Text Features: The Picture Walk: Non Fiction Close Reading

Students familiarize themselves with a non-fiction article or text before close reading. By taking a picture walk and paying attention to various text features, it encourages students to use visual clues such as: photographs, captions, headings, diagrams, a glossary, etc. to gain a general understanding of the main idea of the text. This activity has been used independently, in centers either with partners or working within small groups before close reading a non-fiction article. It is very effective in teaching how to use text features and aids in comprehension. (Useful with articles found in National Geographic Explorer, Storyworks, etc.)