Lesson video

Hi, everybody and welcome to our lesson today.

I'm so glad you've made the choice to come and do some learning with me today.

We're about to start a brand new unit for our non-chronological report about tigers and I'm really looking forward to seeing what we all achieve.

So let's get started.

In our learning today, you will be able to identify the features of a non-chronological report.

Here are some keywords we will be using: non-chronological report, purpose, audience, language, layout.

Well done.

Here are some definitions for these words: A non-chronological report is a non-fiction text that informs about a subject or event and that is written out of time order.

Purpose is the aim of a text.

Audience is the person or people who read a text.

Language is the type of words and tone used in a text.

Layout is the way a text is structured.

In today's lesson, we will be identifying the features of a non-chronological report in preparation for writing about tigers.

Firstly, we will be learning about the layout of a non-chronological report.

Then we will move on to learning about the linguistic features of non-chronological reports.

Non-chronological reports often follow the same structure.

They have a title, an introduction, section one, section two, and a conclusion.

The introduction is the first paragraph that encourages the reader to read on.

The sections contain paragraphs of information related to a particular aspect of the subject.

The conclusion is the last paragraph that summarises the key information of the text.

The purpose is to inform the reader about one subject.

The audience is anyone interested in learning about the subject.

The layout helps the reader learn about the subject.

Match the words to their definitions.

Pause the video while you do that.

Well done if you spotted that the introduction is the first paragraph.

The sections are paragraphs of information related to a particular aspect of the subject, and the conclusion is the last paragraph.

Now, for your task, you are going to read the non-chronological report in the additional materials and answer these four questions.

Number one, what is the title? Number two, what is the first paragraph called? Number three, give an example of a subheading in this report, and number four, what is the last paragraph called? But first let's read through this non-chronological report together.

"Crocodiles and Alligators.

Introduction.

Crocodiles and alligators belong to a group of reptiles named 'crocodilians'.

Fascinatingly, these fierce carnivores, meat-eating animals, are almost unchanged from their ancient ancestors who first walked the Earth approximately 160 million years ago.

In this report, you will learn about these reptiles' interesting behaviour and adaptations.

How do crocodiles care for their young? Notably, crocodiles make much better parents than many other reptiles.

A female Nile crocodile lays up to 75 eggs and she carefully buries them under the sand in the riverbank.

In addition to this, she guards them for up to three months until they hatch, then she carries them down to the river in her mouth.

Interestingly, this unique reptile continues to care for her young, protecting them from predators for the first few weeks of their lives.

How fast are alligators? Alligators, such as the American alligator, can run quickly on land, reaching speeds of up to 18 kilometres per hour.

However, they are even faster when they swim through water.

Of significant interest, crocodilians' powerful, streamlined bodies are used to their advantage when moving through water.

They tuck their legs under their bodies and swish their strong tails from side to side.

As a result, these creatures can travel up to 32 kilometres per hour in water, making them dangerous predators.

Conclusion.

To conclude, these prehistoric reptiles, which have walked the Earth for many thousands of years, are fascinating creatures.

Despite this, as a result of mass deforestation, many crocodile and alligator species are endangered.

Consequently, it is vital that humanity works harder to protect crocodilians and all species to ensure that generations of humans to come will benefit from learning about their behaviours and adaptations." Pause the video now while you answer the questions on the screen.

Great work, everyone.

The title of this non-chronological report is "Crocodiles and Alligators".

The first paragraph is called Introduction.

An example of a subheading in this report.

You may have written, "How do crocodiles care for their young?" or "How fast are alligators?" Either of those are correct.

And finally, the last paragraph is called the Conclusion.

Great work, everybody.

Now we're going to move on to the second part of our lesson where we are going to now learn about the linguistic features of non-chronological reports.

There are a number of linguistic features in non-chronological reports: subject-specific vocabulary, formal tone, fronted adverbials.

Linguistic features are types of words and language that a writer chooses carefully.

Subject-specific vocabulary is vocabulary, or words and phrases, about the subject of the report.

These words and phrases are factual and specific.

They help to create a formal tone.

For example, some examples of subject-specific vocabulary we just read in our report are: reptile, adaptation, behaviour, endangered.

Great work.

Which two of these words are subject-specific to crocodiles? Pause the video while you decide.

Well done if you spotted that predator and carnivore are two subject-specific words for crocodiles.

The word cunning is not a word that we would see in a non-fiction text because this is more of a descriptive word to describe an animal's or a person's personality.

It's not suitable for a non-fiction text like a non-chronological report, so it doesn't actually count as subject-specific vocabulary.

Another linguistic feature in non-chronological reports is the fronted adverbial.

We're going to be talking about these a lot now.

There are different types of fronted adverbial: formal fronted adverbials, viewpoint fronted adverbials fronted adverbials of cause.

Well done.

They all follow the same rule: they start a sentence and a comma follows them.

We can use this scaffold to show where a fronted adverbial goes in a sentence.

True or false? A fronted adverbial goes at the end of a sentence.

Pause the video while you decide.

Well done.

You are right.

This is false.

Now take a moment to read the two possible justifications for your answer and decide which one is correct.

Great work if you spotted that the correct justification was B.

A fronted adverbial goes at the start of the sentence and it is followed by a comma.

A formal fronted adverbial starts a sentence and it is followed by a comma.

Here's the scaffold we just looked at.

It is formal in tone and it links one sentence to the previous sentence.

Formal fronted adverbials can be grouped into two categories: "and" and "but".

We can refer to these as our "and" and our "but" hands.

The reason why we've put them on our hands is to show that they are both the same in that they are both types of formal fronted adverbials.

However, they are also different in that the words that I can group onto my "and" hand, which we'll look at in a moment, are all words we can use as formal synonyms for the word "and", where they build on a point from the previous sentence.

Then when we come to talk about our "but" hands, these are words which are also formal fronted adverbials, but they are synonyms for the word "but".

When we use these words, they offer a contrasting point to the previous sentence.

Let's look at these in a bit more detail now.

An "and" formal fronted adverbial builds on a point from the previous sentence.

For example, let's read this sentence together: "Crocodile's ears are covered by small flaps of skin, which can be closed to make their ears watertight.

In addition to this, their nostrils have special muscles that can close them in water." My "and" formal fronted adverbial here is "In addition to this".

Can you see how it builds on another fact from the previous sentence? Here are some other examples of "and" formal fronted adverbials.

"In addition to this", you can count them on your fingers along with me.

"As well as this," "Also," "Furthermore," "Moreover," "Building onto this,".

Well done.

We can use all of these "and" formal fronted adverbials when we want to build on a point from a previous sentence.

A "but" formal fronted adverbial introduces a contrasting idea to the previous sentence.

Let's read these sentences together: "Crocodiles are one of the Earth's most ancient species.

Despite this, there are still features of these reptiles that zoologists are continuing to discover today." Here, my formal "but" fronted adverbial is "Despite this,".

It is showing a contrasting or an opposing view, or idea to the previous sentence.

Let's count some of these "but" formal fronted adverbials on our hands together.

"However," "Despite this," "On the contrary," "In contrast to this," Well done.

We can use these "but" formal fronted adverbials when we want to add a contrasting idea to our previous sentence, Which formal fronted adverbial fills the gap best? Let's read this together.

"Alligator's scales help protect their delicate inner organs." Hmm, comma, "their scales enable them to be camouflaged, which aids their hunting." Pause the video while you decide.

Well done if you spotted that the correct formal fronted adverbial would be an "and" formal fronted adverbial.

This is because the second sentence builds on from the first.

Let's read the whole thing together.

"Alligator's scales help protect their delicate inner organs.

Moreover, their scales enable them to be camouflaged, which aids their hunting." A fronted adverbial of cause is a sentence starter that tells the reader the cause and the effect of something.

It follows the same rules as the formal fronted adverbial.

It is formal in tone.

It links one sentence to the previous sentence.

It starts a sentence and it is followed by a comma.

Here's the same scaffold we used for our last type of fronted adverbial.

A cause brings about another event or action.

An effect is the event or action that happens because of the cause.

For example: Mass deforestation is occurring in Africa.

That is a cause.

The effect of this is that crocodilians are classed as endangered.

So because mass deforestation is occurring in Africa, these crocodilians are classed as endangered.

The fronted adverbial of cause links the cause sentence to the effect sentence.

For example: "Mass deforestation is occurring in Africa.

Consequently, crocodiles and alligators are classed as endangered." "Mass deforestation is occurring in Africa" is the cause, and the effect, "crocodiles and alligators are classed as endangered," is linked using that word "Consequently,".

That's our fronted adverbial of cause in this sentence.

Match the words to their definitions and pause the video while you do that.

Well done if you spotted that an effect happens because of another event or action, and a cause brings about another event or action.

There are different fronted adverbials of cause for us to use.

"As a result," "Consequently," "Therefore," "Due to this,".

Great work.

"Mass deforestation is occurring in Africa.

Consequently, crocodiles and alligators are classed as endangered." We could also use: "Therefore," "Due to this," "As a result,".

All of these fronted adverbials of cause link the cause to the effect.

Select which fronted adverbial is correct.

"Crocodile and alligators have sharp teeth, hmm comma, they are able to eat their prey easily." Pause the video while you decide.

Well done.

You are correct.

The correct answer is "Due to this," because this is a fronted adverbial of cause.

Let's read the whole thing together.

"Crocodiles and alligators have sharp teeth.

Due to this, they are able to eat their prey easily." A viewpoint fronted adverbial is a sentence starter that tells the reader the writer's point of view or their opinion.

A point of view is what someone thinks about a subject or a fact.

A writer of a non-chronological report wants the reader to find their facts as interesting as they do.

A viewpoint fronted adverbial follows some of the rules of the others.

It's formal in tone and it starts a sentence and is followed by a comma.

Here's the scaffold that we can use.

There are different viewpoint fronted adverbials to use: "Of significant interest," "Of particular interest," "Intriguingly," "Fascinatingly,".

Great work.

All of these are for very interesting facts.

So you reserve them for the most interesting facts you have.

"Impressively," This is for facts that make you think "Wow!".

"Notably," "Significantly," These are for facts that are very important.

Viewpoint fronted adverbials can introduce a brand new fact.

They do not always have to build on a fact or a sentence that was mentioned previously.

Different viewpoint fronted adverbials are useful at different times.

Let's look at a few examples.

"Crocodiles are complex creatures." Let's read this together.

"Fascinatingly, they have walked the Earth longer than any other creature." "Crocodiles are complex creatures." "Of significant interest, crocodiles' teeth can be regenerated throughout their lifetime." "Crocodiles are complex creatures.

Notably, threats to crocodiles' habitats and impacts on their food chain have resulted in them being classed as endangered." "Crocodiles are complex creatures.

Impressively, Nile crocodiles have the strongest bite force in the animal kingdom, approximately 30 times stronger than a human." Which of these are viewpoint fronted adverbials? Pause the video while you decide.

Remember, a viewpoint fronted adverbial expresses the writer's opinion or how they feel about a fact.

Great work, everyone.

"Of particular interest," and "Fascinatingly," are both examples of viewpoint fronted adverbials because they show how the writer feels about a particular fact.

"As a result," is an example of a fronted adverbial of cause.

"However," is an example of a "but" formal fronted adverbial.

Now it's time for your task.

You're going to reread the non-chronological report from our first task, which is in our additional materials.

Then you're going to complete the four instructions.

Number one, write five examples of subject-specific vocabulary from the text.

Number two, give two examples of "and" or "but" formal fronted adverbials used.

Number three, what are two examples of fronted adverbials of cause in the text? And number four, "Fascinatingly," and "Interestingly," are examples of which fronted adverbial? Pause the video while you decide.

Okay, five examples of subject-specific vocabulary from the text.

I've written down some of the examples you may have written.

Remember, you only need to have written five, but I wrote reptiles, carnivores, predators, speeds, 32 kilometres, deforestation, endangered, crocodilians, behaviours, and adaptations.

Number two, give two examples of "and" or "but" formal fronted adverbials from the text.

You might have written, "In addition to this," "However,", "Despite this,".

Number three, what are two examples of fronted adverbials of cause used? "As a result," and "Consequently,".

And number four, "Fascinatingly," and "Interestingly," are examples of which fronted adverbial? They are examples of viewpoint fronted adverbials.

Great work, everyone.

Well done, everybody.

I have been so impressed with your learning today.

In our lesson today, we have been identifying the features of a non-chronological report in preparation for writing about tigers.

Here is a summary of what we have learned.

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

The purpose of a non-chronological report is to inform the reader about a particular subject.

Information in a non-chronological report is organised using a title, subheadings and paragraphs.

Linguistic features help to introduce, link and bring to life specific, factual information.

I have been so impressed with your hard work today, everyone, and I'm already looking forward to seeing what we achieve in our next lesson.

Well done.