In this paper, the authors present results of their pilot research on nonverbal elements' perception. They pay attention to a not yet well established system of evaluation in mathematics textbooks from the perspective of nonverbal elements and sum up their findings from pilot researches on pupils' operations with nonverbal elements. Pilot surveys were conducted in a lower secondary school during geometry lessons. The pupils were assigned activities about the transfer of knowledge, inquiry based learning and working with mental representations. Findings of this pilot survey are coherent with a wider context of textbooks' evaluation from nonverbal elements' perspectives and serve as a basis for further research.