Printable Activity: Informational Text Features Scavenger Hunt

Informational text features can teach readers so much—but kids need to understand how to use them.

Sponsored By National Geographic Explorer Magazine
boys outside on scavenger hunt with magnifying glass - text features worksheets

Captions. Diagrams. Fact boxes. Informational texts have the potential to teach readers so much—but many kids don’t pay attention to the special features found in them or fully understand how to use them. Help your students practice nonfiction reading with a scavenger hunt activity that uses our printable, text features worksheets and free samples of Explorer, a National Geographic magazine for students in grades K through 5/6 that builds vocabulary, reading skills, and science knowledge.

1. Download the printable, text features worksheets for your class’s grade level.

Distribute the informational text features worksheets to your students. Students can work individually or in pairs.

Grade K: Young Explorer Scavenger Hunt Printable: Scout Edition (Kindergarten)

Grade 1: Young Explorer Scavenger Hunt Printable: Voyager Edition (1st Grade)

Grade 2: Explorer Scavenger Hunt Printable: Pioneer Edition (2nd Grade)

Grade 3: Explorer Scavenger Hunt Printable: Trailblazer Edition (3rd Grade)

Grade 4: Explorer Scavenger Hunt Printable: Pathfinder Edition (4th Grade)

Grades 5/6: Explorer Scavenger Hunt Printable: Adventurer Edition (5/6th Grades)

2. Send your students to a free digital copy of Explorer magazine.

Or download it yourself and distribute it to your students.

Young Explorer: Scout (Kindergarten)

Young Explorer: Voyager (1st Grade)

Explorer: Pioneer (2nd Grade)

Explorer: Trailblazer (3rd Grade)

Explorer: Pathfinder (4th Grade)

     Explorer: Adventurer (5/6th Grade)

3. Answer Keys

Explain to your class that the answer to each question on the text features worksheets can be found in the magazine.

Answer Key (Grade K):

1. Grizzly bear family
2. Playing
3. Yellowstone Lake
4. Options: river, waterfall, lake, hot spring, geyser
5. Pages 16-17

Answer Key (Grade 1):

1. Grizzly bear family
2. Playing
3. Yellowstone Lake
4. Options: river, waterfall, lake, hot spring, geyser
5. Pages 16-17

Answer Key (Grade 2):

1. Mayan
2. Long tail feathers
3. Arctic Civilization
4. Part of a plant from which a new plant can grow
5. Photographs
6. Answers vary (Sample: “This is a photograph of a bristlecone pine. It looks like it’s dead because it doesn’t have leaves, but it is still alive.”)
7. “Signs of Life?”
8. Options: “The Search;” “Looking for Lake Edib;” “Important Findings”
9. Answers vary

Answer Key (Grade 3):

1. Mayan
2. Up to 1 meter in length
3. Aztec civilization
4. Page 14
5. Light energy; water; carbon dioxide
6. A gas in the air that humans and animals need to breathe
7. Photographs
8. Answers vary (Sample: “This is a photograph of a bristlecone pine. It looks like it’s dead because it doesn’t have leaves, but it is still alive.”)
9. “Signs of Life?”
10. Options: “Setting Out;” “Looking for Lake Edib;” “Sampling the lake;” “Important Findings”
11. Answers vary

Answer Key (Grade 4):

1. Endangered, activist, advocates
2. Pages 8-9
3. 10%
4. She drags tires across the beach.
5. Page 19
6. Alaska
7. Laws of how objects move
8. Illustrations
9. Answers vary (Sample: “This is an illustration of outer space that includes a spaceship, astronauts standing on scales on the Moon and Mars, and a person standing on a scale on Earth. The illustration shows how the force of gravity can change your body weight.”)
10. “Frozen!”
11. Options: “Getting to the Goal;” “Perfecting the Plan;” “Underway;” “Racing Against Time;” “Finding Their Way;” “Success!”
12. Answers vary

Answer Key (Grade 5/6):

1. Endangered, activist, advocates
2. Pages 8-9
3. 10%; She drags tires across the beach.
4. Page 19
5. Alaska
6. Laws of how objects move
7. Illustrations
8. Answers vary (Sample: “This is an illustration of outer space that includes a spaceship, astronauts standing on scales on the Moon and Mars, and a person standing on a scale on Earth. The illustration shows how the force of gravity can change your body weight.”)
9. “Frozen!”
10. Options: “Getting to the Goal;” “Perfecting the Plan;” “Underway;” “Racing Against Time;” “Finding Their Way;” “Success!” or “What’s Next”
11. Answers vary

Printable Activity: Informational Text Features Scavenger Hunt