Headings are promises about what comes next

Cover the paragraphs and read just the headings of a short information text. Can a reader predict where to look for a particular answer? Unhelpful predictions provide a concrete reason to revise the headings.

Check whether each heading predicts the information beneath it. A reader should be able to use headings to navigate the text.

Test the route through the page

A question about materials belongs under a materials heading, not automatically in the longest paragraph.

Read the headings before the paragraphs. Match a question to the likely section. Check whether the section answers it.

Headings guide reading but do not guarantee accuracy. Which heading helped locate the answer?

Use a picture beside each section label.

Resources

• Reflection Journal Template — Use the editable prompt space to record the text, question and response; it is a blank recording aid rather than a reading programme.

Further reading

• Literacy Hub — Teaching reading professional learning

Read next

• A caption should add something the picture cannot tell you
• Multilingual storytelling with room for the storyteller's choices
• A setting that changes what can happen

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