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1st Grade Text Features Resources

40 1st grade text features resources: 24 worksheets, 12 activities and 4 Common Core Lessons. How teachers use these

1st Grade Text Features Resources

40 1st grade text features resources: 24 worksheets, 12 activities and 4 Common Core Lessons. How teachers use these

Worksheet
Worksheet1st GradePicture Matching Sentences Worksheet

With this picture matching sentences worksheet, first graders read six short sentences and label the picture each one describes. Answer key included, so checking work takes seconds.

Worksheet
Worksheet1st GradeUsing Picture Clues Worksheet

This Using Picture Clues Worksheet gives first graders four illustrated sentences and asks them to figure out what each bold word means. An answer key is included, so it is ready for quick, no-prep reading practice.

Activity
Activity1st GradePictures Tell Stories Sequencing Activity

Children put wordless picture cards in order and tell the story in this pictures tell stories sequencing activity for preschool to 1st grade, with a practice page and answer key included.

Worksheet
Worksheet1st GradeUsing Text or Pictures to Find Information Worksheet

This Using Text or Pictures to Find Information Worksheet asks 2nd graders to decide whether each fact came from the words or the picture. An answer key is included, so nonfiction practice takes no prep.

Worksheet
Worksheet1st GradeUsing Pictures as Context Clues Worksheet

This Using Pictures as Context Clues Worksheet helps 1st Grade readers use an illustration and the words around a new word to find its meaning, with five questions and an answer key included.

Worksheet
Worksheet1st GradeUnderstanding Meaning The Venus Fly Trap Worksheet

The Understanding Meaning The Venus Fly Trap Worksheet gives 1st graders a short non-fiction passage and five context clue questions. An answer key is included, so students can check their thinking and point to the sentence that proves it.

Worksheet
Worksheet1st GradeIdentifying Unknown Words in a Text Worksheet

This Identifying Unknown Words in a Text Worksheet gives 1st Grade readers a soccer passage and five context clue questions, with an answer key included, so they learn to work out new words from the sentences around them.

Activity
Activity1st GradeStory Elements Activity

This story elements activity has kindergarten and 1st grade students hear a short story and match picture cards to its characters, setting, problem and solution. Answer key included.

Worksheet
Worksheet1st GradeFinding Information Using Text and Photos Worksheet

A beaver-themed Finding Information Using Text and Photos Worksheet that has 1st graders decide whether each answer came from the words, the picture, or both. Answer key included for fast, no-prep nonfiction reading practice.

Worksheet
Worksheet1st GradeWhere the Wild Things Are Worksheet

Using this Where the Wild Things Are Worksheet, students describe the title, author, and illustrator of Where the Wild Things Are.

Activity
Activity1st GradePictures and Words Context Clues Activity

This pictures and words context clues activity lets PreK to 1st grade children hold up a sign to show whether a fact came from the picture or the words. Answer key included.

Worksheet
Worksheet1st GradeFeatures of an Informational Book Worksheet

This features of an informational book worksheet helps 1st grade readers name and find a heading, photo, caption, and bold word on a real book page, with an answer key for easy checking.

Worksheet
Worksheet1st GradeThe Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System Worksheet

Using The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System Worksheet, students read The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System to determine the meanings of these words and phrases.

Worksheet
Worksheet1st GradeCompare Contrast Book Covers Worksheet

Using Compare Contrast Book Covers Worksheet, students compare two books using information from the book cover to determine how they are alike and different.

Activity
Activity1st GradeText Features Scavenger Hunt Activity

This text features scavenger hunt activity for 1st to 3rd Grade has kids match features to meanings, then find each one in a short sunflower book. Answer key included.

Worksheet
Worksheet1st GradeFind the Meaning of the Word Worksheet

The Find the Meaning of the Word Worksheet gives 1st graders a short non-fiction passage and five context clue questions. An answer key is included, so children can check their thinking and point to the sentence that proves it.

Activity
Activity1st GradeI Have Who Has Text Features Activity

This I Have Who Has text features activity gets 1st to 3rd Grade readers listening for clues to sixteen nonfiction features, then hunting for them in a book. Answer key included.

Activity
Activity1st GradeCharacter Setting Plot Activity

This character setting plot activity has 1st to 3rd graders read a short story, sort story cards by element, and order the plot. Answer key included for quick checking.

Activity
Activity1st GradeText Features Activity

This text features activity sends Kindergarten to 2nd Grade readers on a book part hunt with 12 picture cards, a recording sheet and a practice page, answer key included, to build nonfiction reading skills.

Worksheet
Worksheet1st GradeComparing Similar Texts Illustrations Worksheet

This Comparing Similar Texts Illustrations worksheet has 1st graders read two short pumpkin books and compare their pictures, with an answer key that makes checking quick and easy.

From our teachers' playbook

Headings, pictures and bold words

What do 1st graders learn about text features?

First graders discover that nonfiction books have special tools to help readers find information. They learn about the title, table of contents, headings, bold words, glossary, photos and captions. They practice using pictures and words together to understand what they read, and they compare storybooks with information books. The click comes when a child wants to know about sharks, opens the table of contents and flips straight to the right page.

Our favorite ways to teach text features

Text features make sense when kids use them to find something they actually want to know.

Pictures plus words

Show a page with a photo and a caption. Ask: what did the photo show? What did the caption add? Kids learn that both carry information. Have them find one fact from the picture and one from the words.

Why it works: pairing a picture with each word gives kids two ways to remember it, a well-tested principle of how people learn (Mayer, 2009).

Finding Information Using Text and Photos WorksheetTry it withFinding Information Using Text and Photos WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →

Tour a nonfiction book

Before reading, take the class on a tour of an information book. Point to each feature and ask, "How does this help us?" Then make a class anchor chart with a sticky-note example of each feature.

Why it works: handing over the work step by step, from teacher to student, is one of the most widely used teaching frameworks (Pearson and Gallagher, 1983).

Features of an Informational Book WorksheetTry it withFeatures of an Informational Book WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →

I have, who has?

Play a quick round where kids match each text feature to its job. "I have glossary. Who has the part that tells where to find each chapter?" Everyone listens closely, and the vocabulary sticks.

Why it works: playful practice with a clear goal keeps kids practicing longer, and simple learning games have been shown to build real skills (Ramani and Siegler, 2008).

I Have Who Has Text Features ActivityTry it withI Have Who Has Text Features ActivityActivitiesOpen it →

Questions parents and teachers ask

What text features do 1st graders learn?

Titles, table of contents, headings, bold words, glossaries, photos, captions and labels. They learn how each one helps a reader find or understand information.

Why are text features important?

They help readers find information quickly and understand new words and ideas. Knowing text features makes nonfiction much easier to read.

What's the difference between fiction and nonfiction for 1st graders?

Fiction tells a made-up story. Nonfiction gives true information and often has features like headings, photos and a glossary.

How can I practice text features at home?

Read nonfiction books about your child's favorite topics. Ask them to find the table of contents, a bold word or a caption, and talk about what each one tells you.