Lesson video

Hello, I'm Miss Corbert, and welcome to today's lesson, using non-fiction texts to recall and learn facts.

I'm really looking forward to it today because we are going to show that by being excellent readers and listeners that we can learn something.

For this lesson, you will need your listening ears, your looking eyes, and your thinking brains.

You'll also need a copy of this here, which can be found in your additional materials for this lesson, "Looking After Cats." Can you pause the video and make sure you have your copy ready? Great.

I think we're ready to get started, and here is the outcome for today's lesson.

I can listen and respond to a non-fiction text about looking after cats, and here are keywords that will help us to get there.

First, I would like you to repeat them after me and think about whether you've heard them before.

Are you ready? My turn.

Your turn.

Nonfiction.

Fact.

Information.

Thank you so much for joining in.

Now let's figure out what they mean.

Non-fiction is a type of text or book which presents real information, events, or knowledge.

And a fact is something that might be in a non-fiction text because it is something known to be true or real or proven.

And information is facts learned about something or someone, and in this lesson's case it will be all about cats.

Let's start the first part of our lesson, looking at a non-fiction text.

In the story "Lulu Gets a Cat," Lulu wants to get a cat, but her mommy says that looking after cats is hard work, so Lulu decides to learn all about cats.

She goes to the library and chooses some books about cats to read.

What do you do if you want to learn something new? So if you want to find out something, some information, what do you do? Pause the video now.

Great.

You could do lots of different things, couldn't you? You could go to the library like Lulu.

You could look on the internet.

Even at the front of the book "Lulu Gets a Cat" there's a website that can teach us all about how to look after cats.

Or you could ask someone that might know.

Thinking about all the different ways that we could use it.

Even some television can teach us things too.

Well done.

We are going to think about books today because a book that gives information about a topic is called a non-fiction book.

There's two of our keywords.

Non-fiction books contain real information about real things.

Is there anything that you would like to learn more about? So Lulu wants to learn about cats.

What would you like to know more about? Maybe it's a different type of animal.

Maybe it's a place.

Maybe it's space.

Maybe it's got to do with a hobby that you do.

I would like to learn more about swimming and the best techniques that I would need to do.

What would you like to learn more about? I would like to learn more about.

Pause the video now.

Fantastic.

I love that you're desperate to learn more about things.

So in this lesson we're going to be learning more about cats, just like Lulu, but maybe this lesson might teach you that we can learn from lots of non-fiction books and information about the topics that you would like to learn about.

So is this true or false? Get those thumbs ready.

True or false, non-fiction books are stories about made-up characters.

Is that true or is that false? I'm going to give you 10 seconds to decide and show me your thumbs.

Ten.

Five.

What do we think? I think that is false.

Well done if you were showing me your thumbs down, because fiction books are stories about made-up characters.

Non-fiction books are about real information.

Lulu wants to learn about how to care for a cat.

Here is an example of a type of book that Lulu might have chosen from the library.

Let's have a look.

"Looking After Cats." So look at the front cover.

Why do you think Lulu chose this book? Hmm.

I think Lulu chose this book because of the title, "Looking After Cats," and it has a photo of a real cat as well.

It looks like it's about to pounce.

The title and the image on the front cover show that this book will teach us how to care for a cat.

There's my title, "Looking After Cats," and there is my image, which is a photograph of a cat.

Quite often in non-fiction books we see photographs rather than drawings.

Which other non-fiction book title might Lulu have chosen? Remember you're looking for a non-fiction book about looking after cats.

"All About Planets and Space," "The Adventures of Collin the Cat," or "All About Cats." Which one of these might you choose? Pause the video now.

Well done if you chose "All About Cats." "The Adventures of Colin the Cat" sounds like a fiction story because it's an adventure, so it probably won't help Lulu to learn, even though it's all about her favourite thing, cats.

"All About Planets and Space" sounds like a non-fiction book, but it's about planets and space rather than cats.

Non-fiction books often contain a contents page.

If you have your version of the book in front of you, you can see that the next page, page two, is the contents page.

The contents page is at the start of the book.

It shows us what information we can find in the book and where it will be.

We can use the headings and the page numbers to help us find information easily.

So I'm going to look down and I can see different types of cats on page three, kittens on page five, sleeping on page six, and the one that is shown there, feeding, on page seven, and then it continues.

I want to find out more information about what cats like doing.

First, I'm going to think about what I already know.

I know that cats like playing with toys.

Next I will read the page about playing and tell you one thing that I have learned.

So, I need to look for the page all about playing.

The great thing about a non-fiction book is that you don't have to read it in a certain order.

Because I want to know about playing, I'm going to search for the word playing.

(whispers) There it is, and it's on page nine.

Then I'm going to find it.

We just have a few examples of pages here.

There is page nine at the bottom, playing.

Now I'm going to read it.

Could you get your listening ears on? Playing.

Playing with your cat can be lots of fun and it is a great way to bond with them, which means get to know them.

Now I have a subheading title.

What do cats play with? Different cats play with different toys.

Many cats like balls, string, or toy mice.

Lots of cats also like noisy toys that might make a squeak.

Just like people, cats can have different interests.

Why do cats play? Cats play for lots of reasons.

They play because it is fun, it keeps them active, and it helps them practise important skills like hunting or pouncing, like the cat on the front cover.

Playing stops them from getting bored, especially if they are indoor cats and do not explore outside.

Kittens spend more time playing than older cats.

Some cats will bring you their favourite toy as a hint they want to play with you.

Lots of facts and information there.

I'm going to think about what I learned.

I learned that playing is a good way to bond with a cat.

I wonder what you learned about which toys they like, when they play, why they play.

Fantastic.

Let's read more about cats.

We can learn in this book about feeding cats and sleeping.

First, I will think about what I already know.

So what do I know about feeding? I already know that cats need to be fed each day.

I also know that cats like to sleep in the sunshine.

Is there anything you already know about feeding or sleeping cats? Pause the video now.

Now I will read the pages about feeding and sleeping and tell you one thing that I have learned about each.

I hope you enjoy.

I have got my nonfiction book ready and I hope you've got yours too.

So we are going to read about feeding and sleeping.

I'm going to start by looking at the contents page.

Hmm, I'm looking for the words sleeping and feeding.

Hmm.

(sounds out "sleeping") Sleeping, and that is on page six, so let's start with that.

There is page six.

Are you ready to listen? Sleeping.

Cats love to sleep.

They can sleep for a long time.

Did you know that cats can sleep for up to 16 hours a day? There are 24 hours in a day, so to sleep for 16 of them is quite a lot.

Here's my subheading.

Where do cats sleep? Cats like to sleep in lots of different places around the house.

They might sleep in a cosy cat bed, like in this photo, a sunny spot by the window, or even on your bed.

When do cats sleep? Cats are usually most active early in the morning and in the evening.

This is often when they feed, hunt, and play.

They spend the rest of their time sleeping.

If you see your cat sleeping, it means they are happy and comfortable.

They need lots of sleep to stay healthy and energetic, just like we do.

And I can see a caption here under this photo that says "Time for a cat nap." Let me think about something that I have learned that I didn't know before.

I didn't know how long cats slept for.

So now I know that cats sleep for 16 hours a day.

Now let's move on to feeding.

Here's my page all about feeding.

Feeding.

Feeding your cat is very important.

Cats need to eat every day to stay healthy and strong.

Here's my subheading.

What do they eat? Most cats eat special cat food that you can buy from the shops.

They can eat dry biscuits or tinned meat or fish.

Did you know that many cats are also great hunters? They like to hunt for their food outside and they try to catch animals like birds or mice or voles.

What do they drink? Cats should drink water to stay hydrated, which means they've got lots of water in their bodies.

Make sure your cat always has access to fresh, clean water in a bowl.

Remember to check and refill the water bowl every day.

Find a quiet and safe place for your cat to enjoy their food and drink daily.

Hmm.

Let me think what I have learned.

I have learned that cats can eat dry biscuits.

I thought they only ate tinned food.

So I have learned that they can eat dry food.

I've also learned that it's really important for cats to eat in a quiet and safe space.

I've just never thought about that before.

We have another caption here under the food bowl that says "Dinnertime." I hope you've enjoyed.

So I have told you what I have learned.

Now could you think about what you have learned? But I want you to keep it in your head because you're going to get a chance to share it soon.

Have a think.

Fantastic.

So now you are going to choose a topic about cats, either feeding cats or sleeping cats.

First you're going to share a piece of information that you know already.

Then you are going to remember what I read or reread it together about that topic in the book.

Remember, you can use your contents page to help you.

Then share something that you have learned.

Pause the video now.

Great.

Here are some comments that you might have shared.

I know that cats like eating fish.

I learned that cats like hunting for their food too.

So that's about feeding.

What about sleeping? I know cats spend lots of time sleeping.

I have learned that cats can sleep for up to 16 hours a day.

I wonder whether those are the same facts that you remembered.

Let's move on to the next part of our lesson, learning from a non-fiction text.

We can learn lots of new information from non-fiction books.

Non-fiction books contain facts.

A fact is something that is known to be true or can be proved.

For example, cats spend lots of their time sleeping.

We know that.

That's been proven by the amount of cats that we see sleeping.

A fact is a statement that can be proved right or wrong by looking.

Cats spend lots of their time sleeping.

We know this is the case because we can see this is what cats do most of the time.

A fact is different to an opinion.

An opinion is a personal view about something, such as, "I love it when my cat sleeps on my bed." So the cat sleeping on the bed is true, but by saying I love it when, that's an opinion, that's a feeling about something, because maybe not everybody feels the same way.

So, let's see what we can remember.

Non-fiction books contain lots of.

Is it opinions, facts, or questions? Hmm.

What do you think? Pause the video now.

Let's see.

Non-fiction books contain lots of facts, lots of true information.

Well done.

It can be quite difficult to remember lots of facts because it is often a lot of new information for your brain.

Can you remember when cats are most active? Hmm.

We can re-read pages to help us remember that information.

So let's see.

Sleeping.

That's the best page to start.

It's about when they're sleeping and when they're not.

Cats love to sleep.

They can sleep for a long time.

Did you know that cats can sleep for up to 16 hours a day? That's not telling me about when they're most active.

Let's keep reading.

Where do cats sleep? Cats like to sleep in lots of different places around the house.

They might sleep in a cosy cat bed, a sunny spot by the window, or even on your bed.

Hmm, that hasn't told me the answer either.

When do cats sleep? Cats are usually most active, active, there's that word, early in the morning and in the evening.

So cats are most active early in the morning and in the evening because this is often when they feed, hunt, and play.

There's our answer.

So, true or false, get your thumbs ready.

Does re-reading a page again help us to find and remember information? Is that true or is that false? I'm going to give you five seconds.

Five.

Three.

That is true.

Re-reading a page can help us to remember key information.

It's really hard and we don't expect you to remember everything.

That's why it's really useful to have the pages in front of you.

So let's re-read the page in the book that gives us information about cats playing.

Playing with your cats can be lots of fun and it is a great way to bond with them.

What do cats play with? Different cats play with different toys.

Many cats like balls, string, or toy mice.

Lots of cats also like noisy toys that might make a squeak.

Just like people, cats have different interests.

Why do cats play? Cats play for lots of reasons.

They play because it is fun, it keeps them active, and it helps them practise important skills like hunting and pouncing.

Playing stops them from getting bored, especially if they are indoor cats and do not explore outside.

Kittens spend more time playing than older cats.

Some cats will bring you their favourite toy as a hint that they want to play with you.

So the heading can help us to find information quickly, like what do cats play with? Why do cats play? Here are some strategies to help you retrieve the information you need so you don't have to read the whole page.

Listen to the question you're being asked.

Look at the headings and the subheadings to see which page might help you to find the answer.

Search for any words from the question in the text using your finger, following from left to right.

You might look for the first letter or sound in that word to help you.

If we do this, we can learn and remember information from what we read, which is so exciting, 'cause that means that reading can help us to learn.

We can also underline or point to information that will help us answer questions.

In this text, here's the question, what are three examples of toys that cats like to play with? Okay, I'm going to think about which heading.

Is it, what do cats play with, or why do cats play? I think it's what do cats play with, and I'm looking for three things about what they like to play with.

Hmm.

Oh, many cats like balls, one, string, toy mice.

I found three.

They also like noisy toys.

I found four.

Balls, string, toy mice.

Fantastic.

So have a think.

Why do cats play? And we have the section here.

Why do cats play? You're looking for two answers here.

Is it because it is fun and keeps them active, to make their owner happy, to make new friends, or because it helps them practise hunting and pouncing? Maybe you can look for why they play.

Why questions often have because.

Hmm.

Maybe you could also search for the words in the options.

Pause the video now.

Let's see.

Have you got it? Cats play because it is fun and it keeps them active and because it helps to practise important skills like hunting and pouncing.

Well done.

So we're not just using what we know, but we are looking for what we can see on the page.

Now it's your turn to have a go on your own.

You are going to re-read or re-listen to by an adult to the information all about feeding cats.

Then you can either write the answers down or you can just say the answers to these questions.

Are you ready? Write down two things that cats eat.

Cats eat mm and mm.

Your next question is, what do cats drink? Cats drink.

Where should you feed your cat? Feed your cat in.

So don't forget those strategies.

If you want, you could underline, you could search for that sound.

Have a go.

Pause the video now.

Let's see if you've got some answers.

Write down two things that cats eat.

Cats eat dry biscuits and tinned meat.

Did you get it? Well done if you did.

What do cats drink? Cats drink water.

Where should you feed your cat? Feed your cat in a quiet and safe place.

I wonder whether you managed to retrieve all of that information.

If you didn't, now you know the answers, so you've learned some facts anyway.

Really amazing job.

Thanks for learning with me today.

Let's see what we've learned.

We have learned that non-fiction books can teach us information about a topic such as how to care for a cat or a kitten.

We've also learned that non-fiction books have photographs, captions, and headings to make the information easier to understand.

We know that non-fiction books often have a contents page, which tells us what information is in the book and where you can find it.

Non-fiction books often contain facts, and re-listening or re-reading a page can help us to remember those facts.

Thank you so much for learning with me today.

I really hope you've learned lots of information and how to use a non-fiction book about anything.

Well done, and I hope to you again soon.

Bye.