Informational Text Features

Grade 3 · English · Study Guide

Learn how nonfiction books use special features to help you find and understand information.

When you pick up a chapter book, you can start at page one and read straight through. But nonfiction — books about real things like animals, science, or history — works differently. These books are packed with special features designed to help you find exactly what you need and understand complex information quickly.

The TABLE OF CONTENTS at the front of a book lists all the chapters and the page they start on. It helps you jump straight to the topic you need. The INDEX at the back is even more detailed — it lists specific topics alphabetically and shows every page where they appear. When you need to find 'photosynthesis' in a science book, the index gets you there in seconds.

Inside the pages, you will find HEADINGS — bold titles that announce what the next section is about. Headings help you skim a chapter to find key parts. CAPTIONS are the sentences next to photographs or illustrations — they explain what you are looking at. Glossaries are mini-dictionaries at the back of a book, defining important words from the text.

Diagrams, charts, and maps are also text features. They show information visually, which often makes complex ideas much easier to understand than paragraphs of text. When you see a labeled diagram of a volcano, you instantly understand the layers in a way that words alone can't match. Skilled readers use ALL of these features — not just the main text — to fully understand what they are reading.

Key terms

table of contents

A list at the front of a book showing chapter titles and page numbers

index

An alphabetical list at the back of a book showing where topics are found

heading

A bold title that introduces a section of text and tells you what it is about

caption

A sentence or phrase next to a photo or illustration that explains it

glossary

A mini-dictionary at the back of a book that defines important vocabulary words

diagram

A labeled drawing that shows how something works or is organized

Flashcards

table of contents

Front-of-book feature listing chapters and page numbers

index

Back-of-book alphabetical list of topics with page numbers

heading

Bold section title that tells you what a passage is about

caption

Text next to a photo or illustration explaining what it shows

glossary

Back-of-book mini-dictionary of important vocabulary

diagram

A labeled visual drawing explaining how something works

Practice questions

1. Where would you look to find what page a chapter starts on?

   1. The index
   2. The glossary
   3. The table of contents
   4. A caption
   Show answer

   Answer: The table of contents

   The table of contents lists every chapter with its starting page number.

2. A caption is a bold title at the top of a section of text.

   Show answer

   Answer: False

   A caption explains a photo or illustration. A bold section title is called a heading.

3. A mini-dictionary at the back of a nonfiction book is called a ___.

   Show answer

   Answer: glossary

   A glossary is a specialized dictionary at the back of a nonfiction book defining key terms.

4. Which text feature would help you find every page in a book that mentions 'wolves'?

   1. Table of contents
   2. Heading
   3. Caption
   4. Index
   Show answer

   Answer: Index

   The index lists topics alphabetically and shows every page they appear on — perfect for searching.

5. Diagrams help readers understand information visually.

   Show answer

   Answer: True

   Diagrams use visuals and labels to make complex ideas easier to grasp than words alone.

Fun facts

• The index of a long nonfiction book can have thousands of entries — it is like a mini-search engine made of paper!
• Ancient Romans used a type of table of contents called a 'capitulatio' to organize their scrolls more than 2,000 years ago.

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