Success TutoringWorksheets

Text Features in Informational Writing: Headings, Captions, and Diagrams — Answers

Answer sheet with model answers and success criteria for the 4th Grade informative writing worksheet.

Download answers PDFPrint answersBack to worksheet
Success TutoringWorksheetsAnswer sheet4th Grade · English · Informative Writing

Text Features in Informational Writing: Headings, Captions, and Diagrams — Answers

Part A: Read and find the features

Text features help readers find and understand information. Read the article, then answer.

Monarchs on the Move

A Long Journey

Every fall, millions of monarch butterflies fly south to the mountains of central Mexico. Many of them pass through Texas on the way. This trip is called a migration. The monarchs spend the winter in the forests there and fly north again in the spring.

Milkweed Matters

Monarch caterpillars eat only one kind of plant: milkweed. A female monarch lays her eggs on milkweed leaves so her caterpillars have food as soon as they hatch.

A Warning in Orange

Milkweed contains a poison. Monarchs store some of it in their bodies, which makes them taste bad to many birds. Their bright orange wings warn birds to stay away.

*[Diagram: the life cycle of a monarch, with arrows from egg → caterpillar → chrysalis → adult butterfly]*

*Caption: A monarch changes four times during its life.*

Glossary: migration: a long trip animals take at the same time each year. chrysalis: the hard case a caterpillar forms around itself while it changes into a butterfly.

1.Match each text feature to its job.
  • heading
  • bold word
  • caption
  • glossary
  • diagram
  • lists key words and their meanings
  • shows the parts or stages of something
  • explains a picture or diagram
  • tells what one section is about
  • shows an important vocabulary word

Answer: heading → tells what one section is about; bold word → shows an important vocabulary word; caption → explains a picture or diagram; glossary → lists key words and their meanings; diagram → shows the parts or stages of something

2.Under which heading would you look to learn what monarch caterpillars eat?
  1. AA Long Journey
  2. BMilkweed Matters
  3. CA Warning in Orange
  4. DGlossary

Answer: Milkweed Matters

The heading tells you that section is about milkweed, the caterpillars' food.

3.Why is migration printed in bold?
  1. AIt is the title.
  2. BIt is an important word that is defined in the glossary.
  3. CIt is the name of a place.
  4. DThe writer made a mistake.

Answer: It is an important word that is defined in the glossary.

Bold words are key vocabulary. Readers can find their meaning in the glossary.

4.What does the diagram show that would be hard to explain with words alone?

Answer: The four stages of a monarch's life cycle (egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, adult) in order, with arrows showing that it repeats.

Part B: Write headings

A good heading is short and tells exactly what the section is about.

5.Write a heading for this paragraph: Monarchs smell with their antennae and taste with their feet. They drink nectar through a long mouthpart that works like a straw.

Answer: Amazing Senses

  1. Any short heading that tells what the paragraph is about is correct.
6.Write a heading for this paragraph: People can help monarchs by planting milkweed and wildflowers in gardens and schoolyards.

Answer: How You Can Help

  1. Any short heading that tells what the paragraph is about is correct.

Part C: Add your own features

7.A photo shows a striped caterpillar chewing a milkweed leaf. Write a caption for it.

Answer: A monarch caterpillar eats a milkweed leaf, its only food.

  1. Any caption that explains what the photo shows and adds a useful fact is correct.
8.Write a glossary entry for the word nectar.

Answer: nectar: a sweet liquid made by flowers that butterflies and bees drink

9.A writer wants to show how far monarchs travel from Texas to Mexico. Which text feature would help most?
  1. Aa glossary
  2. Ba map
  3. Ca bold word
  4. Dan index

Answer: a map

A map shows places and distances.

Part D: Your turn

10.Write a short informational article (three short sections) about an animal, a place, or a weather event. Give it a title, a heading for each section, at least two bold words that you define in a glossary, and a description of one picture or diagram with a caption.

Model answer: Hummingbirds: Tiny Fliers Super Wings A hummingbird can beat its wings so fast that they make a humming sound. It can even fly backward. A Sweet Diet Hummingbirds drink nectar from flowers. They also eat tiny insects. Big Trips Some hummingbirds migrate south to Mexico and Central America for the winter. [Picture: a hummingbird hovering in front of a red flower] Caption: A hummingbird hovers while it drinks nectar. Glossary: nectar: a sweet liquid made by flowers. migrate: to travel a long way at the same time each year.

Success criteria:

  • A title that names the topic
  • A heading for each section that tells what it is about
  • At least two bold words defined in a glossary
  • A picture or diagram described, with a caption that explains it
  • Each section gives accurate facts
Free worksheets at worksheets.successtutoring.com · © Success Tutoring · Free for personal and classroom use

Marking tips

  • Give credit for correct method even when the final answer slips — the working shows where the thinking went right.
  • For open-ended tasks, use the success criteria as a checklist rather than looking for one "right" answer.
  • Celebrate what went well first, then pick one thing to work on next.

Great work. Here's what to try next: