Informational Text Tutorial

Informational Texts: Getting the Most Out of Text Features

Sarah Katko IDT 7062

Text features are placed in non-fictional texts to give the reader additional information that leads to a deeper understanding of the literature. Text features come in many different forms. The objective of this tutorial is to teach you, the student, how to analyze text features (graphs, timelines, footnotes) commonly found in a piece of informational text.

The tutorial is designed to teach you how to read text features fluently, so that you can demonstrate the ability to pull information from the feature and apply it towards the relationship of the text. This will include making inferences based on a text feature. The following video will give you more information about text features:Text features video

Navigate through the tutorial using the buttons in the navigation bar along the bottom of each slide. On the practice slide, if you click on the correct answer, it will take you to a screen that tells you that you are correct. If youare not correct, nothing will happen. Take a second look at the information and try again. If at any time you need these directions again, click on the home button at the bottom of the page to return to this slide.

After completing this practice module, you will take a 6 question assessment located on the last slide. Your goal is to get at least 5 out of6 questions (83%) correct. Do your best and good luck!

Getting Started

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Bar Graphs A graph is titled with the topic of information it provides, and contains a key that categorizes the displayed information. Bar graphs may display data from side to side (A) or from top to bottom (B). The bottom, horizontal, line which runs from side to side on the graph is known as the X axis, and the Y axis is the vertical line that runs from top to bottom. Both axis have labels to tell the reader what information is being given.

In example A below, the title tells us that we are looking at scores by team per season. The key tells us that team A is represented by red, B by blue, and C by purple. The Y axis tells us which yearly season we are looking at, and the X axis tells us how many points were scored by each of the three teams.

BA In example A, we can see that team B has scored more points per season than any other team for all 4 years shown. Based on related texts, we can make inferences from this. If the text was discussing training habits, you might infer that team B trains longer and harder than others.

In example B, we can see that Product Z sold less than the others during quarter 1, but sold more than the others during quarters 3 and 4. If the text were related to product quality, we could infer that the quality of product Z dramatically increased.

According to the bar graph above, which of the following statements could not be made?

A. In the majority of months, trucks outsold cars.

B. More trucks sold in March than cars sold in May and June

C. Car sales increased from March to July

Practice Time

Line Graphs and Pie Charts

Line graphs have the same attributes as bar graphs, but instead of using bars or columns to compare 2 or more pieces of data, a line is used.In the line graph above, you can see that the average high temperature on Wednesday was 75, and the average low was 75. We can also see that Thursday had lower temperatures than any other day.

Pie charts, also known as circle graphs, are another way data may be represented in an informational text. The title on the pie chart above tells you that you are looking at a display of how many people like certain types of movies. Each category has its own section of the circle, and is labeled with the number of people who like each type the best. This graph has even converted the numbers to the percentage of the whole sample. You can see that drama is the least liked category and romance is the most. You can also see that sci-fi and romance together make up half of the entire sample.

Practice Time

According to the graph above, which inference can be made?

A. People do not care about their dogs.

B. The majority of dog owners care about keeping their dogs well groomed.

C. The majority of dog owners have dirty houses because they never wash their dogs.

Maps

Maps are often used in informational texts to give the reader a deeper understandingof the setting where the text takes place. It is often difficult for a reader to visualize unfamiliar places, and a map can clarify unanswered questions a reader may have about the place.

The map above tells us that Polo mostly traveled parallel to silk road across Mongolia. In addition to the information given on the key, the map also gives the layout of countries, cities, bodies of water, and other physical land features. Two major bodies of water located near Mongolia are the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, and the Pamir Mountains are located in Mongolia.

Practice Time

Which city is south of Dallas and east of Austin?

A. Amarillo

B. Houston

C. El Paso

Words in a passage may be marked with a number, indicating a footnote. A footnote gives further information about that word. This information can be located next to that number at the bottom, or foot, of the page. This information is given to provide clarity about a specific term, in relation to its meaning in the text.

Footnotes

Practice Time

"This is the first case series reported with the detection of the SARS coronavirus2 from tears and has important implications for the practice of ophthalmology3 and medicine," Loon said in a report in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

1. of or relating to respiration or the organs of respiration 2. any of various single-stranded, RNA-containing viruses that cause respiratory infection in humans and resemble a crown when viewed under an electron microscope because of their petal-shaped projections3. the branch of medicine that deals with the anatomy, functions, pathology, and treatment of the eye

Question: An ophthalmologist is a doctor who studies --A. Eyes

B. Respiratory organs

C. RNA-containing viruses

Timelines

Timelines are a visual representation of when events have taken place. They can show one event’srelationship to another in regard to sequence. Timelines can also be used to visually summarize major events that have taken place during a specified time period. Pictures may be included for enhancement, butare not a requirement of a timeline. On the timeline above, you can see that Pompeii was destroyed 872 years before the Great Fire of Londontook place. The timeline also tells you that the battle of Waterloo took place in 1815.

Practice Time

Which event shown on the timeline happened before the start of the French Revolution, but after Britain was invaded by Vikings?

A. Roman Invasion of Britain

B. Columbus reaches America

C. First World War

Quiz Time!

Click on the following link to take a 6 question quiz over the concepts you just learned. Here are your instructions:

Enter the code: PZPPZ814967Enter your name: Last name, first initial

You have one attempt at each question, and if you get it right, you get to play the game you have chosen after logging in!

http://assignments.discoveryeducation.com/

You are correct! Great Job!

Press the button below to return to the previous side, then use the next button to move on to next slide.

Sorry, that is incorrect. Please re-read your answer choices thoroughly and use the process of elimination todetermine the correct answer. Remember to pay close attention to the labels on each axis as well as in the key.

Click the button below to return to the question when you are ready.

Sorry, that is incorrect. Please look closely at the percentages associated with each categoryand think about how that might represent the pet owners attitude.

Click on the button below to return to the question when you are ready.

Sorry, that is incorrect. Please use the direction key to check the location of the cities in relation to Dallas.

Click on the button below to return to the question when you are ready.

Sorry, that is incorrect. HINT: use the number associated with the footnoted word in line 2

Click on the button below to return to the question when you are ready.

Sorry, that is incorrect. Locate the French Revolution and Britain invasion by Vikings. Then determine which of your answer choices falls in between those two events. Click on the button below to return to the question when you are ready.