Unit Plan 6 (Grade 2 ELA): Introducing Nonfiction Text Features

Focus: Headings, captions, glossaries, indexes; locating facts

Grade Level: 2

Subject Area: English Language Arts (Reading Informational)

Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 45–60 minutes per session

I. Introduction

This week, readers become fact finders by using nonfiction text features. Students will learn what features look like and what they do (headings, captions, bold words, diagrams/labels, table of contents, glossary, index, and simple digital icons/menus). They’ll practice asking clear questions, locating facts quickly, and explaining how pictures/diagrams help them understand.

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to…

1. Identify and use text features (headings, captions, bold words, table of contents, glossary, index, icons/menus) to locate key facts (RI.2.5).
2. Explain how images/diagrams and their captions/labels add information to the text (RI.2.7).
3. Ask and answer questions (who/what/where/when/why/how) and point to text or feature evidence that supports the answer (RI.2.1).

Standards Alignment — CCSS Grade 2

• RI.2.5, RI.2.7, RI.2.1

Success Criteria — student language

• I can name the feature and tell what it does.
• I can find a fact fast using a heading, table of contents, glossary, or index.
• I can explain what a picture/diagram teaches that the words alone don’t.
• I can answer who/what/where/when/why/how and show where I found it.