Lesson video

Hi everybody, it's Ms. Gardner, and welcome back to our unit: Writing a non-chronological report on the portia spider.

I hope you've been enjoying it as much as I have and I'm really looking forward to today's lesson of writing the next section.

In our lesson today, you're going to need to use the plan that we wrote in our previous lesson because the learning outcome is, I can use my plan to write a detailed section about the hunting strategies of the portia spider.

Let's get started.

Our key words today.

We're going to do as always, my turn, your turn.

Text flow.

Subheading.

Compound sentence.

Complex sentence.

Fronted adverbial.

Let's have a look at what these mean.

Text flow is how a text is written to keep the reader engaged.

A subheading is a word, phrase or sentence used to introduce part of a text.

A compound sentence is a sentence formed of two main clauses and a coordinating conjunction.

A complex sentence is a sentence formed of at least one main clause and a subordinate clause.

A fronted adverbial is a sentence starter followed by a comma.

There are two sections to our lesson today.

The first, we'll be preparing to write, and in the second, we're going to be writing our section on the portia spiders' hunting using our plan from the previous lesson.

A non-chronological report can be structured into four sections.

An introduction, section 1, section 2, and a conclusion.

We've already written our introduction and the first section about the portia spider's appearance.

In this lesson, we are going to be writing section 2 on the portia spider's hunting strategies.

The section on hunting will inform the reader on these features of the portia spider.

It's diet, what it eats.

The abseiling strategy it uses to hunt its prey.

And the plucking web strategy, it also can use sometimes.

and you're going to use all the notes you made in your plan from the previous lesson to help you with this.

When we write, we should always try to do these things: Plan and say each sentence before we write it.

Use punctuation where we know the rules.

Showcase each sentence type that we know, that simple, compound and complex.

Write letters neatly on the line in joint handwriting.

Use spelling strategies to spell words accurately.

And check and improve our writing when we think we've finished.

So let's review our plan of section 2.

Hunting.

That is gonna be our subheading.

The portia spider is a skilled predator.

It's a carnivore, which eats other spiders.

It eats spiders up to three times its size.

You'll notice all of our notes were in bullet points, and not in full sentences using capital letters or full stops.

These are bullet point notes.

These three points of all grouped together 'cause they're about the portia spider's diet.

Then abseils down behind unsuspecting prey.

Surprise attack, and attacks prey with fangs.

These points are all about the strategy that the portia spider uses when it abseils down behind its prey.

And finally, plucks web to imitate trapped spider.

Lures prey towards it.

And attacks prey at the web.

These bullet point notes are all about its plucking web strategy.

We are now gonna check our understanding of these notes by doing a talk task.

I want you to say two full sentences aloud that use ideas from your plan.

Our first section of our notes, we're talking about the portia spider's diet, so let's use those.

The notes were: skilled predator, carnivore or eats other spiders, and eats spiders up to three times its size.

I've given you a sentence scaffold, which you can use to help you when you are saying your sentences.

I'm gonna read the scaffold to you first and there is a blank and I'll say the word "blank".

And you can fill in those missing spaces using the notes from your plan.

The portia spider is a, blank.

Interestingly, this carnivore eats, blank, and it is able to eat, blank.

Pause the video now and use your plan to help you say your first two sentences about the portia spider's diet.

Off you go.

Well done everybody.

I hope you've all enjoyed saying those sentences and that's been useful for you.

Let's go through how they might sound.

The portia spider is a skilled predator.

And you'll notice, I've crossed off skilled predator on the notes because I've used it now in my sentence.

Interestingly, this carnivore eats other spiders.

I've crossed that now off on my notes.

And it is able to eat spiders up to three times its size.

Again, I've crossed that off my final.

I wonder if you used all three bullet points from your notes to help you complete saying these sentences out loud.

Well done everybody.

So moving on.

This section about the hunting needs to include the following: a subheading, detailed, specific facts about the spider's hunting strategies, subject-specific vocabulary, fronted adverbials, including formal fronted adverbials, and viewpoint fronted adverbials, and different types of sentences, simple, compound and complex.

Let's recap what those sentences look like.

A compound sentence is formed of at least two equally important main clauses joined together with a coordinating conjunction.

So we have our first main clause, our coordinating conjunction, which could be "and," "or," or "but".

And "or" or "but" you'll notice have a comma in front of them.

And then we have another main clause.

All of these are joined together to make a compound sentence.

So let's look at two main clauses that are equally important.

The portia spider can abseil down behind another spider, and the unsuspecting prey is not aware of the agile hunter.

Those are two equally important main clauses.

Let's put them together in a compound sentence.

And we can join them together using the coordinating conjunction.

But let's have a look in a full sentence.

Amazingly, the portia spider can abseil down behind another spider, but the unsuspecting prey is not aware of this agile hunter.

You'll notice I even used a viewpoint fronted adverbial at the start to express how amazing I think this is.

And I have my coordinating conjunction, "but" which has a comma before it.

Let's check for understanding.

Which of the following is a compound sentence? A: The portia spider is able to hunt spiders, but not humans.

The portia spider is able to hunt spiders, but it is not able to poison humans.

Or C: The portia spider is able to hunt other spiders.

Pause the video now.

It is B.

Well done.

A cannot be a compound sentence because although it has the conjunction "but", but "not humans" is not a main clause.

It doesn't contain a verb.

C is also not a compound sentence because there is no conjunction at all.

So it has to be B.

A complex sentence is formed of a main clause stretched with a subordinate clause that starts with a subordinating conjunction.

So, in a complex sentence we have, first, our main clause, a subordinating conjunction, which could be "because," "so," or "when," and then a subordinate clause.

These join together to form a complex sentence.

Remember, a main clause can make sense by itself.

Subordinate, it cannot make sense by itself.

It needs to be joined to a main clause with a subordinating conjunction.

So let's look at a main clause and a subordinate clause.

The prey is lured to the portia spider.

Main clause.

It makes sense by itself.

Because this predator imitates a trapped spider that is stuck in its web.

That's your subordinate clause.

It starts with a subordinating conjunction "because," and it doesn't make sense by itself.

The first idea can be stretched with the second idea to make one complex sentence.

Let's have a look.

In addition, the prey is lured to the porter spider because the predator imitates a trapped spider that is stuck in the web.

We have a formal fronted adverbial at the start of our sentence, a subordinating conjunction "because" and then a stretched fact at the end of our second subordinating clause.

Let's check for understanding.

True or false? This is a complex sentence: The porter spider abseils silently behind its prey so that it cannot be seen or heard.

Pause the video here.

That's correct.

It is true.

Can you use A or B to justify your answer? A: The main clause is stretched with a subordinate clause that starts with a subordinating conjunction.

Or B: A complex sentence contains one clause only.

Pause video here.

Correct.

It is A.

It's time for Task A.

We are going to practise saying our sentences out loud.

So, the Task A is to say the first two sentences of section 2 about the spider's hunting.

Can you include the following: a compound or a complex sentence, two specific facts about the huntings of the portia spider, and a fronted adverbial of your choice.

It could be a viewpoint fronted adverbial, or a formal fronted adverbial.

Pause the video now and off you go.

Okay.

I want you to hold those sentences you've said in your head and think.

Check your sentences: Have you included a compound or a complex sentence? Are the facts specific? And have you included a viewpoint fronted adverbial or a formal fronted adverbial? Pause the video now and think about these elements.

Well done everybody.

Here is an example of what two sentences to open your hunting section could be.

The portia spider is a skilled hunter and it has an interesting diet.

Amazingly, the portia spider can eat stationary spiders up to three times its own size.

Your sentences might have been very similar to that or they might have been completely different.

But don't worry, these were just an example of two sentences which contained those three things we wanted to include.

Well done everybody.

Let's move on now to our second section of the lesson where we are going to be writing our section on the portia spider's hunting.

Here is our success criteria for today.

First, I have written at least two facts about the portia spider's hunting strategies.

I have written a subheading.

I have written a compound and a complex sentence.

And I've used at least two fronted adverbials.

This success criteria is really useful for you as a writer 'cause you can refer back to it and check that you are including everything you need to include today to make this a really successful piece of writing.

I'm now going to show you how I'm going to write the first few sentences of my section on the portia spide'rs hunting.

And I'm gonna use my success criteria to help me structure this.

So, I've started by sticking in my success criteria neatly at the top of my page.

I'm just gonna go through it again so I really know what I need to be including in today's writing.

I have written at least two facts about the portia spider's hunting strategies.

I have written a subheading.

I'll do that first.

I have written a compound and a complex sentence and I've used at least two fronted adverbials So let's start with our subheading.

Just like before, it needs to have a capital letter.

Hunting.

And then neatly underlined.

Our first sentence needs to start with an indent.

Again, that means leaving a space between the margin and your first word.

I'm actually gonna start my first sentence with a complex sentence.

I want to explain why it is a skilled hunter 'cause that's the first note of my plan, was that the portia spider is a skilled hunter.

So I'm going to explain that and start with that.

How do I start every sentence? I need a capital letter.

Well done.

The portia.

Oh, that was a bit short, my ascending t.

The portia spider is a skilled hunter, and I wanna make this a complex sentence, so I'm going to use the subordinating conjunction "because", because it can eat other spiders.

And this is a pretty amazing fact.

So I definitely wanted to include this.

It can eat other spiders up to three, and I'm gonna write the word three, not the number 'cause this is a piece of writing, up to three times it's own size.

It's the end of my sentence.

So I need a.

full stop.

I'm going to read back my sentence to check it makes sense and if there's any punctuation errors.

I've got my capital letter at the start.

The portia spider is a skilled hunter.

Ooh, why find capital letter there? Do I need a capital H? It's not a proper noun and it's not the start of a sentence.

So I don't need a capital letter.

That was a mistake.

I'm gonna neatly cross it out and replace it with a lower case h.

The portia spider is a skilled hunter because, that's my subordinating conjunction, it can eat other spiders up to three times its own size.

Full stop.

My first sentence is a complex sentence.

I want to use now a viewpoint fronted adverbial 'cause I want to show that I found it really interesting that the portia spider has different hunting strategies.

So I'm gonna start with "interestingly." Interestingly, and it's a formal fronted ad.

Sorry, it's a viewpoint fronted adverbial, but all fronted adverbials need a comma after it.

So I'm adding in a comma.

Interestingly, the predator, it's a predator because it eats prey, the predator has different hunting strategies.

How am I gonna spell different? That's quite a tricky spelling.

Is it one F or two Fs? That's right.

It is two Fs.

Different hunting strategies.

Full stop.

Just reading it back to check it makes sense and there's no errors.

Interestingly.

Oh, I can see something, a mistake I've made straight away.

I wonder if anyone else can spot that.

That's right.

Every sentence needs to start with a capital letter.

So I'm gonna cross that out neatly and replace it with a capital I.

Interestingly, the predator has different hunting strategies.

Now, I'm gonna describe the first one.

Just the first one in this shared write because I want to leave you to describe the plucking strategy independently.

So, it abseils down.

In front of or behind? Behind its prey.

Now, maybe I could use an adjective to describe prey.

I think on my plan I can see.

Oh yes, I can see an adjective describing the prey as unsuspecting.

They have no idea the portia is spider is there.

So I'm going to use "unsuspecting" as an adjective.

Unsuspecting.

Quite a long word there, so I sounded that out before.

Behind its unsuspecting prey.

I haven't done a compound sentence yet.

So I'm gonna use this opportunity to do a compound sentence.

And.

It abseils down behind its unsuspecting prey and.

What does it do? It begins a surprise attack.

I know I sounded quite excited when I said that.

So I could maybe have done an exclamation mark, but this is a non chronological report and we use formal language.

So I'm just going to use a full stop.

Let's just read it back to check it makes sense.

It abseils down behind its.

Good, correct spelling of its.

I didn't want an apostrophe.

So I'm pleased I spelled that one right.

It's unsuspecting prey and it begins a surprise attack.

Full stop.

Let's go through the success criteria.

Have I written at least two facts about the portia spider's hunting strategies? Yes.

I explained how it can eat.

It can eat spiders up to three times its own size and that it abseils down behind its unsuspecting prey.

However, I haven't talked about its plucking strategy.

I'm gonna leave that for you.

So actually, yeah, I can still give that a tick because I've explained about its eating spiders up to three size bigger than it and that it abseils.

Have I written a subheading? I did that first.

I can give myself a tick.

Have I written a compound and a complex sentence? Yes.

I have a compound sentence at the end with my coordinating conjunction "and," and I started with a complex sentence using my subordinating conjunction "because." I've used at least two fronted adverbials.

I used the viewpoint fronted adverbial "interestingly" with a comma.

But I haven't done two yet because I'll need to use another one later when describing the plucking of the web strategy.

So I'm gonna save that as blank for now.

You can definitely though, I think, include another fronted adverbial later on in this section.

Okay, it's now your turn to write your second section of your non chronological report, all about the porter spider's hunting.

The first thing you need to do is write and underline your subheading.

Then you need to indent the first sentence, which means leaving a space between the margin and your first word.

You need to make sure you use your success criteria and your plan to help you structure your section.

I'm really excited to see everything you come up with.

So pause the video now and have a go at writing the section on the portia spider's hunting.

Well done everybody.

Let's read through a full paragraph all about the portia spiders hunting.

And then let's check which elements of the success criteria, hopefully all of them, which ones we can tick off.

Hunting.

The portia spider is a skilled hunter and it has an interesting diet.

Amazingly, the portia spider can eat stationary spiders up to three times its own size.

This agile predator can change the way it hunts depending on the prey and its location.

The portia spider can abseil down behind unsuspecting prey and it begins a surprise attack with its poisonous fangs.

In addition, the prey is lured to the portia spider because the predator imitates a trapped spider that is stuck in its web.

The portia spider attacks the prey at its web.

So let's go through our success criteria.

The first thing I'm gonna tick off is my subheading, the second point of my success criteria because that comes at the top.

Underlined with a capital letter, Hunting.

Have I written at least two facts about the portia spider's hunting strategy? I have.

The first one was about the fact that it can abseil down behind its unsuspecting prey.

And I've talked about the fact that it can pluck at its web to imitate a trapped spider.

So I'm going to tick the first box of my success criteria.

Have I written a compound and a complex sentence? My compound sentence was, "The portia spider can abseil down behind unsuspecting prey and it begins a surprise attack with its poisonous fangs." "And" is my coordinating conjunction.

And my complex sentence was: "In addition, the prey is lured to the portia spider because the predator imitates a trapped spider that is stuck in its web." "Because" is my subordinating conjunction.

So I can take both of those.

Finally, have I used at least two fronted adverbials? In my second sentence, I start with "amazingly" a viewpoint fronted adverbial, and then I used "in addition" a formal fronted adverbial later on.

So yes, I have used at least two fronted adverbials.

Now's a good time to read back through your section and check that you've included everything you need to in your success criteria, from your success criteria, sorry.

Well done everybody.

So let's summarise everything we've learned in today's lesson.

A section of a report contains specific facts for the reader to learn more about the subject.

A subheading introduces a section of a text.

Using simple, compound and complex sentences improves text flow for the reader.

And fronted adverbials ensure the reader stays engaged when reading the section.

Well done everybody, and I really hope you've enjoyed writing this section on the portia spider's hunting.