Languages and literacy
Non-fiction text features organiser
Read a short article about octopuses, then identify features that help readers find and understand information. Pupils match each feature to its purpose, skim and scan for facts, and make a fact box about an animal they know.
Use the labelled octopus drawing to spot how a diagram helps a reader find information.
Read the complete materialRead the material
Read a short article about octopuses, then identify features that help readers find and understand information. Pupils match each feature to its purpose, skim and scan for facts, and make a fact box about an animal they know.
Activity. Use the preview for diagrams and layout.
Page 1
NAME CLASS DATE LEARNING GOAL Find the features of a non-fiction text and say how they help a reader. SUCCESS CRITERIA I can find eight non-fiction features. I can say what each feature is for. I can skim and scan to find facts fast. Read the article twice. Leave the empty boxes for page 2. The Amazing Octopus A Eight arms, three hearts and blue blood: meet the octopus! BY THE ISSUE 05 NATURE DESK I magine having eight arms, three hearts and blue blood. For an octopus, that is completely normal! Octopuses are invertebrates and they belong to a group of animals called molluscs. No bones about it An octopus has no bones at all. Its body is soft, so it can squeeze through small gaps. Each of its eight arms is covered in suckers. Masters of hiding An octopus can change the colour and the texture of its skin. This camouflage helps it to hide. If a predator still spots it, the octopus has one more trick: it squirts ink and escapes! FACT FILE ARMS 8 HEARTS 3 BLOOD blue BONES none GROUP mollusc ESCAPE squirts ink GLOSSARY camouflage: colours or patterns that help an animal hide invertebrate: an animal with no backbone mollusc: one of a large group of soft-bodied animals predator: an animal that hunts other animals for food texture: how a surface feels, such as bumpy or smooth Article by the class teacher IN THIS ISSUE 1 READ 2 HUNT E N G L I S H R E A D I N G AG E S 8 TO 1 0 N O N - F I C T I O N F E AT U R E S Feature hunters Read a magazine article, then hunt for the features that help readers. ISSUE 05 Read the article R E A D 1 head eye arm suckers Diagram 1: the parts of an octopus. Can you count all eight arms? Page 1 of 2
Page 2
1. Find each feature on page 1. Write its letter in the empty box beside it. 2. Draw a line from each feature to its job. A is done for you. A Title explains hard words B Standfirst says what one part is about C Subheading (two boxes) names the topic of the text D Labelled diagram gives quick facts in a box E Caption sums up the text to hook you F Fact box tells you what a picture shows G Bold word shows a word is in the glossary H Glossary shows the parts, with names Skim = read fast for the main idea. Scan = hunt for one word or fact. a Skim page 1 for 30 seconds. What is the article mostly about? b How many hearts does an octopus have? c What colour is octopus blood? d What does an octopus squirt to escape? e Which word means "no backbone"? FACT FILE ANIMAL FACT 1 FACT 2 FACT 3 CAPTION Non-fiction text features organiser · Feature desk I S S U E 0 5 N O N - F I C T I O N F E AT U R E S F E AT U R E D E S K Hunt the features Feature hunt C H E C K 14 marks 2 Skim and scan T H I N K 5 marks 3 Make your own fact box W R I T E 4 MY DRAWING Choose an animal you know well. Write three true facts about it. Draw it here, then write a caption. Page 2 of 2
A teaching sequence
Identify common non-fiction text features, explain their purpose for a reader, and retrieve stated facts efficiently by skimming and scanning.
Use the labelled octopus drawing to spot how a diagram helps a reader find information.
Read the complete materialFind the article's features
Read the octopus article and locate its subheadings, fact file, labelled diagram, caption and glossary entries.
Which label identifies a part of the octopus?
Explain a feature's job
Use the feature-hunt task to match each named feature with its purpose. Ask pupils to justify one match by pointing to the article.
How does the caption help in a different way from the heading?
Skim, then scan
Skim the article for its main idea, then scan for a stated fact such as the number of hearts or the colour of the octopus's blood.
Where does the article state the number of hearts?
Create an animal fact box
Choose a familiar animal and create a fact box with three true statements, a drawing and a caption that tells the reader what it shows.
What source supports each of your three animal facts?
Before you teach
Look for the thinking behind an answer, choose the support your class needs and leave room for an independent response.
What to look for
Look for an explanation of how a feature helps, not only its label. Ask, “Where would you look to find the meaning of camouflage?” If a pupil names the glossary, follow up with, “How does that help a reader?” Check facts against a reliable source before pupils publish their own animal cards.
Give a little support
Provide a copy of the article with one feature highlighted, then work through the first match together. Offer a short list of feature names and let pupils point to examples before writing explanations.
Take the idea further
Ask pupils to compare how two features present the same fact, such as a sentence in the article and an entry in the fact file. They can explain which one they would use for a quick search and why.
Things to keep in mind
The article gives one example of non-fiction features, not every way publishers arrange information. Check pupils' own animal facts against a suitable source before display or assessment. The worksheet includes prompts but no answer key.
Keep the idea. Make it yours.
Bring your topic, learning goal and class context to PLAI™, then review what you create.
Ideas to try with your class
Sample teaching perspectives on what to try, what to adapt and what to watch for.
Meet The Creators
Meet the creators whose teaching interests connect with this template. Find an approach to try with your class.
Tyler Brooks
I plan Year 4 English, mathematics, science and inquiry around pupils’ different prior curricula, using clear purposes, examples and language so they can compare approaches and explain their thinking.
Meet the creator
Samuel Ogilvie
Reading for pleasure matters to me, and I would rather help a child finish a book they selected than fill every reading moment with a worksheet.
Meet the creator
Chalk & Chai
The two-page “Amazing Octopus” article includes a headline, standfirst, subheadings, fact file, glossary, bold terms, diagram and caption. Pupils match each feature to its job, then skim and scan for stated details.
Bright Idea Break
For ages 8 to 10, the exercise moves from finding text features to making a fact box for an animal the pupil knows. The glossary and labelled diagram show how different features support readers in different ways.
Five More Minutes
The definitions of skim and scan distinguish reading for the main idea from hunting for a particular fact. Pupils can answer the hearts or blood question by returning to the article instead of relying on memory.
Gentle Reminder
The sample article offers a model for finding text features; check its facts before reusing it for science content. Keep feature purpose separate from scientific accuracy when discussing why each part helps a reader.