Students in years 5 and 6 learn about information and procedural texts - hooking the reader, text structure, genre and language features. They complete two writing projects that are submitted for peer review, revision and publication.
Information, Procedure, Genre, Language, Structure
Australian Curriculum Achievement Standards Productive Modes (speaking, writing and creating)
YEAR 5
Productive modes (speaking, writing and creating)
Students use language features to show how ideas can be extended. They develop and explain a point of view about a text, selecting information, ideas and images from a range of resources.
Students create imaginative, informative and persuasive texts for different purposes and audiences. They make presentations which include multimodal elements for defined purposes. They contribute actively to class and group discussions, taking into account other perspectives. When writing, they demonstrate understanding of grammar using a variety of sentence types. They select specific vocabulary and use accurate spelling and punctuation. They edit their work for cohesive structure and meaning.
YEAR 6
Productive modes (speaking, writing and creating)
Students understand how language features and language patterns can be used for emphasis. They show how specific details can be used to support a point of view. They explain how their choices of language features and images are used.
Students create detailed texts elaborating on key ideas for a range of purposes and audiences. They make presentations and contribute actively to class and group discussions, using a variety of strategies for effect. They demonstrate an understanding of grammar, and make considered vocabulary choices to enhance cohesion and structure in their writing. They use accurate spelling and punctuation for clarity and make and explain editorial choices based on criteria.
English Textual Concepts STAGE 3 : Years 5-6
GENRE
Genre simply means ‘type’ or ‘kind’ and refers to groups of texts that have similarities in form and function. The study of genre enables us to see relationships between texts, the ways they are similar and the ways they are different or even innovative. It allows us to support students in analysing texts and in writing particular kinds of texts as it provides guidelines for structure, identifiable features and ways to deviate from conventional approaches.
Students understand that texts may be categorised into genres. They learn that:
CODE and CONVENTION
Students understand that codes and conventions of each mode provide the foundation for innovation. They learn that
Learning Intention: To connect to our writing project about global issues.
Success Criteria:
There are many problems in the world today. As you watch the following 2 videos think about the issues that you think are most important in the world today.
Think-Pair-Share
The last videoclip ranked drug abuse as the world's top problem. Do you agree? Have things changed since 2013 when this video was made?
What do you think are the world's top three problems today?
Firstly, think. Speak to your partner and remember to listen when they speak!
Comment: List your top three issues. Read other students' comments and comment on 1-2. Explain why you agreed or disagreed with them, giving at least one reason why. If you like, you can add a link to a video or add a fact about any issue.
This learning module uses blended learning so students move between face-to-face interactive activities and online collaborative discussions and an informational writing project that includes peer review and revision before publication of student work.
Timeline Week 1: Information Texts - Updates 1-4
Day 1: Updates 1 and 2. Start Project.
Day 2: Update 2. Research.
Day 3: Update 3. Analyse mentor text and work on writing project.
Day 4: Complete writing and submit work. Complete peer review.
Day 5: Revise, Publish and Reflect.
Purpose: This update introduces the topic of global issues to students and engages them by connecting to issues that matter most to them.
Teaching Tips:
Differentiation: During the lesson, they can do an Internet search to find some information about a global issue and add the link to their post. This is optional.
Global issues presented in the videoclips include poverty, healthcare, hunger, inequality, discrimination, educational opportunity, education of girls, land distribution, climate change, global warming, habitat loss, clean energy, decent work, gay rights, clean water and sanitation, life below water, life on land, sustainable cities, peace, justice, corruption, homelessness, drug abuse, deforestation, fisheries depletion, child labour, child soldiers, destruction of natural resources.
Allow students to focus on one global issue and write about it in more depth rather than 3 issues.
Learning Intention: To reflect on what is important when writing an information text.
Success Criteria:
Watch these videos about how to write an information text
The subtopics that you can use for your information text on global issues are:
Comment: Let's make a class list of what is important when writing an information text. Keep adding ideas until you run out. One idea per comment. Try not to repeat what other students write.
Purpose: In this activity the experiential learning focuses on reading and responding to the mentor text. The conceptual learning focuses on developing an understanding of genre and purpose and then taking notes to achieve the purpose of an information text which is to convey ideas and information about a topic using concrete and specific details.
As students research and record information on the attached template, they will also need to access computers to find more information about the issues that they focus on. A range of books can also be made available to students and/or they can borrow from the library.
The following activities involve explicit teaching. Learning Intentions and Success Criteria are included. The activities on the student side are optional and allow for differentiation.
Teaching Tips:
Some students may take notes in Scholar and save as Version 1. In this case start the project. The task is:
Research three issues and write a 300-400 word information text. Include headings and at least 3 pieces of multimedia (youtube clip, images, maps) and 1-3 references.
PART 1: Working with the Mentor Text
Learning Intention: To understand the information text genre and how it is the same and different to the persuasive text genre.
Success Criteria:
a) Start by asking students what they expect when they read an information text - it's a bit like a prediction. After a Think-Pair-Share, they should come up with lots of ideas to record on a whiteboard (This activity is important to understand " genre" which is discussed in (c).
Here are some ideas that they might come up with:
b) Give students a copy of the "Global Issues" text. Read the text to the students. Then use Think-Pair-Shares for them to discuss whether they predicted correctly. What else would they add to the list? Is the mentor text an effective information text? Why/why not?
c) Remind students of the persuasive texts they wrote about the best job in the world and others they can recall. Draw a table or a Venn Diagram on a whiteboard to record how information and persuasive texts are the same and different with input from students:
| Persuasive/Opinion Texts | Information texts |
| Hook - Starts with a question | Hook - Starts with a question or an interesting fact to interest the reader |
| "P" Paragraph- introduces the topic and main ideas | "P" Paragraph - introduces the topic and main ideas |
| "E" Paragraphs - provides examples and evidence | "E" Paragraphs- provides concrete specific facts, details and examples |
| "C" Paragraph | "C" Paragraph |
| "O" Paragraph | |
| May include quotes from reliable sources to support claims | May include quotes from reliable sources to support ideas |
| Headings | |
| Images/Multimedia | Images/Multimedia |
| References | |
| Purpose: Try to convince someone that their opinion is correct. | Purpose: Educate/inform on a topic |
For differences, also focus on purpose in drawing out responses. Introduce the term "genre". Information texts, narratives and persuasive texts are all different genres. Sometimes people mix them up as in a persuasive narrative or a narrative information text such as a biography.
c) Point out the use of headings. Discuss why headings are a good idea in an information text (creates a structure for the text, helps the writer to organise ideas, guides the reader and helps a reader's comprehension of the text). Labelling images in the text with a caption can also add information that is not in the body paragraphs of the text.
d) Key Words Activity: Use the words and phrases in the 1st column of the notetaking template for students to underline keys words and phrases that they can see in each paragraph of the text. Identify scientific/technical (Wow) words such as gender, equality, inequality, domestic, persecution, refugee, asylum seeker). This activity is to ensure that they look closely at the mentor text and introduces them to notetaking skills. Notetaking is an important skill for the Paraphrasing Reading strategy. Model the first one and then they can continue with a partner.
PART 2: Notetaking for own Information Text
Learning Intention: To develop my research skills.
Success Criteria:
Guide students through notetaking for their own texts. The following table is included in the attachment with the mentor text.
| RESEARCH TIPS |
| Decide on your three issues to research. |
| Record headings - Introduction, Issue 1, Issue 2, Issue 3 and Conclusion. Add sub headings to make them more interesting (optional). |
| Write down any facts you already know under the headings - uses words and short phrases. |
| Find and read source text. |
| From the source text, write down any scientific/technical (Wow) words under each heading. |
| Write down the most important ideas under the appropriate heading - Use words and short phrases (this will discourage copying, and cutting and pasting from source texts). |
| Repeat process for a second source. |
| Record links to your sources and find any multimedia to add to the report |
| Repeat process for each issue. |
Differentiation: Students research 2-3 sources for each issue..
Part 3: Students watch the video and comment in Update 2. This activity reinforces what they have learnt about information texts. This leads into the next session where they write their information reports by elaborating on the key words and phrases.
Learning Intention: To understand how to write a great hook for my information text.
Success Criteria:
Watch these videos about writing information texts.
Comment: Record your idea for how you can start your information text. Read other students' opening sentences and comment on 1-2 that you like. Use @ so they know you are commenting on their sentence. For example, @Name I really like your question or @Name Your opening sentence really hooks the reader.
Purpose: In this update, with the guidance of their teacher, students analyse the mentor text at the whole text, paragraph and word levels in order to raise the quality of their own information texts.
Teaching Tips:
Learning Intention: To analyse the structure and language features of information texts.
Success Criteria:
Students work through the activities that follow using the mentor text.
1. Label each paragraph - Introduction, Issue 1, Issue 2, Issue 3 and Conclusion.
2. Annotate the introduction as a class.
3. Model annotating the structure of Paragraph 2.
| Point Sentence and Definition of Issue | Firstly, child labour is work that deprives children, aged 5-17 years, of their childhood and is harmful to their physical, mental and social development. |
| Fact (Statistic) (these can be in the paragraph and in the maps, graphs and tables) |
Of the 152 million children affected by child labour, there are 64 million girls and 88 million boys. |
| Facts and Details (these can be in the paragraph and in the maps, graphs and tables) |
Some children who are very poor work to help their families to survive. Some are made slaves, are separated from their families, and live and work in unsafe situations. |
| Examples (these can be in the paragraph and in the captions of images) |
This Chinese boy earns $6 for snipping loose heavy threads off 200 pairs of jeans each day Young girls work carrying bricks in brick kilns in Nepal |
| Concluding Sentence | All children should have a right to their childhood. |
In the same way, students then annotate the structure of following 2 paragraphs on gender equality and refugees.
4. Annotate the conclusion paragraph as a class.
5. Here is an overview of the language features of Information Texts. Passive Voice is included as an FYI for teachers but is optional as extension. The text uses both active and passive voice so would be challenging for most students to see any pattern.
1. PRESENT TENSE
Information reports are mainly written in the present tense as it is reporting on an issue that is happening now in the world. Look at the verbs in the second paragraph of the mentor text. Students highlight the verbs in the chart on the handout. They will see a very strong pattern of all the verbs, except for "affected", are in present tense. If necessary, they can check verbs in other paragraphs but this is optional.
| Present Tense | Past Tense | Future Tense |
| is | was | will be |
| deprives | deprived | will deprive |
| affect | affected | will affect |
| are | were | will be |
| work | worked | will work |
| help | helped | will help |
| are separated | were separated | will be separated |
| live | lived | will live |
| work | worked | will work |
| have | had | will have |
Students then check what tense they have written in their texts so far and edit if necessary.
2. SCIENTIFIC/TECHNICAL (WOW) WORDS
These were covered at the planning stage. Students can count up how many they have and report, adding more if necessary.
3. GENERAL NOUNS
General nouns are mainly used in information texts The information is general information about children, girls, boys and refugees. For example:
Of the 152 million children affected by child labour, there are 64 million girls and 88 million boys.
Student count up how many times "child/children" occurs in the mentor text to reinforce this understanding. They can check this also in the texts they are writing.
4. THIRD PERSON
Information reports are generally written in the third person to create an impersonal formal tone, appropriate to the information text genre.
Ask students to see if they can find words such as "I, me, we, you" in the text. Assign a paragraph to small groups to check.
Then ask them if they can see words such as "they, it, them" in the text?
Discuss why, explaining that "they, it, them" is third person and makes the text sound more formal and sounds more important. 1st and second person is more friendly and personal - used more in narratives. Also "you" is used in the opening question as a personal appeal.
5. VARIED SENTENCES
Students can check their own work to ensure they vary the types of sentences they include. If necessary, revise simple sentences, compound sentences and complex sentences. The following paragraph illustrates all three sentences.
Gender equality is another serious issue in the world today (simple sentence).
Gender equality means that men and women have the same opportunities, rights and responsibilities (simple sentence).
In over 80 countries, there are gender inequalities in education and there are 130 million girls who should be at school (compound/complex sentence - "and" joins 2 simple sentences to form a compound sentence. "who should be at school" turns it into a complex sentence)
6. PASSIVE VOICE
This would be very time-consuming and challenging for most students. Hence, I recommend NOT to teach active and passive voice for this project unless to extend individual students.
Passive and active voice are used with action verbs more than relating verbs (is/are/have). .
Generally passive voice is more formal than active voice. Also active and passive voice can be used for emphasis. While the meaning is much the same in the following sentences, the focus shifts as the beginning of the sentence is always emphasised/foregrounded. For example:
Active Voice: Emphasis is on the children
Some children must work to help their families to survive.
Passive Voice: Emphasis is on the families
Families are helped to survive by child labour.
In the following sentence, passive and active voice are both used:
Some are made slaves, are separated from their families, and live and work in unsafe situations .
Passive voice - here it emphasises that the children are forced by others and they have no choice.
Some are made slaves, are separated from their families......
Active voice - here they are doing the work.
and live and work in unsafe situations .
Learning Intention: To reflect on what is successful information text writing.
Success Criteria:
Comment: Read two - three other people’s information texts. Write a comment about the most interesting thing you learned from reading them. Also comment about one thing you have learned about writing information texts.
Purpose: This reflection activity promotes student metacognition about what makes quality writing by reading and reflecting on other students’ writing.
This activity is optional and allows for differentiation; it gives students who have finished a purposeful activity and allows students who need more time to finish their information texts.
Teaching Tips:
Students complete the revision process and submit their work for publication. Students who finish all tasks could also be assigned another work to review.
Students can work in small groups, reading each other's completed information texts.
Refer to the Analytics to see how students have performed.
Learning Intention: To think about the challenges of having an exotic pet.
Success Criteria:
Comment: What would be your choice if you had could have an exotic pet. What are the challenges of having this pet? Read other students' comments and comment on 1-2. Explain why you like their choice of exotic pet.
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Timeline Week 2: Procedural Texts - Updates 5-8
Day 1: Updates 5 and 6. Start Project.
Day 2: Update 7. Analyse mentor text and work on writing project.
Day 3: Complete writing and submit work. Complete peer review.
Day 4: Update 8. Revise, Publish and Reflect.
Purpose: In this update, students engage in writing a procedure about how to care for an exotic pet.
Learning Intention: To understand how to write a great procedural text.
Success Criteria:
Watch this video: How to Write a Procedure.
Comment: Let's make a class list of what is important when writing a procedural text. Keep adding ideas until you run out. One idea per comment. Try not to repeat what other students write.
Purpose: In this activity the experiential learning focuses on reading and responding to the mentor text.
The conceptual learning focuses on developing an understanding of genre and purpose of a procedural text which is to inform a reader on how to make something or how to do something. It does this by describing steps or directions in sequence so people can make or do something in the same way.
Tha analytic learning focuses on analysing the language features of procedural texts.
Teaching Tips:
The following activities involve explicit teaching. Learning Intentions and Success Criteria are included. The video on the student side is a useful revision of the structure and language features but is optional.
The task is:
You have volunteered to look after a "rescue" exotic animal. It has been rescued from a zoo, science laboratory, circus, or perhaps the wild because its habitat has been destroyed. Record the steps (at least 8) you need to take to look after this animal for a short period of 1-2 months. Inlcude 2-4 images that add more information to your written text.
PART 1: Purpose and Structure of Procedural Texts
Learning Intention: To understand the purpose of the procedural text genre and how it is the same and different to the information text genre.
Success Criteria:
Give students a copy of the mentor text: How to look after a rescued baboon in 10 steps. Tell students that this is a procedural text and it's like a recipe or the steps to take in a science experiment. Read the procedural text to the students. Then use Think-Pair-Shares for them to discuss what makes this an effective procedural text. Start with a simple question such as Did you like it? and Why/Why not? Here are some ideas that they might come up with:
Draw a table on a whiteboard to record how information and procedural texts are the same and different with input from students:
| Information Texts | Procedural Texts |
| Headings | Headings |
| Images, videos and maps | Images |
| Connectives - in conclusion | Connectives - first, then, next, after that, finally |
| PEC Structure | Step by step description in sequence so people can make or do something in the same way |
| References | |
| Dot points and Numbered steps | |
| Start with a question or a surprising fact | Starts with a list of materials |
| Scientific/technical words | Scientific/technical words |
| Verbs are in middle of sentences | Verbs are direct verbs and often start a sentence |
| Present tense | Present tense |
| Purpose is to educate on a topic | Purpose is to inform the reader on how to make something or how to do something. |
In referring to the genres of information and procedural texts, focus on their different purposes.
PART 2: Analysis of Language Features
Learning Intention: To analyse the language features of procedural texts.
Success Criteria:
Use the mentor text to highlight/underline/circle language features that have been recorded in the above table:
PART 3: Video and Comment
Students watch the video and comment on the student side of Update 6. This activity reinforces what they have learnt about information texts.
Learning Intention: To reflect on what are successful procedural texts.
Success Criteria:
Comment: Read two - three other students' procedural texts. Write a comment about the most interesting thing you learned from reading them. Also comment about one thing you have learned about writing procedural texts.
Purpose: This reflection activity promotes student metacognition about what makes quality writing by reading and reflecting on other students’ writing.
This activity is optional and allows for differentiation; it gives students who have finished a purposeful activity and allows students who need more time to finish their procedural texts.
Teaching Tips:
Students complete the revision process and submit their work for publication. Students who finish all tasks could also be assigned another work to review.
Students can work in small groups, reading each other's completed procedural texts.
Refer to the Analytics to see how students have performed.