Grade 4: Learning About Text Features

Introduction to The Iroquois: The Six Nations Confederacy

What Students Will Learn

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

• Explain how special parts of an informational text (called text features) help readers understand the main idea.
• Use text features to find information about the Iroquois Confederacy (a group of six Native American nations that joined together).

Teachers will check how well students are learning by looking at:

• A class chart about text features
• Students' answers to questions about the reading
• Students' work on a handout about text features

What Will Happen in This Lesson

1. Opening – Getting interested in the topic (5 minutes)
2. Work Time
3. Exploring text features (10 minutes)
4. Making a class chart about text features (10 minutes)
5. Reading and answering questions (15 minutes)
6. Reading again, focusing on text features (15 minutes)
7. Wrap-Up – Talking about what was learned (5 minutes)
8. Homework

Notes for the teacher: Before this lesson, read Chapter 1 of the book and look over the questions students will answer. During the lesson, students will look through different informational books to notice common text features. This helps them see that many nonfiction books use the same kinds of features.

There's no special vocabulary about the Iroquois in this lesson, since the lesson is really about text features.

A note on names: Earlier, students learned that the Haudenosaunee (the name this group calls themselves) became known as the "Iroquois" through French and English words. Even though Haudenosaunee is the name they prefer, this lesson will use "Iroquois" since that's the word used in the book.

Important Words in This Lesson

informational text, text feature, central meaning, headings, glossary, caption, index, sidebar, bold, italics, pronunciation guide, impressed, Iroquois, Confederacy, constitution

What You'll Need

• One copy of The Iroquois: The Six Nations Confederacy for each student
• Index cards
• About 15 other informational books (any nonfiction books with text features will work)
• A chart with questions about the Iroquois
• Markers
• A handout called "Learning from Text Features"

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Opening: Getting Interested (5 minutes)

The teacher will talk with students about how learning about the Iroquois has taught them a lot about oral traditions (stories and history passed down by talking, not writing) and about living peacefully together.

The teacher might say: "Our study has made me want to learn even more about the Iroquois. Do you want to know more too?"

Students will think about questions they still have. The teacher will write these questions on a new chart. If students need help thinking of questions, the teacher might suggest some, like:

• "How did they use natural resources?"
• "How did men, women, and children work and play?"
• "What traditions do the Iroquois have?"

Students will learn that they'll read a new chapter from The Iroquois, plus other informational texts, to learn more about how the Iroquois lived long ago—and how they still live and contribute to our world today.

The class will read the first learning target together: "I can describe text features of informational text that help me understand the central message." Students will point out any words they don't know, such as text features, informational text, or main idea.

The class will discuss:

• Informational text — writing where the author's goal is to teach the reader something
• Main idea — the most important message the author wants to share

Students will discover the meaning of "text features" as the lesson continues.

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Work Time

A. Exploring Text Features (10 minutes)

Students will look through The Iroquois book. They'll talk with a partner about how the pages are organized, and how this is different from a storybook or novel.

As students notice different text features (like a sidebar, a small box of extra information), the teacher will write the name of each feature on an index card. Students will later add definitions, purposes, and examples to these cards.

The teacher may point out features like:

• heading – a title for a section
• glossary – a list of important words and their meanings
• caption – words that explain a picture
• index – a list at the back of the book showing where to find topics
• sidebar – extra information off to the side
• bold and italics – special print styles used to highlight words
• pronunciation guide – help for saying tricky words out loud

Students will talk about why authors use these features in informational text.

Then, working with a partner, students will look through a different informational book. They'll check if the text features they already found are also in this new book—and look for any new ones. If they find new features but don't know the name, that's okay! They can just describe what they see.

B. Making a Text Features Chart (10 minutes)

Students will share any new text features they found. The teacher will write each one on an index card.

Then the class will split into small groups—one group per text feature. Each group will spend 3–5 minutes working on their card. They will:

• Write a definition of the text feature
• Write a sentence explaining why it's useful
• Find an example in a book, along with the page number

Each group will share their work with the class. The teacher will write down each group's ideas on a big class chart titled Informational Text Features.

C. Reading and Answering Questions (15 minutes)

Students will follow along in their books as the teacher reads pages 5–8 of The Iroquois aloud.

Partway through page 6, the teacher will pause and say, "Oh! I already found the answer to one of our questions!" Students will talk with a partner about: How did the Iroquois people use natural resources? Then several students will share their answers.

The teacher will keep reading until the picture on page 7. Here, students will talk about the meaning of the word impressed. The teacher will show students a helpful strategy: reading on to figure out a word's meaning.

For example: Reading further, we learn that Thomas Jefferson used ideas from the Iroquois Confederacy when writing parts of the U.S. Constitution (the document that sets up how our country's government works). The teacher might explain: "If Thomas Jefferson liked these ideas enough to use them, he must have really admired and learned from what the Iroquois did. That helps me figure out that impressed means to really like and learn from something."

The teacher will keep reading to the bottom of page 8. Then students will think about this question: Why does the author say "the people of the longhouse have survived"? Students will reread quietly on their own, then talk with a partner about their ideas.

D. Rereading to Focus on Text Features (15 minutes)

Students will reread from the front cover through page 9. As they read, they'll fill out a handout called "Learning Using Text Features."

Depending on what students need, they may work alone, with a partner, or in a small group with extra teacher support.

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Wrap-Up (5 minutes)

Students will think about the new things they learned by using text features to guide their reading.

Then they'll talk with a partner about this question: What should we write on our Text Feature chart about why text features are important when reading informational text?

The teacher will choose a strong idea from the discussion and add it to the class chart.

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Homework

Finish reading Chapter 1. Keep thinking about how Iroquois life long ago was different from life today.