Lesson video

Hello, my name is Ms Johnson, and I'm going to be teaching you english today.

In today's lesson, we're going to write the final section, the closing of our non-chronological report on portia spiders.

If you haven't watched the previous lessons, you should stop this video and go back and watch those ones first.

But if you have, then let's get started.

We're going to start today's lesson by looking at the purpose, audience language and layout of our report.

Just to remind ourselves what the purpose of a closing is.

Then we're going to do a modelled write.

So this is where we look at an example closing already and then we're going to pick out ideas that we can use in our own closing.

And then we're going to do a live shared write together in which I'll model the techniques and the features that you need to include in your own closing.

Then after that, I'm going to ask you to write your own one.

So this lesson today, you will need an exercise book or paper, a pen or pencil because this is a writing lesson, it's really good if you can have a sharp pencil, but don't worry if you can't.

And I want you to bring your brain to the lesson.

This is your writing, not mine.

So I want you to be thinking and making authorial decisions over what you decide to include.

As this is a writing lesson, we should also start by warming up our hands.

So let's start by pinching each of the fingers on our hands.

And then shake and you should start to feel them warm up.

And again, each finger pinch, on both hands as well.

And then shake, and then I'll need to tap each of your fingers against your thumb.

And you have to concentrate when you do this.

And then once you've done that, you can double tap.

I find this one really hard.

I don't know how you've done.

I think I do three taps back in each time.

Okay, and then shake up and hopefully now your hands are feeling ready and warm.

Another good thing and I want to do now is to sit up straight.

So I'm sitting up straight on my chair, my feet are flat on the floor.

And that's really important too for writing lesson so that we know we've got the correct posture for our handwriting, because whilst we're focusing on the content, handwriting is also really important.

So we're going to quickly recap what features we expect to see in a closing of report and also what we're actually writing.

So the purpose of our non-chronological report is to inform and provide information.

This is for anybody who's interested in portia spiders.

So if you're interested in tigers, you're not going to read this report.

But if you're interested in portia spiders, you'll read this report.

And throughout it this means that we need formal and subject specific language.

And then finally, we have our sections opening main and closing paragraphs and we have already written all of these sections already the ones in grey, can you believe it? We've work so hard.

So we've written the opening, we've written the first subsection as appearance.

And we've now written the second subsection that is diet and hunting.

But our non-chronological report would not be complete if we didn't write a closing.

So what is the purpose of a closing paragraph? Can you pause the video here and have a go answering this question for me, and then press play when you're ready to resume.

Well done, so a closing paragraph needs to summarise information.

That means it's going to summarise everything that's gone before it in the report.

It might also provide some general information from the non-chronological report that you've previously read or previously written.

So we'll provide some general information in another way of summarising.

And finally we're going to consider the future we're going to make a statement about the portia spider's future.

So this is a bit of an impact on the reader.

Now in order to do that, we need to go back to our planning sheet where we thought of different facts about the portia spider.

But we've got so many facts to choose from, it can be really hard to know which ones are suitable for a closing.

So we're going to spend a few minutes here deciding which facts to include in the closing.

So can you pause the video and can you pick at least two facts that you could use in your closing and press play when you're ready to resume.

Well done, did you find your facts? So the ones that I think I would use are these.

I think we should talk about it being a remarkable species.

That's general information because it's summarising overall what we found out about the portia spider.

I'm not going to include that it's got eight eyes because this is very specific information to this portia spiders appearance and I've already done that previously, so it's too detailed.

However, referring back to the fact that the portia spider has three superpowers would be really effective here as well because our reader now knows that it has three superpowers and they know now in detail what those superpowers are.

So it'd be an appropriate fact to include in our closing.

I also would maybe talk about the fact that their habitat is at risk.

So that is where they live.

So portia spiders live in jungles and rainforests, and at the minute their trees, the jungle in the jungle and the rain forests are being cut down, which means portia spider is at risk of losing its habitat, which means it is at risk of dying out or becoming extinct.

So we have to maybe make a statement about the future to suggest that habitat needs to be protected.

So now I've got my facts, I need to look back at the plan I have previously made as well.

If you've done the previous lessons, you will remember this plan.

If you haven't, you can pause the video now and look at mine to help you.

Well done, now we're going to have a go and looking at an example closing from our report and non-chronological report on polar bears.

And we're going to see the features and the examples of the features that we need to include in our own writing today.

So the success criteria of a non-chronological report, the closing is this.

Now a success criteria are the text type features that you need to be successful.

By text type features.

I mean, I am likely only to find this success criteria for closing of a non-chronological report, it wouldn't work for the opening of a narrative, because the content of it is going to be different as well is that I have to make sure that I'm always focusing on my punctuation and I'm always focusing on my sentence structure.

Those are two things I should do every piece of writing, not just text type features.

So first of all, I need to summarise the reports we've explained what that is already.

I know I need to have genuine information and I know I need to make a statement about future.

So now we're going to search for those three strings in this piece of writing.

In a minute, I will ask you to pause the video.

But first, I'm going to read it to you.

So just listen carefully.

To conclude, polar bears are fascinating creatures with many interesting features.

This species is superbly adapted to suit the environment in which it lives.

However, the survival of polar bears is under threat because of the changing climate.

Consequently, governments are working together to change laws and protect polar bears.

Hopefully they can be be protected and exist for many years to come.

So, pause the video here, you're looking for three things, summarising the report, general information, a statement about the future.

Pause the video, see if you can find those three things and press play when you're ready to resume.

Well done, let's check together, shall we? So, because I've had to highlight sentences here, it's a little bit confusing.

So I'm going to explain very carefully to you.

My first sentence was this.

"To conclude polar bears are fascinating creatures with many interesting features." That is summarising, I'm saying they are fascinating and they have interesting features.

I then go on to elaborate this with general information.

I've said it lives is superbly adapted to suit the environment in which it lives.

Now, my report would have commented on how the polar bear it has been adapted to suit the environment in which it lives.

This is not a random general fact, is a general fact that helps to summarise the report.

So it's almost my two first speeches, my success criteria together that I have ticked off.

Then finally, I end by talking about the survival of polar bears and I say that they are under threat because of the changing climate.

So in this report, it kind of finishes on that statement on the future.

It says, "consequently, governments are working together to change laws and protect polar bears." So the statement about the future here is that they are at risk of becoming extinct.

So this report finishes by making that statement.

And they end on a positive tone, which we should aim to do as well, that they can hopefully they can be protected and exist for many years to come.

Hopefully, for having read this report, the reader would want to support this because there have been so interested by the fascinating species, that is polar bears.

Now we're going to copy exactly this structure or very similar to this structure when we come to do our own writing, our own closing on the portia spider.

We're now going to have a go at writing our closing.

So I have already written the first sentence of my closing.

In conclusion, this is a really good way to start because it signals to the reader that this is the final section.

So in conclusion, the portia spider is an incredible creature, and it has interested scientists for years.

I used to compound sentences by using the word 'and' as coordinating conjunction to join two main causes together.

This is an excellent general fact as well about the portia spider.

I'm now going to do a bit of a summary.

So I'm meant to say something about its appearance.

To do this nice and formerly, I'm meant to say how it has adapted to suit its environment just like I did in the polar bear example.

It has adapted.

Adapted be the ending.

Adapted it's appearance.

Appearance always struggled to spell appearance.

I've got a bouncy bow sound such as A, A, A.

I always double that consonant so I double the P that comes after it.

Appearance, all right? Spelling it wrong twice, appearance to suit.

Perhaps I can say, appearance over time, a bit more detail, to suit it's environment.

I always struggle as well to spell this one.

And, but the top tip I remember is the word 'ron' is always in the middle.

And try and pronounce in a way that helps me remember it envi-ron-ment, environment.

I've missed my its so I'm just going to go back, to suit its 'envi' try again 'ronment' there we go environment.

And that's how I've always remembered to spell that word.

Remember to add another point.

It is a, maybe something about the die and hunting section.

I wonder what I could say? How can, what can I say that is a hunter.

Now I know it's a really successful hunter.

So perhaps they say that, it is a successful hunter.

I'm not sure I like the word hunter.

I think this time, I might say predator sounds a bit more formal in the ending.

It is a successful predator and, uses its three, it's key factor in superpowers, to catch prey.

It is a successful predator and uses its three superpowers to catch prey.

Another compound sentence, it's a shame I haven't managed to get a complex sentence in this.

My writing seems a little bit repetitive.

It's not flowing quite how I'd like it to.

Can I get a complex sentence in here? It is successful predator, and you it's three superpowers to catch prey.

Can you pause the video and see if you can change that.

So I've got a complex sentence and press play when you're ready to resume.

I know what I can do.

Well done, it is a successful predator.

I can just changed the word actually because it would make sense.

Because it uses its three superpowers to catch prey.

And that 'because' which is a subordinating conjunction before a subordinate clause is turning that into a complex sentence.

So sometimes it can be as easy as that to improve your work.

And I, even I when I'm reading through, I'm always thinking about how to improve my work.

Now, and so let's just stop for a minute.

I have summarise my reports, I've talked about the appearance, I've talked about it as a predator.

I have also included genuine information, by saying it has interested scientists for years.

And it's an incredible creature.

I think I'm there.

Although, thinking about it, I think there are three things on my success criteria.

So actually, I've just remembered there's one more I need to do.

I need to give a comment about the future.

So let me try.

However, what am I going to say? However, a nice follow conjunction should join my word it means but.

However, due to deforestation.

Tricky word to spell, which means the cutting down of trees, their habitat which is their home and survival are at risk.

Now that'd be a bit of a negative rate answer, I'm just going to put one final statement that shows that hope is not lost and it could be protected in the future.

So it is hoped, I did a small letter here, and it corrected me and gave me a capital letter because the beginning of a sentence.

Always have to remember my capital letters and full stops.

It is hoped, hoped or is it like this? No that reads hopped.

Hope does have a long 'O' sound.

And so long vowel sounds.

Actually I don't double the P, i don't double the consonant.

It is hoped that they can be protected in the future, full stop.

Now I'm going to read once more back.

I'd like you to track this as I read.

In conclusion, you can do the actions for commas with me, the portia spider or actually shall we even do an action for a capital letter.

Ready, copy me.

In conclusion, capital letter, The portia spider is an incredible creature, and it has interested scientists for years, full stop.

It has adapted its appearance over time to suit his environment, full stop.

It is a successful predator, because it uses three superpowers to catch prey, full stop.

However, capital letter, comma, due to deforestation, their habitat and survival are at risk.

Full stop, capital letter.

It is hoped that they can be protected in the future, full stop.

Now when I was reading this, I realised I have it and it twice.

I'm going to add a formal conjunction that is an and condition.

I'm going to say conjunction, I'm going to say, in addition, comma, it is a successful predator.

Because this is a new point but it stops my writing from being repetitive and boring.

And so now it works better, in addition it is a successful predator, because it uses its three superpowers to catch prey.

So even as I've written this, I constantly thought about how I can be improving my work the whole time.

So now we have written it, I would like you to pause the video here, it's your turn to write, you need to spend 10 minutes, at least writing your closing and don't forget to improve it as you go and to read it back when you have finished.

So when you're ready to get started again, press play.

Well done, for writing a report.

We're now going to check our writing against a success criteria to see if there's anything we've missed.

So I need to have summarised reports provided general information and make a statement about the future.

Let's check mine.

So in conclusion, the portia spider is an incredible creature and has interested scientists for years.

There's my genuine information.

Then I had to summarise the report because I talked about the appearance and the fact it's a successful predator.

So that means I have summarised the report and I've finally have ended by talking about what's going to happen or what might happen to the portia spider in the future.

So what I'd like you to do now is pause the video here, read back your work and check you have the three parts of success criteria you need today, and press play when you're ready.

Well done, congratulations you've written a whole report, which is so, so exciting.

It would be really good if you now read your report from the very beginning, you go back to the opening section of your report, and you read all the way through and then when you're ready, press play, and that's when we get started again.

Fantastic, I hope you enjoyed reading through your report.

You should be really proud of yourself.

And I hope that you've also enjoyed learning about the portia spider.

Is certainly a species that really interests me.

So I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have.

And hoped that the rest of your lessons today go well.