Third Grade · Reading · week 10

Headings, captions, bold words

Use headings, captions, and bold words in nonfiction text to preview and understand content.

Nonfiction books use special text features to help you find and understand information fast. A HEADING is a short title above a section that tells you what that part is about. A CAPTION is a sentence under a picture that explains what the picture shows. A BOLD WORD is an important vocabulary word made dark and thick so it stands out -- it is often explained right there or in a glossary.

Before you even start reading a page, glance at the heading and any bold words. That is called previewing, and it gets your brain ready for what is coming.

📋 For the teacher
Teach it (10–15 min):
  • Grab any nonfiction book and flip through just reading the headings out loud -- see how much you can predict before reading a single paragraph.
  • Point to a caption together and ask what it adds that the picture alone does not say.
  • When a bold word appears, pause and hunt together for its meaning nearby.
  • Make previewing a habit: heading first, picture and caption second, THEN read the paragraph.
Talk about it:
  • Why would an author bother bolding a word instead of just writing it normally?
  • How do headings help you find information quickly in a long book?
  • What is a caption you noticed recently in a book or magazine?

Mastery looks like: They use headings, captions, and bold words to preview a nonfiction page and predict its content before reading closely.

Common stumbles: Skipping straight past headings and captions to the paragraph text; ignoring bold words instead of pausing on their meaning.

Homework for this lessonType it, write it with a stylus, or print it for pencil & paper.open →
Records attendance + 15 min of Reading for this learner.
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