Year 3 English: Captions, diagrams, bullet points and tables
Part of the Year 3 English reading non-fiction chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Captions, diagrams, bullet points and tables
Information texts often use more than words. A caption is a short sentence under a picture or a table. It tells you what the picture or table shows.
A labelled diagram is a picture with names on lines that point to its parts. A bullet point is a short point in a list, with one fact in each point. A table has rows and columns: read across a row, and down a column, to find a fact.
Read the text in the box. Then answer the questions in exercise 9C.
Parts of a Plant (information text with a diagram and a table)
Most plants have roots, a stem, leaves and flowers. Each part has a job.
Figure 1: A plant with its main parts labelled.
- Roots hold the plant in the soil and take in water.
- The stem holds up the leaves and flowers.
- Leaves use light to make food for the plant.
- Flowers make seeds.
Parts that we eat
Some parts of plants are good to eat. The table shows some examples.
| Plant | Part we eat |
|---|---|
| Carrot | root |
| Lettuce | leaves |
| Broccoli | flower head |
| Apple | fruit |
Table 1: Some plants and the part we eat.
Key ideas
- A caption is a short sentence under a picture or a table, and it says what the picture or table shows.
- A labelled diagram names the parts of a picture, with a label for each part.
- A bullet point is a short point in a list, usually with one fact in each point.
- In a table, read across a row to find the row you want, then read down to the column heading.
- Write the facts you find in your own words, so you can check them later.
Method. Find the bullet point about seeds.
- Find the key words in the question. These words tell us where to look: seeds.seeds
- Find the words in the text that answer it. The text says:Flowers make seeds.
- Write the answer. flowers
Check. The last bullet point says flowers make seeds. ✓
Method. Find the apple, then read across to the column that says what we eat.
- Find the row for apple. Read across the row to find the apple.Apple | fruit
- Read up to the column heading. The column heading tells you what the word in the row means.Part we eat
- Write the answer. The Part we eat column: the apple is a fruit.
Check. Read across the row, then up to the heading. ✓
Watch out. Read across the row first, then up the column. Do not mix up the rows and the columns.
Method. Think about how a reader scans a list.
- Look at the list. Each bullet point is short and sits on its own line.one fact per point
- Think about searching. You can scan the list and find the fact you need in a few seconds.scan the list
- Write the answer. Each point is short, so you can find one fact quickly.
Check. Short points on their own lines are easy to scan. ✓
Watch out. Also accept: each point is one fact, so it is easy to find.
Watch out
Watch out: a caption tells you what a picture shows, but it does not always give you a fact you can copy. Check the labels and the text as well.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Look at a picture in a book together. Ask your child to point to one label, read the caption, and tell you one fact from it.
Exercise 9C Practice: captions, diagrams, bullet points and tables
Method. Find the bullet point about the soil.
- Find the key words in the question. These words tell us where to look: soil.soil
- Find the words in the text that answer it. The text says:Roots hold the plant in the soil
- Write the answer. roots
Check. The roots hold the plant in the soil. ✓
Method. Find the bullet point about light.
- Find the key words in the question. These words tell us where to look: light.light
- Find the words in the text that answer it. The text says:Leaves use light to make food
- Write the answer. leaves
Check. The leaves use light to make food. ✓
Method. Find the bullet point about the part that holds up the leaves.
- Find the key words in the question. These words tell us where to look: holds up.holds up
- Find the words in the text that answer it. The text says:The stem holds up the leaves and flowers.
- Write the answer. stem
Check. The stem is the label that holds up the leaves and flowers. ✓
Method. Find the row for carrot, then read across it.
- Find the key words in the question. These words tell us where to look: carrot.carrot
- Find the words in the text that answer it. The text says:Carrot | root
- Write the answer. root
Check. The carrot row says root. ✓
Method. Find the row that says leaves.
- Find the key words in the question. These words tell us where to look: leaves.leaves
- Find the words in the text that answer it. The text says:Lettuce | leaves
- Write the answer. lettuce
Check. The lettuce row says leaves. ✓
Method. Find the list of bullet points, then count them.
- Find the list. Each bullet point describes one part of a plant and its job.roots, stem, leaves, flowers
- Count the points. There is one point for roots, one for the stem, one for leaves and one for flowers.1, 2, 3, 4
- Write the answer. 4
Check. There are four bullet points. ✓
Watch out. Count each point once. The table is not a bullet list.
Method. Find the caption under Figure 1.
- Find the key words in the question. These words tell us where to look: caption.caption
- Find the words in the text that answer it. The text says:A plant with its main parts labelled
- Write the answer. It shows a plant with its main parts labelled.
Check. The caption says what the picture shows. ✓
Method. Look at the caption under Figure 1.
- Find a caption. The caption sits under the picture, in a short sentence.Figure 1: A plant with its main parts labelled.
- Give its job. It says what the picture or table shows.what the picture shows
- Write the answer. To tell the reader what a picture or a table shows.
Check. A caption explains a picture. ✓
Method. Think about what the labels do.
- Look at the diagram. The diagram in the text has lines that point to its parts.lines to the parts
- Name it. A picture with names on lines is called a labelled diagram.a picture with labels
- Write the answer. A picture with names on lines that point to its parts.
Check. The labels name the parts. ✓
Method. Think about which part of a pea plant we eat.
- Think about the plant. The peas we eat are the seeds that grow inside the pod.peas inside the pod
- Write the row in the table layout. Put the plant in the first column and the part in the second.Pea | seeds
- Write the answer. Pea | seeds. Accept any correct row, for example: Pea | seeds (the peas inside the pod).
Check. Pea goes in the first column and seeds in the second. ✓
Method. Find one fact about the roots and one about the leaves.
- Find the key words in the question. These words tell us where to look: roots and leaves.roots and leaves
- Find the words in the text that answer it. The text says:take in water / use light to make food
- Write the answer. Accept any answer that uses one fact, for example: roots take in water, and leaves use light to make food.
Check. Each part has its own job, so the plant needs both. ✓