English Language Arts and Reading.4.6.C

The student is expected to

make and correct or confirm predictions using text features, characteristics of genre, and structures;

comprehension TEKS talk image

Knowledge and Skills Statement

Comprehension skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts. The student uses metacognitive skills to both develop and deepen comprehension of increasingly complex texts.

Use a variety of texts such as grade-level picture books or young adult texts that include illustrations. Generate a series of prediction questions based on text features such as the title, illustrations, and book cover as well as characteristics of genre and text structure. Ask students to predict what the text will be about and what type of characters might be present in a story. Students can answer the prediction questions during a class discussion, or they can be paired with another student.

Notes:

  • Teacher-generated questions should be written so that students can be guided to generate a prediction.
  • Students can also generate their own questions prior to reading and after the text has been introduced.
     

Further Explanation

This assessment item requires students to identify what they think the author wants to tell the reader. Initially, students use background knowledge and text features to make predictions with assistance. Students must be familiar with text features and characteristics of genre to understand what they may reveal about the text. A teacher may wish to assess predictions using a variety of text types.

Each genre has a variety of characteristics, or aspects that set it apart from other genres. Students should recognize the characteristics that make a genre unique in order to better understand its purpose and content. For example, an argumentative text usually presents a claim or assertion about something. It also includes facts that support the author’s argument. By identifying these components, students increase their understanding of this type of text. The same logic applies to all genres of reading.
Reading is an active process that involves interaction between the author and the reader. An author organizes ideas and uses them to try to convey a specific message. Then, the readers attempt to make sense of what they think the author wants to say. Thus, readers constantly formulate hypotheses about the content at different stages of the reading process. Initially, readers use prior knowledge to make predictions about text. Readers may also use text features to refine their predictions. As they begin to read, readers correct or confirm initial predictions. This is a continuous process.
Text structure refers to how the information within a written text is organized. There are different types of text structure. For example, a text might present a main idea and then details, compare two similar ideas or contrast two different ideas. Each form of text structure serves a particular purpose and presents central ideas and details in specific ways. The process of recognizing text structures will assist students in monitoring their comprehension of the text.
Text features refer to the components of a story or article that are not part of the main body of a text. Some examples of text features are headings and subheadings, bold words, sidebars, and photographs with captions. Text features help readers focus on important ideas and concepts. When students use text features, they can make connections within the text, become familiar with the text's organization, and access important background knowledge related to the content.

Research

Kelly, M.J., & Clausen-Grace, N. (2010). Guiding students through expository text with text feature walks: The reading strategy in this article guides students in the reading of text features in order to access prior knowledge, make connections, and set a purpose for reading expository text. The Reading Teacher. 64(3), 191–195. doi: 10.1598/RT.64.3.4

Summary: This article describes how to employ a text feature walk in the classroom and reports on the benefit  from using this technique, including results from a pilot study in the spring of 2007. Text features include all the components of a story or article that are not the main body of text. The text feature walk is a structure that addresses each of these facets of expository text.