature 3 - Visuals
Looking at Maps
 How do you know
what’s most important?
 What is a legend? What
information is it giving
you?
 What is an inset map?
What is its purpose?
 What is a compass
rose? How does it help
you answer the
Interpreting Maps
questions?
 How does the map and
its captions relate to
what you’re learning?

10. Text Feature 7 -
Reading Checks
 Where do the
Reading Check
questions occur?
 Why should you try
to answer them?
Text Feature 8 -
Subheadings
 What questions will
the subheadings
answer?

11. What Text Features
are on this page?
 Subheadings
 Key terms
 Visuals
 Captions
 Typography

12. Text Feature 9 -
Skill Builders
 Besides learning
information about
history, what skills
do they want you to
develop?
 Why are those skills
important?
 How could they help
you in other classes?
In your life?

13. Text Feature 10 -
Summary and Preview
 What main ideas were
you supposed to have
learned?
 What’s coming up next?
Text Feature 11 -
End-of-Chapter Questions
 What does the red text
indicate?
 Where can you go to
search for the answers?
 How would pre-reading
the assessment
questions first help you
as you read the chapter?

14. Text Feature 12 -
Informational Tools
 If you need to find
information, where
can you look?
 Table of Contents
 Glossary
 Index

16. Remember . . .
I can show you the tools . . .
but you have to choose to use
them!