The article presents a research in pedagogical semiology as a branch of pedagogical science. The authors look at the ways of studying the semantics of the language means used in the textbook to give the students a picture of the world around them. The authors analyze a textbook reader on literature for the 5th grade (11-12 year-old students) giving a systematic and consistent insight into the concept of ‘Motherland’. The peculiarities of the language picture of the world offered to school students in textbooks are examined.