Lesson video

Hey there, my name is Mr Byrne Smith, and today we're going to be doing some English together.

In today's lesson, we're a going to write a habitat paragraph, of a non-chronological report on the angler fish.

So, let's make a start.

Here's the agenda of the day's lesson.

First we're going to recap the features of a non-chronological report, then we're going to go through a quick recap of the habitat information, after that, you're going to help me write the habitat paragraph before you have a go of yourselves in today's task.

In this lesson, you'll need your exercise book or paper, a pencil and your habitat notes, because we're going to use those today.

If you don't have any, don't worry, because there's going to be lots in today's lesson that you can use.

If you need to go out and get any of these things, pause the video now.

Okay.

Let's remind ourselves of the features of a non-chronological report.

So, we ask ourselves this question, what is a non-chronological report? Well, it's a type of non-fiction text, provides factual information about a subject, person or event, and this is not written in time order.

We have a reminder here of the type of text you might find a non-chronological report, if, this is the type of book we're imagining our report will be published in.

A non-fiction book, all about the creatures of the deep.

Today we're writing one of the main paragraphs, but what is the purpose of each of the main paragraphs? Pause the video, and have a think.

Okay.

So, the purpose of our main paragraphs: they provide general, then specific information about the angler fish.

Today, we're going to be providing general and specific information about the angler fish's habitat.

They expand on points and add detail.

And then they link to whatever comes next.

In this instance, I'll be linking to the closing, which is the end of the report.

This is what our report might look like, and they're highlighted at the main paragraphs.

Now, we have three of them.

We've already written the appearance and the diet, today we're looking at the habitat paragraph.

This is the success criteria we're going to use today to make sure that we achieve what we set out to achieve.

We have: I've included an opening sentence, I've included brackets to add extra information, I've included formal conjunctions and subject specific vocabulary, I've referred to nouns in different ways.

So lots of things that we've been practising again and again.

Now, how could you refer to the angler fish in different ways? I would like you to pause the video and have a think of the few different ways of referring to the angler fish.

Pause the video now.

Okay, so , you could call it fish, animal, species, creature, or predator.

Now I would like you to add an adjective to use, three of these, pick three, add an adjective.

Remember, it must be appropriate.

I don't want to hear things like silly species because that's not the type of language you would hear in a formal piece of scientific writing.

Pause the video and have a Okay.

All right, for fascinating species, try to think of a nice combination of words.

Let's recap what we've learnt so far about the angler fish's habitat.

So, this is my creation.

A creation of the angler fish's underwater, deep sea habitat.

These details, the barest features of the habitat.

Pitch black, up to one mile, midnight zone, ice-cold depth, sparsely populated.

Now this creation came from these set of notes.

We learnt, the angler fish lives one mile deep in Antarctic and Atlantic oceans, in what's known as the midnight zone.

Down there, it's hostile, harsh and inhospitable.

It's ice-cold and pitch-black.

It's very sparsely populated, which means there is not much around, not much to eat.

And finally, we know that the angler fish has a range of adaptations which helps it survive down there.

Otherwise it wouldn't live there.

In fact, otherwise it couldn't live there.

Okay.

Time for you to help me with my appearance paragraph.

Sorry, with my habitat paragraph.

Now, after we've done this, you're going to have a chance to do one of your own.

So, you should be thinking carefully about the aspects of this paragraph that you can use in your own writing.

Quick reminder of the success criteria: opening sentence, brackets for extra information, formal conjunctions, subject-specific vocabulary, referring to the nouns in different ways.

Okay.

So, there's my sub-heading, habitat.

That comes in the beginning of my paragraph, to sign-post to the reader what this paragraph is going to be about.

We then need an opening sentence.

A general opening sentence.

I want us to introduce the topic of the paragraph, habitat, without giving away too many details.

I'm going for; The angler fish lives in the depths of the Antarctic and Arctic oceans.

Okay.

I think this is a nice start.

Actually, I think we can probably add more details to this.

There are certainly two words here that I think we should improve on.

I think lives, while in aqua , is not especially scientific.

And this depths, the depths of the Antarctic and Arctic oceans, well, I think the least we can do is describe them.

So, let's focus on the phrase lives in and depths.

I would like you to come up with a synonym for lives in and an adjective to accompany, to go alongside depths.

Pause the video, and do that now.

Okay.

I came up with, inhabits, and then I used murky as this really lovely adjective describing the depths of the Antarctic and Arctic oceans.

Okay.

This hostile habitat is a long way beneath the surface and is known as the midnight zone.

Okay.

I think this is nice.

I think we can improve on this line.

Long way beneath the surface, well, why not use brackets to explain exactly how far beneath the surface this habitat is.

Who can remember how far beneath the surface the habitat of the angler fish is? Shout out for me.

Up to one mile.

This hostile habitat is a long way beneath the surface, up to a mile, and is known as the midnight zone.

Okay.

As the conditions this far down are bad, very few creatures can survive.

Mm, so there's is a word in this sentence which am not happy with.

A word which I think we can improve quite easily.

I wonder if you've spotted it too.

I'm going to read the sentence again.

As the conditions this far down are bad, very few creatures can survive.

You guessed it, bad.

I think we can do better than that.

We've picked out a variety of adjectives which describe the angler fish habitat really well.

Things like hostile, harsh, inhospitable.

Now, we've already used hostile, so I think harsh or inhospitable work really well.

Shout out for me, which do you prefer? I've gone for harsh.

As the conditions this far down are harsh, very few creatures can survive.

Okay.

I think that works really well.

Now, this is true, and as a result of this being the case, the angler fish struggles to find food.

There's not that much that it can eat.

Now, we want it to be clear to the reader that it doesn't have much to eat, because there are very few creatures down there.

There's is a type of formal conjunction that does this really well.

I wonder if you can remember which type.

So it's one of these three, formal and, formal but or causal.

That's right, it's causal.

And I've gone for therefore.

As the conditions this far down are harsh, very few creatures can survive.

Therefore, there is not much for the angler fish to eat.

Which is true.

Angler fish.

We've referred to it that, in instance where I think we can probably use a synonym.

Let's have a go.

I would like you to use one of your synonyms, we made a few earlier, remember, to replace the word angler fish.

Pause the video and have a go.

Okay.

I've gone for, this peculiar carnivore.

Since we're talking about the eating, I think carnivore is a nice synonym coz carnivore is all about what an animal eats.

Which is meat.

Therefore, there is not much for this peculiar carnivore to eat.

So, we've explained where it lives, we started to explain the conditions, we've said that they're very harsh and not many creatures can survive.

What should we do next? Well, I think it's worth explaining why it's so harsh down there.

What is particular about the midnight zone that makes it so harsh.

The midnight zone is pitch-black and the waters are ice-cold.

However, we know that the angler fish can still survive.

So, we're saying the midnight zone is pitch-black and the waters are ice-cold.

Yeah, that's true.

That's why it's so difficult to live down there.

But, the angler fish can still survive.

How do we introduce that idea using formal conjunction? It's pitch-black down there, also ice-cold, but, the angler fish can still survive.

Type of formal conjunction and that's causal.

How about but? When I'm saying it out loud now am actually using the word but, that's a big clue.

Pith-black, it's ice-cod, but, I've said it, the angler fish can still survive.

Okay, so formal but.

That's going to work.

Help me pick a formal but conjunction.

I'm going to give you three options, despite this, nevertheless, however.

Shout one out to me.

I've gone for nevertheless.

So, the midnight zone is pitch-black and the waters are ice-cold.

Nevertheless, the angler fish is able to survive thanks to its many adaptations.

The adaptations that we've spoken about before in our appearance paragraph and in our diet paragraph.

So, what we've been able to do there is really nicely, describe the habitat of the angler fish while touching on not just the conditions, not just where it's found, but even some of the adaptations which help it live down there.

Let's think about our success criteria.

What have we achieved? Have we included the opening sentence? Yes.

The very first one.

We made sure it was nice and general, we introduced roughly where on earth the angler fish lives.

I've included brackets to add extra information, yes.

We added information about how far down in the ocean the angler fish lives.

Formal conjunctions, definitely.

We used two.

Subject specific vocabulary, yes, throughout.

It was in every sentence.

Have you referred to the nouns in different ways? Yes, you helped me using one of the suggestions earlier in the lesson.

Now it's your turn.

I would like you to pause the video, and have a go at your own paragraph.

Please make use of the ideas we've discussed today.

That's what they are there for.

And, use the success criteria which explains exactly what am after in your writing.

Pause the video now.

Okay.

Congratulations.

That's the end of the lesson.

We have looked at features of a non-chronological report, we've recapped the habitat of the angler fish, you've helped write a habitat paragraph and then you've written one of your own.

All that in one lesson.

Well done! You've done an awful lot.

Well done for your hard work! You've completed the lesson.