Lesson video

Hello, my name's Mrs. Smart, I know a great name for a teacher, right? What's your name? Nice to meet you.

I'm so excited that I'm going to be teaching you English because it's one of my favourite subjects.

I love reading and I love writing.

So I hope that we are going to learn a lot together.

In today's lesson, we are going to be learning about non-chronological reports, and identifying some of their key features.

So let's begin.

In this lesson you will need an exercise book or some lined paper, a pen or a pencil, and of course your brain for all that thinking and learning that you are about to do.

If you don't have any of those items with you at the moment, you might need to pause the recording now and go and get them.

Hopefully you are ready to begin.

Here we see the agenda for our lesson today.

We are going to start with an introduction where we are going to learn about what a non-chronological report is, and where you might see them.

Then we're going to think about the purpose, audience, language and layout of this text.

You're going to have a go at identifying some of the key features, and then lastly, you are going to complete your task.

So what is a non-chronological report? Now, that is quite a tricky word to say.

So let's have a practise to start non-chronological reports, non-chronological reports, excellent, well done.

So a non-chronological report is a type of non-fiction text.

That means it provides factual information about a subject, person or event.

So a fiction text is made up or imaginary often in a story a non-fiction text provides factual information, that is true.

And you might have seen non-chronological reports in factual information texts, like the one below about the human body before.

Non-chronological reports are not written in time order.

So you may have read some non-fiction texts which are in time order, such as a recount.

But a non-chronological report is not written in time order.

And let's have a look at this word, chronological.

Actually the letter string cron is a word in Greek that means time.

So any word that you might've heard of in English which starts with cron, probably has something to do with time, such as chronology that you might've had of when you are learning about history.

But remember a non-chronological report is not written in time order.

Reminds me what does non-chronological mean again? Well done, not written in time order.

Now we're going to look at some non-fiction information texts where we might find some non-chronological reports.

Now I've got two book covers here, one is a non-fiction information texts, and one is not.

Now I want you to have a look at the book covers, have a look at the images, have a look at the title, think about how you know which one is the non-fiction text.

If you want to pause the recording, you can.

When you've made your decision, I'm going to count down from three, and I want you to point to the book cover that you think is the non-fiction information text.

Ready? Three, two, one and point.

Well done.

I knew you'd get it right.

So here is our non-fiction information text.

This one's all about tigers because I can see the title says tigers but also there is a photograph of a tiger on the front cover.

So I'm guessing that it's going to be about real tigers.

Now the other book cover I'm guessing is a story because it's called the Tiger Who Came to Tea, and that is not something that happens very often, that must be made up or imaginary.

I can also see that the front cover has an image of a tiger which is a drawing rather than a photograph.

So this is probably going to be a fiction text.

Let's have a go it's another one.

So I've got two book covers again, can you work out which is the nonfiction information text.

Remember to have a look at the images and the titles on the front cover and think about how you know.

If you want to pause the recording to think a bit more, you can.

So when you're ready, I'm going to count down from three again, and you're going to point to the non-fiction information text.

Three, two, one, and point.

Well done.

I can see you all got that right? So I can see on this front cover, it says a hundred facts.

Now that gives me a very big clue that it's probably a factual information text.

I can also see an image, which I think is a photograph of an artefact found from Ancient Greece, which also gives me a clue that it's going to be an information text.

Whereas I looked at the other book cover I can see it's called Greek myths.

Now I know that myths is another word for stories.

Also, if I have a look at the images, I can see some animals that I have never seen before in real life.

So I think they must be imaginary made up animals such as a horse with wings.

So that must be a fiction text, and my 100 Facts Ancient Greece must be the non-fiction information text.

Well done, if you got that right.

I'm now to think about the purpose, audience, language and layout of a non-fiction text.

But let's decide, first of all, what these words mean.

So we've got purpose.

That is the reason that a text is written.

Why an author wrote a text.

The audience.

The audience is the type of people that would read a text.

And you might've heard about an audience for a play at a theatre, but the audience can also be people that read a text.

The language, would be the vocabulary chosen or the words chosen by the author.

And lastly, the layout is how a text is organised or structured, what it looks like on the page.

Let's have a think now about the purpose, audience and language and layout in terms of a non-chronological report.

What do you think? Have a pause of the recording, and you can write down some notes or you can just have a think.

Hopefully you've had a think about those.

So let's go through one by one.

The purpose of a non-chronological report is to inform or provide information because we know a non-chronological report provides factual information.

The audience of a non-chronological report is anyone interested in that subject.

So someone might be really interested in history and might read a non-chronological report about the Victorians.

Someone might be really interested in science and they might read a non-chronological reports about space.

Some non-chronological reports are quite complicated and they would be for an audience of adults so grownups.

Some non-chronological reports are a little bit easier to understand and they would be more appropriate for children.

So it depends on the language as to the audience.

Now talking about language, the type of language used in a non-chronological report is formal, subject-specific language.

So formal language is sort of serious grown-up language that you would use if you were talking to someone that you didn't know very well, or if you were writing a letter to someone you didn't know very well, not the sorts of language that you would use when you are talking to your friends and your family, that would be a lot more informal.

And then subject specific language is the sorts of language that you would probably openly see in a text about that particular subject.

And we'll come onto that later when we look at some examples.

And then lastly, the layout of a non-chronological report.

Normally they would start with an opening paragraph, then they would move on to have one, two, three, possibly more main paragraphs, and usually they would then end with a closing paragraph.

Well done, if you've got some of those rights.

I now want you to have a think about this question.

So which features would you find in a non-chronological report? Haven't think about any non-biological reports you might've read before and what features can you remember? Can you remember anything about the layout or the structure, anything about the language that might've been included, or the punctuation that the author chose to use? So pause the video and have a think or write down some notes for yourself now.

Hopefully you have remembered lots of features about non-chronological reports.

We are now going to look at an example that I have written about Grey Wolves.

So as I said before, non-chronological reports can be about a person, an event, a subject, and I have chosen to write this one about these beautiful creatures that hopefully you can see next to my picture, here on the screen.

So we're going to look as an opening paragraph to start with, and I'm going to read and you can follow along.

And then we're going to try and identify some of those features.

So off we go, Grey Wolves.

Grey Wolves known scientifically as Canis lupus, are part of the domestic dog family.

These canines are one of approximately four different species of wolf, that are found in areas of Europe, Asia, and North America.

Did you know this animal lives in packs of up to 30 wolves? This report will provide information about the grey wolf's appearance and habitat.

So now it's over to you.

You've got to find some of the features that I have listed below here.

So in the opening, we are going to identify the title, subject specific vocabulary, brackets, question and a linking sentence.

So first of all, well ease and slowly can you find the title? Point to on screen once you think you've found it.

Well done.

I knew you'd be able to do that one.

So the title is rise to the top, it's censored, it's underlined.

It tells the author what the report is all about which in this case is Grey Wolves.

Now subject-specific vocabulary.

This gets a little bit tricky.

Subject-specific vocabulary all the words linked to the subject of the reports in which in this case is grey wolves.

So any words that you probably wouldn't see very often in other texts and you might only see in a text that was about grey wolves or possibly if a text is about animals in particular.

So have a scan through with your finger, and see if you can find some of those unfamiliar subject specific words or vocabulary.

Excellent, well done if you found some of those.

So I've highlighted them there for you in pink.

So we've got canis lupus, which is actually the Latin name for grey wolves, which scientists often use.

We've got domestic dog.

Now, domestic dog refers to the sorts of dogs you would have as a pet rather than dogs you would have in the wild.

Then we've got canines which refers to all dogs like animals.

So wolves, dogs, but also animals like coyotes or jackals all look quite a lot like the domestic dog that you might have as a pet.

Then we've got the word species which is a word which refers to a group of animals that are all of the same type.

So grey Wolf would be a species of wolf.

Then we've got packs, which is the group that wolves and live in, and then appearance refers to what the grey wolf looks like, and habitat refers to where the grey wolf lives or its environment.

Well done if you found some of those, that's really, really good.

Next, we're going to look at some punctuation.

So can you find some brackets, and can you find a question? I'll give you a clue.

The question ends in a? Question mark your right.

So pause the recording and see if you can find those now.

Excellent, well done.

So hopefully you have found the brackets or parenthesis with some extra information in the first sentence.

So that gives the author an opportunity to add in some extra information about grey wolves.

So we can see it says grey wolves known scientifically as Canis lupus are part of the domestic dog family.

Then we've got our question which of course ends in a question mark, that reads did you know this animal lives in packs of up to 30 wolves? And that hooks your reader in it makes them want to read more.

Lastly, I want to see if you can find the linking sentence.

This is a sentence that will from the opening to the next paragraph in the report.

So pause the recording and see if you can find that now.

Well done.

Of course the linking sentence is the last sentence in the opening paragraph.

So in this paragraph it reads, this report will provide information about the grey wolf's appearance and habitats.

Often the linking sentence tells the reader what the rest of the report will be about.

Now we're going to move on to an example of a main paragraph.

And this name paragraph is about the appearance of the grey Wolf.

So again, I'm going to read and you can follow.

Appearance.

Grey wolves are the largest species of wild dog in the world.

However, they vary in size depending on where they are found.

This breed has many special adaptations so that it can survive in its habitat.

Grey wolves have a dense layer thick fur that provides them with excellent insulation in cold conditions.

In addition, the colour of their fur, which ranges from pure white to solid black helps them to camouflage and hide from predators.

The animal's large paws have fleshy pads and claws.

As a result, they can grip and support themselves on uneven or snow covered terrain.

So we are then going to find some features again which you should be able to see me below there.

So we're going to identify the sub-heading, the opening sentence, some formal conjunctions, and a relative who/which clause.

So I hope you are ready.

So the subheading, can you find that for me now.

Point to the screen and find it.

Excellent, well done.

Of course the sub-heading is a little bit like the title, but it's a title of just this paragraph.

So it breaks up the text and it tells the reader what this paragraph is going to be about.

In this instance, the paragraph is about appearance of course.

Now, can you find the opening sentence? That's a tricky one.

Where would the opening sentence in a paragraph be? Pause the recording and point to it now.

Of course, the opening sentence is the first sentence in the paragraph.

And the opening sentence often gives general information and its signposts to the reader what the rest of the paragraph is going to be about.

So this sentence reads grey wolves are the largest species of wild dog in the world.

So it gives us some general information about the appearance of the grey wolf, but it doesn't go into specific details about the appearance yet.

Now, getting a little bit trickier now but I'm sure you are all up for the challenge.

I want you to find some formal conjunctions.

So you probably know that conjunctions join clauses or phrases or words or even sentences together.

So formal conjunctions are what gives a non-chronological report that formal and serious adult like feeling that we talked about earlier, and I'll give you a clue.

In this example, they are all at the beginning of sentences and they have a comma after them.

See if you can find them now.

Amazing, well done if you found some of the formal conjunctions.

So you can see, we have got however comma, in addition comma, as a result comma, and we're going to be learning more about formal conjunctions in another lesson.

Lastly, I want you to see if you can find the relative clause.

So this is a type of subordinate clause that adds extra information to the main clause or adds extra information to the sentence.

And there's a bit of a clue there that they often start with who or which.

See if you can find it now in the text.

Brilliant, well done.

So you can see here, the relative clause is which ranges from pure whites to solid black.

So this is an embedded relative clause because it's dropped right in the middle of the sentence.

So we read the whole sentence, it reads in addition, the colour of their fur which ranges from pure white to solid black helps them to camouflage and hide from predators.

So you can see the relative clause adds extra information to the reader about the grey wolf's fur.

Lastly, we are going to have a look at a closing paragraph, the final paragraph in a non-chronological report.

I am going to read and you can follow.

To conclude, grey wolves are fascinating creatures with many interesting features.

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

Despite this, the future survival rate for these animals is under threat due to the destruction of their habitat, environmental change and poor treatments.

Hopefully conservation efforts will save these legendary canines.

Last time now we're going to identify some features in our closing paragraph.

Hopefully you can see the features listed down below there.

So we're going to find some different ways that the author has referred to nouns in different ways.

We're going to identify some future tense and we're going to find the closing sentence.

So I hope you are ready.

Referring to nouns in different ways that is a way of the author making things a little bit less boring for the reader, because if we've said grey wolves repeatedly through the reports, I think our reader might fall asleep.

So instead the author has used some different nouns to refer to the grey wolves to keep things a little bit more interesting.

So have a scan through and see if you can find some different nouns which refer to the grey wolves.

Brilliant, well done.

So of course we've got the main noun, which is grey wolves which is what I report is about but then we've got four other nouns that refer to the grey wolves.

So we've got creatures, species, animals and canines.

Well done, if you found those.

Now, we're going to say if we can find some future tense.

So have a look through, can you find a verb that is in the future tense? Brilliant.

Well done if you found that, that was a tricky one.

So the final sentence reads, hopefully conservation efforts will save these legendary canine.

So you can see that something is going to happen, hopefully in the future.

And often our closing paragraph will refer to the future of the animal as well as summing up everything that has been mentioned previously in the reports.

And lastly, can you find the closing sentence in the closing paragraph.

I wonder where that would be.

Excellent.

Of course, the closing sentence in the closing paragraph is the final sentence which ends it's whole off.

So it reads, hopefully conservation efforts will save these legendary canines.

We are now onto our final parts of our lesson, which is the task.

So I would like you to write down all the features of a non-chronological report that you can remember from today's lesson.

And it's up to you, how you do this you could just list them off, you could put them under these three different headings, layout or structure, language and punctuation, or you might want to make a mind map like I've got below.

So you can write features of non-chronological reports, place a circle or a bubble around it, and then write the features around the outside.

An extra challenge is can you include an example of each feature? I would be really, really impressed if you can remember any examples that we found in the text that we looked at today.

So today we have covered an introduction to non-chronological reports, we talked about what they were.

We then discussed the purpose, audience, language and layout of this text type.

You identified some features, and finally you are going to complete your task.

So congratulations well done.

You have completed your lesson for today.

If you would like to, please share your work with your parent or carer, and I will see you next time.

Goodbye.