Produced with Scholar
Icon for The Writer's Toolkit: Strategies for Writing Informative/Explanatory Texts in the New Media

The Writer's Toolkit: Strategies for Writing Informative/Explanatory Texts in the New Media

Overt Instruction Updates

Learning Module

  • Creator(s): Rita van Haren
  • Publisher: Literacies Learning Module Projects

Abstract

This Learning Module consists of a comprehensive range of strategies for writing, with a particular focus on writing informative/explanatory texts in the new, digital media. Each ‘overt instruction update’ is presented as a focused mini-lesson that can be delivered as an update through the Community area of Scholar. Every one of these overt instruction updates is also to be found in one of the Learning Modules in the Scholar Literacies Learning Modules in the Bookstore.The purpose of this Writer’s Toolkit is so that teachers can use these instructional updates as and when needed by their students.

Keywords

Information, Research, Analysis, Structure, Sentences, Transitions, Point of View.

INFORMATIVE/EXPLANATORY TEXTS

Contents

Abstract Terms in Information Texts

Active and Passive Voice

Infographics

Organizing an Information Text with the Structure Tool

Multiple PerspectiveParagraphs in Informative/Explanatory Texts

Point of View

Problem - Solution Information Text

Structure of Informative/Explanatory Texts

Transition Words

Turning Bullet Points into Sentences

Vocabulary and Spelling

What Makes an Effective Informative/Explanatory Text

Writing an Introduction

Writing a Conclusion

Abstract Terms in Information Texts

For the Student

Learning Intention: To understand abstract terms and how they can make your writing more economical.

This activity uses The Hunger Games to explore abstract terms in order to make your writing more interesting. Thjink about all the different ways that people are controlled in society in The Hunger Games. Control is an example of an abstract term or an abstraction. Other abstract terms are betrayal, love, honor, and respect. Abstractions are emotions, ideas or ideals. They have no physical existence like furniture or silverware. You can't see, hear, touch, smell or taste them. They are not concrete. They are useful to describe themes in a text.

Classifying language as abstract or concrete or general or specific can help you in your writing, particularly essays.

Introduction: Abstract words can be used to outline the main ideas that will follow.

Body: Use specific evidence (examples, quotes, details etc).

Conclusion: Abstract words can be used to summarise preceding stretches of text.

Look at the following paragraph as an example:

Control is an important theme in "The Hunger Games". The leaders in the Capitol use the Hunger Games to control each district, ensuring that people will not rise up against them. The gamemaker in the games arena controls what happens by setting up new challenges and obstacles for the tributes. The frequent patrols of the districts, control the people, making them live in fear as they struggle to survive.In this way the leaders in the Capitol use control to maintain their position of power.

Comment: Add as many abstract terms like love, respect, betrayal, as you can think of. Keep adding them until you run out of ideas. Then look up an online dictionary or thesaurus to find more and add them to the class list. 

For the Teacher

Teaching Tips

For more information see article on Abstract, Concrete, General and Specific Terms by John Friedlander. There is a useful example of why using the abstract word "trust" is better than providing five examples of trust and lack of trust. Consider abstract terms such as justice, freedom, betrayal etc.

Encourage students to use abstract nouns in their paragraphs as practice for using them when writing more formal essays.

CCSS Focus

RL.9-10.2: Determine a theme or central idea of a text.

L.9-10.3: Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.

Active and Passive Voice

For the Student

Learning Intention: To understand how to use verbs in the active and passive voice to place emphasis in a sentence on the actor or the action.

Complete the survey.

For the Teacher

his survey is designed as a teaching tool to teach students about active and passive voice by doing a close analysis of the Preamble to the Constitution. Students can gain extra practice of turning active voice into passive voice and vice versa by annotating any text that they are working with. It is important is to emphasize the effects of making this change - emphasizing the actor or the action, and that it is a choice that they can make in their writing.

This survey occurs in:

  • What Makes America: An Informative Text about American Culture

CCSS Focus

L.8.3: Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading or listening.

L.8.3a: Use verbs in the active and passive voice to achieve particular effects (e.g. emphasizing the actor or the action).

Infographics

For the Student

Learning Focus: To analyze how information is communicated through an infographic.

Read Inventing Infographics: Visual Literacy Meets Written Content by Brett Vogelsinger. This provides some background information about infographics and how they use "visual design features to organize ideas, provide background, and emphasize key facts in ways that make it easier for readers to engage a topic thoughtfully."

Then search for infographics on the Internet. A good starting place is Daily Infographic or search for "infographic" in Google images. For technology based infographics see Visual.ly or Anson Alex's blog where you will see an interesting and very big infographic, 9 Tips for Keeping Your Internet Usage Private.

Websites such as piktochart, easel.ly, and canva will be useful to create an infographic. They are free and contain templates, design tools, and background designs, pictures, clip art, and text boxes. You can also turn your infographic into a PNG file and add it to your information report in Creator. Other tools are suggested at 10 free tools for creating infographics.

Once you have created your infographic, add it to your assignment in Scholar. Go to the "Insert Image" icon in the toolbar above the writing space in Creator. 

Comment: Find and post a link to an Infographic that you find interesting and/or effective. Explain why you think it is interesting and/or effective. What sort of evidence does it provide to support its arguments? Comment on the posts of other students, building on their comments, and where possible, extending the discussion.

For the Teacher

This Update focuses on infographics that are examples of multimodal texts. Students read background information and explore examples of infographics.

CCSS Focus

SL.9-10.2: Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.

Multiple Perspectives

For the Student

Learning Focus: To understand how you can develop evidence and reasoning by exploring multiple perspectives.

Exploring different perspectives enables you to identify a range of evidence. It also enables you to evaluate information through logical reasoning. For example, students' low performance in math tests could be addressed by using a simple app to be used on a mobile device. Apps such as Math Vs Zombies and Math Ref might be considered and evaluated from different perspectives using a PCQ Chart.

Perspective Pros Cons Questions
Student Fun to use Provides practice but does not develop conceptual understanding or address specific problems Does making math a game help me to improve?
Teacher Can engage students and give them feedback; Frees teacher to work with individual students Just another form of worksheets that do not target instruction enough How can I ensure that the app personalizes the learning for each student?
Parent My child is enjoying math more The cost of the mobile device and internet access is costly How can I be sure my child is working hard on their math, rather than playing games?
Principal This is a great step to embed technology in teaching math and engage students in math Providing mobile devices to students whose families can't afford them has to be budgeted by the school What resources to I need to allocate to training teachers, technical support, and purchasing equipment to ensure this really improves math learning?
District Education Administrator More student engagement will lead to improvement in learning More technical support in schools which will cause cuts to other programs Will this initiative lead to improved learning outcomes in math, and how long will it take to make a difference to our district's results?

Think of a topic Complete a PCQ Chart (see Attachment 5 below), identifying evidence and reasoning

The next step would be to find evidence to support or refute the reasoning in the Pros, Cons and Questions. Examples of evidence:

  • Examples (including images) of what students can learn when they play these games
  • Statistics about improvement in learning from similar games or by the developers
  • Statistics from standardized tests about improvement in districts where technology is used regularly
  • Statistics about costs of introducing technology in a class/school/district
  • Quotes by parents, teachers, students, principals, and administrators supporting or expressing their concerns
  • An infographic that summarizes information about the pros or cons of using technology in education
Attachment 5: PCQ Chart

Comment: Share some of the perspectives that you explored. Read and comment on other students' comments, building on their ideas and/or suggesting other perspectives that might be worth exploring.

For the Teacher

In writing information texts, some students might access a number of sources and merely summarize the ideas presented in them. The PCQ is designed to prompt thinking and find evidence by considering a range of perspectives, and asking questions that take their thinking further. A PCQ can also be the starting point for developing reasoning

CCSS Focus

W.9-10.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

W.9-10.2a: Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

W.9-10.2b: Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience's knowledge of the topic.

Organizing an Information Text with the Structure Tool

For the Student

Learning Intention: To structure your information report using the Structure Tool.

An information report follows a structure. In the Structure Tool on Creator, create the headings for each paragraph of your information report. Headings help to sort your ideas and research into paragraphs. You can use the same headings in the third column of the table below or you can create your own headings.

As you do your research, add notes under each heading. Use bullet points so you don't copy the information. You can expand on these in your own words when you write the second version of your information report.

Information Text Function Headings in Structure Tool
Introduction
  • Has a hook to introduce the topic and interest the reader
  • Defines the topic
  • Groups information into topics
  • Previews the topics that will be covered in each paragraph
 Introduction
Developing the Topic (1) Presents facts about ............... (insert topic) with evidence (facts, details, examples and quotations) Use the main idea in this paragraph as a heading.
Developing the Topic (2) Presents information about the topic with evidence (facts, details, examples and quotations) Use the main idea in this paragraph as a heading.
Developing the Topic (3) Presents more information about the topic with evidence (facts, details, examples and quotations) Use the main idea in this paragraph as a heading.
Conclusion
  • Summarizes the main ideas
  • Has a concluding statement that is a personal opinion or general statement about the topic
 Conclusion
References List of sources from your research References
Multimedia Adds more information through illustrations, images, weblinks, videos and audio clips

To find out more, watch the videoclip: Group research into categories to plan informational writing .

Comment: In the Comment box, share any tips about using the Structure Tool and recording notes using bullet points. Comment on the comments of other students by adding more information.

For the Teacher

The Structure Tool supports students to develop an initial structure for their text and add more notes as they research, refine the elements of their text, and draft new versions, transforming their notes into well written text.

Emphasize to students that now the structure of their information text is done, they can add notes as they research. More able students should be encouraged to change the structure of their texts as they research more information.

The videoclip: Group research into categories to plan informational writing is from the Learn Zillion library of resources.

This Overt Instruction Update occurs in:

  • Immigration Experiences: Information Text

For first time users of Scholar, the following Overt Instruction Update from the Writer's Toolkit may be useful to add to Community:

  • Planning Using the Structure Tool

CCSS Focus

W.5.5: With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed.

Paragraphs in Informative/Explanatory Texts

For the Student

Learning Intention: To understand how to write a paragraph in an informative/explanatory text.

Firstly, read the paragraph about Dr Hawa Abdi.

Dr Hawa Abdi is an extraordinary person because of what she has achieved with very little money and support. Her small clinic near Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, has become a 400 bed hospital and a camp for people displaced by civil war. Because of safety, most aid organizations refuse to work in Somalia. Despite this, she has managed to set up training for people who were nomadic to farm and fish. In 2012, for example, there were 102 workers at the camp plus 150 volunteers, fishermen and farmers. Further, she has set up a school for 850 children, mostly girls, in grades 1-7. She said, “Now we want to educate the children. A whole generation has been lost after 22 years. We want to fight poverty, ignorance and illiteracy.” For that reason, she has established literacy and health classes for women, including programs to discourage female genital mutilation, and classes on clean water, sanitation and hygiene practices. These are extraordinary achievements by a woman in a Muslim society.

What did you think about Dr Abdi? With a partner, discuss your responses. How are they the same or different?

Paragraphs: An informative/explanatory text is organized through paragraphs that introduce the topic, present the main points by dividing the written material into logical sections (each of which deals with a particular topic), and conclude the topic. The length of a paragraph ranges from one sentence to many sentences (e.g. 5-10).

  • The first sentence tells the reader what the paragraph is mainly about and prepares the reader to expect a particular point of view. In an informative/explanatory text, this is called the topic or point sentence.
  • The next sentences develop the topic in more detail, defining and explaining it by providing more information. This can include facts, concrete details, quotations, example, graphics (charts, tables) and multimedia.
  • The concluding sentence follows from the information. It may connect to the topic sentence of the paragraph and/or the overall topic of the text.
  • Words, phrases and clauses clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts. Opposing idea (e.g. Despite this), Clarifying (e.g. For example), Adding information (e.g. Further), Showing cause/result (e.g. For that reason).

With a partner, discuss each sentence in the paragraph about Dr Hawa Abdi and identify the paragraph structure.

Comment: Post a topic sentence on a topic that you are interested in. Elaborate on it by providing more information (facts and details) and evidence in 2 or more sentences. Then add a concluding sentence to the paragraph. Comment on the posts of other students, identifying the strengths of the paragraph and/or how it could be improved.

For the Teacher

In this activity students analyze a paragraph in an informative/explanatory text. This paragraph can also serve as a model when writing their own texts. Using a single paragraph is useful to focus students’ attention on how to develop a topic.

The initial activity is reading and responding to the ideas presented in the text. This is important to engage students before the close analysis of the structure of the paragraph. If necessary, students may analyze other paragraphs. Another text may be substituted for the Dr Hawa Abdi text.

The text connectives that clarify the relationship between ideas and concepts are identified in this activity. However, these could be explored in more depth through the Overt Instruction Update on Different Kinds of Informative/Explanatory Sentences.

CCSS Focus

W.6/7/8.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.

Point of View

For the Student

Learning Intention: To understand how to write from different points of view.

Personal Pronouns are used in the first person, second person, and third person. Each ‘person’ has a different ‘point of view’ or perspective. Personal pronouns act as the subject of the verb and change when they become the object of the verb. Note that ‘you’ does not change.


 Singular(one) Singular(one) Plural(more than one) Plural(more than one)

Subject Object Subject Object
1st person (speaking) I me we us
2nd Person (spoken to) you you you you
3rd Person (spoken of) he/she/it him/her/it they them

First person is used to indicate personal experience, evaluation, and/or opinion. It is used to present the point of view of the author and can create a personal connection between the writer (I) and the reader (you). It is used in personal writing, blogs, narratives, memoirs and opinion pieces.

Second person is used to address or instruct the reader. In second person, the writer includes the reader (you) in the text. Second person is often used in e-mail messages, presentations, technical and procedural (how to) writing.Example of First Person: Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport that I like to play. I play it in a team of nine players. We are not professional players but our supporters love us.

Example of Second Person: Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport. You play it between two teams of nine players. If you score the highest number of runs, you win.

Third person is used to generalize the experience or situation and is more formal than 1st or 2nd person. The reader is not involved in the text. It is used for academic, formal writing and in fiction.

Example of Third Person: Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport. It is played between two teams of nine players. Baseball players become famous when they score high numbers of runs and large amounts of money are paid to them.

Comment: Post your comment about which example of 1st, 2nd or 3rd person, is most appropriate for writing informative/explanatory texts. What effect does this achieve? What would happen if you mixed 1st, 2nd and 3rd person in a piece of writing?

For the Teacher

In this activity students learn about how transition words (also called signal words) can support them to write cohesively.

While two texts have been provided, another text that is an appropriate model for the text type students are studying may be substituted.

This Overt Instruction Update occurs in:

  • Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives: An Informative Text about a Person Who Makes a Difference

CCSS Focus

W.6/7/8.1c: Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), counterclaims (grade 8), reasons, and evidence (grades 7 & 8).

W.6/7.2: Use appropriate and varied (grade 8) transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.

Problem - Solution Information Text

For the Student

Learning Focus: To identify a problem and solution, and how to structure your information text.


Once you decide on the problem and solution that you will focus on, you can research further, identify benefits and disadvantages, find evidence, link the evidence to the benefits and disadvantages, and then make a recommendation about whether the solution should be adopted or not. As you gather information for your information report  from a range of online and possibly offline sources, you will be collecting ideas and evidence to include in your report. 

Use the Structure Tool to outline your topic; then you can add notes to each section as you research your topic. You can add these notes in bullet points to the first version of your work. In version 2 of your information report, elaborate on these bullet points, turning them into complete sentences. This will also help you to avoid plagiarism. 

Here is a suggested structure for yourinformation report:

  1. Introduction: Define the problem, explaining why this is a problem, and who should be concerned about it.
  2. Solution: Offer a solution to the problem, and explain how it works.
  3. Benefits: Provide reasons and evidence (facts, details, examples, statistics, direct and indirect quotes, weblinks, images, charts, tables, and multimedia). Consider the perspectives of different stakeholders. (Note: This may be more than one paragraph.)
  4. Disadvantages: Provide reasons and evidence (facts, details, examples, statistics, direct and indirect quotes, weblinks, images, charts, tables, and multimedia). Consider the perspectives of different stakeholders. (Note: This may be more than one paragraph.)
  5. Conclusion: Re-emphasize the importance of the problem and the value of the solution, with a recommendation to accept or reject the solution.

See How to Write a Problem Solution Essay: Step by Step Instructions and sample essays at Problem/Solution Essay.

Comment: Describe the problem and solution you are researching for your information report. What are two or three references that you have found that you think might be useful? If possible, suggest other references/sources that might be relevant for other students in the course.

For the Teacher

This Update scaffolds how to structure an information report. It also emphasizes to students that they need to research, provide reasons, evidence, and varied perspectives.

CCSS Focus

W.9-10.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

W.9-10.2a: Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

W.9-10.2b: Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience's knowledge of the topic.

Structure of Informative/Explanatory Texts

For the Student

Learning Intention: To analyze the structure of an informative/explanatory text.

Look at the text in Shares. Also refer to the review criteria for this Scholar project – Go to Feedback=>Reviews=>Rubric. Then complete the table by finding examples for each feature.

Feature Examples Definition
Introductory Point Sentence
IIntroduces the topic with a short overarching statement, stating the main idea about the topic and engaging the reader
Definition
Clarifies what the topic is about and defines the main concept
Preview
Outlines the main ideas that will be covered in the work, without giving all the details. These ideas are organized into broad categories and the paragraphs that follow should focus on these categories – perhaps one paragraph per category
Concepts
Includes the main ideas that will be elaborated and supported with evidence
Paragraph Point Sentence
Starts each paragraph by stating the topic of the paragraph; it is followed by supporting evidence
Evidence: Facts and Details
Is information that is claimed to be true or something that is real or actually happened
Evidence: Statistic
Are number facts that help to describe more than one thing
Evidence Quotation
Are words that someone has said or written, taken from a book, speech, interview, poem, play, the internet, etc
Evidence: Examples
Is one of a number of things, or a part of something, that helps to illustrate an idea or concept
Opinion
Is a person's perspective
Conclusion
Summarizes the main points
Concluding Statement
Comments about the importance of the topic, or poses a question, looks to the future, or includes a call to action or a personal or widely-held opinion about the topic
Analyzing Informative/Explanatory Text Structure Chart

You can also refer to Transition Words. Transition words help you to create cohesion in your writing. Cohesion means that the text is unified, has a logical sequence and there are links between and within paragraphs. Try inserting some of the examples in the text. With a peer, read the paragraphs again with your insertions, and discuss if they are effective. Are they subtle or obvious transitions? Try using some subtle transitions to create cohesion in your writing.

Transition Words

Comment: Do you think that the author of the informative/explanatory text has written an effective informative/explanatory text? Why or why not? Post one idea you have and comment on the posts of other students.

For the Teacher

n this activity, students deepen their understanding of the structure of an informative/explanatory text by finding examples in a model text. As well as posting this Overt Instruction Update, add the relevant text that students are analyzing to Shares.

Students also refer to the Rubric in Creator and information on transition words, in order to learn about choices they can make when they write their own texts.

Students can insert transition words in the text, writing in their suggestions, or with a partner, rereading paragraphs with their suggested transition words.

The structure of an informative/explanatory text helps to achieve its purpose by:

  • Clearly stating an idea through the topic sentence.
  • Including elaboration supported by evidence in the form of relevant facts, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.
  • Ensuring the writer does not go off on tangents which are not relevant to the topic.

To provide extra support to students, post the following Overt Instruction Updates from the Writer’s Toolkit to Community if they need to focus on this aspect of writing at this time. Alternatively, individualized or small group support may be provided through structured mini-lessons.

  • Paragraphs in Informative/Explanatory Texts
  • Different Kinds of Informative/Explanatory Text Sentences

This Overt Instruction Update occurs in:

  • Energy: Writing an Explanation of an Energy Transformation
  • Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives: An Informative Text about a Person Who Makes a Difference
  • What Makes America? An Informative Text about American Culture

CCSS Focus

W.6/7/8.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.

W.6.2a: Introduce a topic, organize ideas, concepts, and information, using strategies such as definition, classification, comparison/contrast, and cause/effect; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

W.7.2a: Introduce a topic, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information, using strategies such as definition, classification, comparison/contrast, and cause/effect; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

W.8.2a: Introduce a topic, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information into broader categories; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

W.6/7.2b: Develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.

W.7/8.2b: Develop the topic with relevant well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.

W.6.2c: Use appropriate transitions to clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.

W.7.2c: Use appropriate transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.

W.8.2c: Use appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.

W.6.2f: Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from the information or explanation presented.

W.7/8.2f: Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented.

Turning Bullet Points into Sentences

For the Student

Learning Intention: To turn your bullet points into sentences as you draft your information report.

Now that you have researched your topic and recorded bullet points, watch the Learn Zillion videoclip about how to Draft Informational, Research-based Writing. Create a new version of your work and start turning your bullet points into complete sentences.

Fig. 5: Learn Zillion: Building a Draft

Comment: Share one idea that you learned about how to turn bullet points into complete sentences. Comment on the comments of other students by adding more information.

For the Teacher

This Update focuses on building students skills to write information reports. Having recorded bullet points in the Structure Tool, this video from the Learn Zillion English Language Arts resources will help students to expand the bullet points into complete sentences.

Students can rewatch the video as often as is needed to reinforce the skill. Provide further individualized support to students who require it.

This Overt Instruction Update occurs in:

  • Immigration Experiences: Information Text

CCSS Focus

W. 5.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

W.5.2a: Introduce a topic clearly, provide a general observation and focus, and group related information logically, include formatting (e.g. headings), illustrations, and mutlimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

W.5.5: With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.

Transition Words

For the Student

Learning Intention: To understand how to use transition words to make your writing more cohesive.

Firstly, read a model text, e.g.  Harriet Tubman Biography (informative text)

With a partner, identify all the transition words you can find.

Transition words are words that help you to make your writing more cohesive. Transition words are also called signal words as they provide a signal to the reader about how the text is developing and they link ideas within a paragraph. They also help you to make a transition from one paragraph to another and show a logical progression in the thesis or argument you are presenting.

Transition Words and their Different Purposes:

Sequencing ideas or showing time Adding information Clarifying ideas Showing cause and effect Showing condition/ alternatives
Firstly, First/First of all, To start with, To begin with, Second, Third, Then/Next, In short, All in all, Briefly, To sum up/ summarize, Finally, To conclude, In conclusion, Consequently, Afterwards, At the same time, In the end, Meanwhile, Later/Earlier, Until then In addition, Apart from that, Again, Too/Also, Furthermore, On top of that, And besides, Above all, Along with, What’s more, As well as, Likewise, Another, Moreover, Similarly, The most important, For example, For instance, Equally, In the same way In other words, I mean, To put it another way, For example, For instance, To be more precise, Or, rather, In particular, In fact, As a matter of fact, That is, Namely, To illustrate Therefore, Then, Consequently, As a consequence, As a result, For that reason, Accordingly, Because of this, In that case In that case, Otherwise, If not, However, Nevertheless, On the contrary, Despite this, Besides, On the other hand, Anyhow, Anyway, Instead, Still, Even so, All the same, In any case, At least, Though, Despite this, Unlike, In contrast

Transition words are different to conjunctions which join clauses in compound and complex sentences.

Comment: Now look at the Harriet Tubman Biography again. Post a comment in which you replace some of the transition words with others from the above table or write a new sentence with other transition words. Comment on the purpose of the transition words in other students’ comments.

For the Teacher

In this activity students learn about how transition words (also called signal words) can support them to write cohesively.

While a texts has been provided, another text that is an appropriate model/mentor text may be substituted.

This Overt Instruction Update occurs in:

  • Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives: Creating an Informative Text about a Person Who Makes a Difference

CCSS Focus

W.6/7/8.1c: Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), counterclaims (grade 8), reasons, and evidence (grades 7 & 8).

W.6/7.2: Use appropriate and varied (grade 8) transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.

Vocabulary and Spelling

For the Student

Learning Intention: To develop your vocabulary and use spelling strategies.

Scan the text you have been allocated to read. Scanning involves moving your eyes quickly down a page searching for key words, facts or phrases. In this activity you are scanning for words that you find interesting, you don’t know the meaning of and/or would find difficult to spell. Add these words to an ‘Interesting Words’ file. Add more words as you complete this module, identifying strategies to help you work out the meaning and/or spelling of words. Remember to use some of these words in your writing.

Word My Explanation from Context Meaning from another source Spelling strategy Effect of Word Choice
metamorphosis p.77 Morph is to change so something to do with change A marked change in appearance, character, condition, or function Chunk: Meta (prefix) + morph + osis (suffix meaning action) Scientific word – shows technical knowledge
Graphic p.102 Like a graphic or a drawing Giving a clear and effective picture; vivid: Generalization: Words from ancient Greek use ‘ph’ to spell the ‘f’ sound – photo, sphere graph, phone etc Much stronger then ‘clear’

Comment: Share a definition and a spelling strategy for a word from your ‘Interesting Words’ file. Look at the words that other students have commented on. Comment on any that you found interesting or had alternative definitions from either context or another source. Sometimes you can have more than one spelling strategy for a word. Add an alternative spelling strategy for some of the words posted by other students.

For the Teacher

This activity supports students to explore vocabulary and spelling in context, and practice their scanning reading strategy.

Ask students to set up an ‘Interesting Words’ file. This can be a digital file or a vocabulary/spelling journal that is a record of frequently used words, personally significant words, topic or domain specific words. To use this file effectively, students need modelling and overt instruction through ‘think alouds’ in which the teacher pretends to be a student as he she/he tries to work out the meaning of a word from context, looks up sources to define words, and uses spelling strategies. This overt instruction can be with a whole class or small groups, and should be limited to five to 10 minute sessions. Students may work collaboratively with their peers to discuss definitions and spelling strategies, and do partner testing of spelling words. This will enable the teacher to offer further individualized support and focused mini lessons for students who require it.

Model how to use contextual clues such as looking at words, phrases and sentences that immediately follow the word, which might provide a definition through a restatement, example, contrast, comparison, cause/effect relationship or condition. A word's position or function in a sentence can be a clue. Transition words such as similarly, on the other hand, and if can also be clues.

Model and display spelling strategies such as using spelling patterns, generalizations, sounding out, chunking, visual memory, and analogy. Use ‘think alouds’ to identify and highlight the difficult part or special feature that will help students to remember how to spell a particular word. Teach students to use a Look, Say, Cover, Visualize, Write, Check strategy in partner testing of spelling words.

Use word study to explore word origins and discover generalizations about English spelling. Word study also increases specific knowledge of words – the spelling and meaning of individual words. Focus on word origins, base words, prefixes, suffixes, morphemes and uncommon plurals.

This Overt Instruction Update occurs in:

  • A Journey: Writing a Narrative about Real or Imagined Experiences of Events

CCSS Focus

L.6/7/8.4: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 4/5/6/7/8 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

L.4.4a: Use context (e.g., definitions, examples or restatements in text) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

L.5.4a: Use context (e.g., cause/effect relationships and comparisons in text) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

L.6/7/8.4a: Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a word’s position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

L.4/5/6/7/8.4b: Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g.,telegraph, photograph, autograph (grade 4); photograph, photosynthesis (grade 5); audience, auditory, audible (grade 6); belligerent, bellicose, rebel (grade 7); and precede, recede, secede (grade 8)).

L.4/5.4c: Consult reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation and determine or clarify the precise meaning of keys words and phrases.

L.6.4c: Consult reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning or its part of speech.

L.7/8.4c: Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning or its part of speech.

L.6/7/8.4d: Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary).

L.4.6: Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal precise actions, emotions, or states of being (e.g., quizzed, whined, stammered) and that are basic to a particular topic (e.g., wildlife, conservation, and endangered when discussing animal preservation).

L.5.6: Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal contrast, addition, and other logical relationships (e.g., however, although, nevertheless, similarly, moreover, in addition).

L.6/7/8.6: Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.

RL.4.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including those that allude to significant characters found in mythology (e.g., Herculean).

RL.5.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes.

RL.6/7/8.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative and technical meanings (grades 6-8); analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone (grades 7 & 8), including analogies or allusions to other texts (grade 8).

What Makes an Effective Informative/Explanatory Text

For the Student

Learning Intention: To analyze the Harriet Tubman Biography in order to find out if it is an effective informative/explanatory text.

Look back at the Harriet Tubman Biography. Also look at the survey you just completed on structure and language features, and refer to the Rubric for this Scholar project – Go to Feedback => Reviews. These are all useful to help you learn more about how to write an effective informative/ explanatory text. Then complete the table, identifying its structure.

Analyzing Informative/Explanatory Text Structure Chart

Transition words help you to create cohesion in your writing. Cohesion means that the text is unified, has a logical sequence and there are links between and within paragraphs. Try inserting some of the examples of transition words in the online biography of harriet Tubman. With a peer, read the paragraphs again with your insertions, and discuss if they are effective. Are they subtle or obvious transitions? Try adding some subtle transitions to your own writing to create cohesion.

Transition Words

Comment: Do you think that the author of the online biography of Harriet Tubman has written an effective informative/explanatory text? Why or why not? Post one idea you have and comment on the posts of other students, stating whether you agree or disagree with them and why.

For the Teacher

In this activity, students reflect on what they have learned about definitions of grammatical features from the surveys about Harriet Tubman. They also refer to the Rubric and an information sheet on transition words in order to learn about choices they can make when they write their text in Creator.

Information about Transition Words, is posted in the Community Update so students can refer to it as they annotate the online text of Harriet Tubman’s biography. This activity supports students to revise transition words in order to create cohesion in texts. Students can insert transition words in the Tubman text, writing in their suggestions, or with a partner, rereading paragraphs with their suggested transition words.

The structure of an informative/explanatory text helps to achieve its purpose by:

  • Clearly stating an idea through the topic sentence.
  • Including elaboration supported by evidence in the form of relevant facts, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.
  • Ensuring the writer does not go off on tangents which are not relevant to the topic.

To provide extra support to students, post the following Overt Instruction Updates from theWriter’s Toolkit to Community if they need to focus on this aspect of writing at this time. Alternatively, individualized or small group support may be provided through structured mini-lessons.

  • Paragraphs in Informative/Explanatory Texts
  • Writing Different Kinds of Informative/Explanatory Text Sentences

This Overt Instruction Update occurs in:

  • Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives

CCSS Focus

W.6/7/8.2c: Use appropriate transitions to create cohesion.

SL.6/7/8.1c: Pose questions that elicit elaboration and respond to others’ questions and comments with relevant observations and ideas that bring the discussion back on topic as needed.

Writing an Introduction

For the Student

Focus: To understand what to include in an introduction for an information text.

Watch the Learn Zillion videoclip about how to Write an Introduction for an Informational Text. Then go to the Structure Tool and write down some ideas for your introduction, focusing on how you will interest your readers in the opening sentence, and as well telling them what they will learn about in the text. Save that version of your work. Then turn your ideas into complete sentences.

Fig. 6: Learn Zillion: Write an Introduction for an Informational Text

Comment: Share one idea that you learned about how to write an introduction for an information text. Comment on the comments of other students by adding more information.

For the Teacher

This Update focuses on building students skills to write information reports, particularly focusing on how to write an introduction. This video from the Learn Zillion English Language Arts resources will help students to introduce the topic with a hook question and write a preview.

Students can rewatch the video as often as is needed to reinforce the skills. Provide further individualized support to students who require it.

This Overt Instruction Update occurs in:

  • Immigration Experiences: Information Text

CCSS Focus

W. 5.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

W.5.2a: Introduce a topic clearly, provide a general observation and focus, and group related information logically, include formatting (e.g. headings), illustrations, and mutlimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

W.5.5: With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.

Writing a Conclusion

For the Student

Focus: To understand how to write a conclusion and add text features to your writing.

Watch the Learn Zillion videocip about how to Write a Conclusion for an Informational Text. Then go to the Structure Tool and write down some ideas for your conclusion. Save that version of your work. Then turn your ideas into complete sentences.

Fig. 7: Learn Zillion: Write a Conclusion for an Informational Text

The next step is to add some text features to your work. This will help you look over your work and add more information so you communicate your research clearly. Watch the Learn Zillion videoclip about Add Text Features to Informational Writing.

Fig. 8: Learn Zillion: Add Text Features to Informational Writing

Comment: Share one idea that you learned about how to write a conclusion for an information text and one idea about how to add textual features. Comment on the comments of other students by adding more information.

For the Teacher

This Update focuses on building students skills to write information reports. These two videos from the Learn Zillion English Language Arts resources will help students to write a conclusion and add text features.

Students can rewatch the videos as often as is needed to reinforce the skills. Provide further individualized support to students who require it.

This Overt Instruction Update occurs in:

  • Immigration Experiences: Information Text

CCSS Focus

W. 5.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

W.5.2a: Introduce a topic clearly, provide a general observation and focus, and group related information logically, include formatting (e.g. headings), illustrations, and mutlimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

W.5.2e: Provide a concluding statement or section related to the information or explanation presented.

W.5.5: With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.