Lesson Focus Learning Area (Curriculum) Year Implementation

Level Date
Lesson 1 of 10: Introduction
English
Lesson duration
to the purpose and types of 3
informative texts. 60 mins
Prior knowledge of learners (What do they already know about this concept/topic/skill?)

This is the introduction lesson of a new writing concept. Students know, from Year 2, that different text
structures and language features can be used to communicate factual information. Students could
identify a main idea and use further detail, such as topic-specific vocabulary and images, to support
their writing when writing short informative texts.
Links to Curriculum

English

Literacy: Interpreting, analysing, evaluating - Identify the audience and purpose of imaginative,
informative and persuasive texts (ACELY1678).
Learning objectives (Declarative - knowledge) Learning objectives (Procedural – skills)
At the end of this lesson the learners will know: At the end of this lesson the learners will be able
to:

- Identify different types of informative

- The difference between an informative
texts and their purpose.
text and an imaginary text.
- Use facts to provide a description about a
- How to use facts to provide a description
family member.
about a topic.
- Compare imaginary texts to informative
texts.
Assessment and evidence of learning

- Questioning
- Anecdotal notes
- Family member activity, written feedback following the TAG method (Tell something you like,
ask the writer a question and give a positive suggestion).
- Check for understanding
- Observations

Classroom Management Strategies

- Giving instructions
 - Cueing with parallel acknowledgment
- Descriptive encouraging
Differentiation Strategies

- Students who find writing challenging can use drawings to support their words when
describing their family member.
- Fast finishers can use their words/phrases to write sentences/paragraph about their family
member.
- Questioning and prompts will be differentiated for different students.
Key Resources

- Owl Babies video link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPQRiSTYFHo&t=1s)

- The Great Wise Owl text
- Developing Informative Writing Skills PowerPoint slide 5
- limited examples of informative texts
- English scrapbooks
1. Lesson Introduction
Timing What you will do

15  Introduce the learning intention and success criteria for the lesson.
mins  Watch the video animation of Owl Babies on YouTube. After reading, recap with
students the meaning of an imaginary and informative text. Ask students for
examples and discuss the features of the texts.
 Ask the students:
o Is this a fiction (imaginary) text or a non-fiction (informative) text?
o How do you know?
o What is the text about?
 Pose the following question to the students:
What would you need to do to turn a fiction (imaginary) text about owls into a non-
fiction (informative) text about owls?
Provide an example, i.e. an introduction.
 As a class, brainstorm some ideas. List the students’ suggestions as a mind map on
the board. Give descriptive encouraging.
 Introduce to the class the summative task: We will be writing our own informative
text on an animal that will be displayed in the library for the school and families to
see.
2. Lesson Body
Timing What you will do

30  Display the informative text, The Great Wise Owl. Read the text as a class. After
mins reading, ask the students:
o What type of text is this?
o How do you know?
o How is this text different to the narrative text about owls?
 Draw a Venn Diagram on the board. As a class, complete the Venn Diagram by
comparing the imaginary text about owls to the informative text about owls. Model
an example before asking the class for contribution. Cue with parallel
acknowledgement.
 Display and discuss slide 5 of the Developing Informative Writing Skills
PowerPoint. Encourage the students to suggest some people, animals, objects and
events that an informative text could be written about.
 Take anecdotal notes on the EAL/D students, focusing on their ability to recount the
comparison between imaginary and informative texts.
 Explain the next activity to the students, telling them they will be drawing a picture
of a member of their family. Around the picture, they will write words or
phrases that could be included in an informative text about this family member.
Remind the students that informative texts provide a description of a particular
topic using facts.
 Model this, providing examples of words or phrases that could be used (e.g. My
Daughter – brown hair, green eyes, kind, caring, clever, student and so on).
 Transition students to tables.
 Have students complete the activity in their English scrapbooks.

3. Lesson Conclusion
Timing What you will do

15  Display limited examples of informative texts and ask the students to start collecting
mins their own examples of e.g. newspaper articles, brochures, posters.
 Encourage the students to share their illustration and their list of facts about their
family member with the rest of the class and use the TAG method to provide peer
and student feedback.
Lesson adapted from https://www.teachstarter.com/au/unit-plan/developing-informative-writing-
skills-unit-plan-year-3-year-4/ and also used in Assessment Task 2 for EDCU14034, T1 2021.

RESOURCES