Lesson video

Hi everyone and welcome to today's lesson.

Well done so far with all of your work throughout this unit.

Today we're going to be planning the next section of our writing, so let's get started.

In today's lesson, you will use your research to plan the adaptation section of a non chronological report about tigers.

Here are some key words we will use.

Specific information, parenthesis, brackets, text cohesion, adaptations.

Well done.

Specific information is clear, exact and particular information.

Parenthesis is additional information that can be removed without compromising grammatical accuracy.

Brackets are a punctuation mark used to add extra factual information in a clause, text cohesion refers to how text flows to maintain the interest of the reader and achieve the text's purpose.

Adaptations are special features that animals and plants develop to help them survive where they live.

In our lesson today, we will be planning the adaptation section of a non chronological report about tigers.

Firstly, we will be learning about the structural and linguistic features of this section and then we will get on to planning the adaptation section.

Non chronological reports often follow the same structure.

They have a title, an introduction, which is the first paragraph that encourages the reader to read on.

Then they have sections.

In our non chronological report, the sections have been about tiger's diets, and now we're going to be moving on to adaptations.

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

And finally, the conclusion is the last paragraph that summarises the key information of the text.

So far we have already written the introduction.

We've written and edited the diet section, and now we are onto planning our adaptation section.

The purpose is the aim of the text.

The purpose of the adaptation section is to engage the reader, give the reader specific information about the tiger's adaptations.

In our introduction, we kept our information general, but now in the sections our facts are very specific.

The adaptation section gives the reader specific information about the tiger's adaptations.

The section follows a clear structure.

Firstly, we have our subheading, then we have an introductory sentence, specific information and a linking sentence.

The introductory sentence introduces what the paragraph will be about.

Specific information gives the reader detailed information about an aspect of the topic and a linking sentence links on to the next paragraph.

We have used some devices to build text cohesion or flow so far in this report, fronted adverbials, subject specific vocabulary relative complex sentences.

Well done.

All of these devices help our writing flow.

They keep our reader interested and they help us achieve the text purpose, which is to inform our reader about tigers.

Match each cohesive device to its function.

Pause the video while you do that.

Well done if you spotted that a fronted adverbials is a sentence starter followed by a comma, subject specific vocabulary is vocabulary used when writing about a particular subject and a relative complex sentence is a sentence formed of a main clause and a relative clause.

We've used some devices to build text cohesion so far in this report.

We've already mentioned our fronted adverbials, our subject specific vocabulary and our relative complex sentences, but we also can use parenthesis marked using brackets.

This is what we're going to focus on in more detail now.

Parenthesis is additional information that can be removed without compromising grammatical accuracy.

In other words, parenthesis is extra information that we can remove from the sentence, and if we do remove it from the sentence, the rest of the sentence would still make sense.

So it's almost like thinking of it as an extra little add-on or an extra little fact that we can add into our sentence for our reader, but we can also remove it and the rest of the sentence still makes sense without it.

We can use parenthesis when we want to add extra information into a sentence.

Now the whole purpose of our text is to inform our reader and give them facts.

So this is gonna be a really useful linguistic feature.

It's a way for us to give an extra fact to our reader within one sentence.

Brackets can be used to demarcate parenthesis and separate it from the rest of the sentence.

Let's read this sentence together.

Tigers use their ocellus to scare prey when hunting.

Now, this word ocellus is probably a word that people might not know.

Ocellus are the white markings on the backs of their ears.

So on the back of a tiger's ear, the fur is black, but they have flashes of white on through the black, which looks a bit like eyes.

Most people aren't going to know what ocellus are.

So for me as the writer, I might want to give my reader that fact, that definition of ocellus in brackets as parenthesis, let's look at it now.

Tigers use their ocellus, white markings on the back of their ears, to scare prey when hunting.

Now I've added the parenthesis to the sentence, but the one thing that's a bit confusing is that the rest of my sentence all runs together.

It's not separated from the rest of the sentence, but that is where the brackets come in.

So I use the brackets to separate the parenthesis from the rest of the sentence.

Now let's read it one more time.

Tigers use their ocellus, white markings on the back of their ears, to scare prey when hunting.

Now we can see that we've given our reader two facts, in one sentence.

We've got the original fact, which is tigers use their ocellus to scare prey when hunting.

But using this parenthesis marked using brackets, I've also told my reader what the ocellus actually are.

Using brackets for parenthesis is a really helpful linguistic feature when we may be explaining some subject specific vocabulary that our reader might not understand.

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

Well done if you spotted that brackets are a punctuation mark used to add extra factual information in a clause and parenthesis are additional information that can be removed without compromising grammatical accuracy.

Tick which sentence correctly uses brackets for parenthesis.

Pause the video while you do that.

Well done, if you spotted that the correct answer was B, tigers' incisors, small front teeth are used to remove meat and feathers from the bones of their prey.

So the key word here that I was explaining was the word incisors.

Some of my readers might not know what incisors are, so I've explained that incisors are small front teeth.

That's the additional fact or information I've given my reader and I have separated that fact from the rest of the sentence using the pair of brackets around it.

Now it's time for your task.

Read the model adaptation section and answer the questions.

Let's begin by reading it through together.

How are tigers adapted to live in their environment? In addition to their interesting feeding habits, tigers possess a range of fascinating adaptations that enable them to survive in their environment.

These unique creatures' spines, and hind legs, which are strong and flexible, enable them to leap up to 10 metres high.

As a result, tigers are able to scale trees, trunks and branches and pounce on larger prey such as deer when hunting.

This adaptation enables the tiger to climb trees easily when building dens and makes them more effective hunters.

As well as their impressive jumping abilities, tiger's striped fur makes them one of the most unique looking animals on the planet.

Due to this adaptation, these cats are able to remain camouflaged, blended in with their surroundings when hunting.

Having this range of adaptations means that tigers are well equipped to survive and thrive in their habitat.

Now you'll notice that my adaptation section is two paragraphs this time.

That's because I've taken the first paragraph to write about one adaptation and I've written about a second adaptation in my second paragraph.

Pause the video now while you answer the questions.

Well done if you spotted that the subheading is how are tigers adapted to live in their environment? Two examples of subject specific vocabulary related to tigers' adaptations could have been spines, hind legs, striped fur or camouflaged.

One example of a fronted adverbial could have been any of these four.

So in addition to, as a result, as well as, or due to this adaptation, remember you only needed to write one of them.

One example of a relative clause which are strong and flexible, and one example of parenthesis marked using brackets is blended in with their surroundings.

Well done, now we're going to move on to the second part of our lesson, which is planning the adaptation section.

When we plan, we use notes.

Notes are concise and capture subject specific vocabulary and information.

The purpose of notes is to help the writer to organise information easily for future use.

We use bullet points when note taking, they look like this.

Pause the video now while you decide what plans should include.

Well done if you spotted that plans should include clear, concise notes and bullet points.

They do not include paragraphs.

We only record our initial ideas in our plans and then we build on those ideas when we come to writing.

Let's review the structure of the adaptation section.

So just a reminder, we start with our subheading.

We have an introductory sentence that introduces what the section is about.

We have specific information which gives the reader detailed information about a aspect of the topic in which case now we're writing about adaptations.

And finally a linking sentence which links on to the next section.

We are gonna use the same structure in our plan so that then when we come to writing, our writing follows the appropriate structure.

So here is my model adaptation section again, you've already read it in your task A.

Now we're just going to focus on the first sentence, which is the introductory sentence.

Let's read it through together.

In addition to their interesting feeding habits, tigers possess a range of fascinating adaptations that enable them to survive in their environment.

So from my first sentence, my introductory sentence, my reader knows that this section is all about tiger's adaptations.

Now it's time for you to plan yours.

First of all, write your subheading, but write it as a question.

When you're trying to think of which question to use, try and get into the mind of your reader.

What do you think your reader wants to know about tiger's adaptations? Then use bullet points to note down keywords and phrases you will use in your introductory sentence and use the sentences or the question scaffolds to help you, such as can you link on from your previous section? So is there any way we can make the link between the diet and the adaptations? And what is this section about? Pause the video now while you complete the task.

Great work everyone, here are some ideas that I jotted down.

So a question that someone might want to know is, what enables tigers to survive in their habitat or how are tigers adapted to survive? I've linked on to my last section using this opener as well as their interesting feeding habits, comma.

If I use that opener, I am linking back to what we talked about in the diet and then adding on information about the adaptations.

So I'm gonna use the phrase that they have a wide range of adaptations to help them successfully hunt and survive in their habitat.

You might have something very different and that's great too.

Now let's go back to my model.

We are just going to look at my specific information about adaptations.

So let's read this together.

Now I know that I wrote two paragraphs about two different adaptations.

We are just going to look at this first adaptation here.

These unique creatures' spines and hind legs, which are strong and flexible, enable them to leap up to 10 metres high.

As a result, tigers are able to scale trees, trunks and branches and pounce on larger prey such as deer when hunting.

This adaptation enables the tiger to climb trees easily when building dens and makes them more effective hunters.

So here I've given some specific information about the tiger's spine and hind legs.

Let's go back before you go off and start planning which adaptations you are going to talk about.

Let's just remind ourselves of some of the adaptations we researched earlier on in this unit.

So as I decided to use in my adaptation section, spiders have flexible spines and long hind legs that enable them to jump up to 10 metres high.

You could also write about their very strong jaws, that are used to grasp moving prey.

You might use their, talk about their long sharp teeth used to bite through prey's flesh.

You might want to write about their hypersensitive vision and hearing, which is essential when they're hunting at night and we know that they hunt at nighttime because they're nocturnal animals.

You might want to write about their striped fur that enables them to remain camouflaged when they're hunting.

Or you might write about their extremely strong bodies that enable them to run and swim powerfully when hunting.

Remember that fact that we had from our general information, which is that tigers can run up to 65 miles an hour.

That's really, really fast.

Okay, so now before we move on, I would like you to match each adaptation to its purpose.

Pause the video while you do that.

Well done if you spotted that the strong jaw and teeth are used to grasp moving prey and bite through flesh, their flexible spine and long hind legs enable tigers to jump up to 10 metres high.

Their hypersensitive hearing and eyesight is used to help see and hear prey when hunting at night.

Their striped fur enables tigers to remain camouflaged when hunting and their powerful muscular bodies enable tigers to run and swim quickly.

Now that we've reminded ourselves of the fascinating adaptations that tigers have, you are now going to choose two of them.

On your plan, you'll see that you have one section which is dedicated to adaptation one.

Now, it is not enough to just write down the adaptation.

You also must explain why that helps the tiger or how the tiger uses that adaptation to help it survive.

You have to do that for adaptation one and then the same thing for adaptation two.

So take your time to decide which two adaptations you want to use.

Make sure you refer to them and explain their functions.

Pause the video while you do that.

Well done you, here are some that I decided to use.

Now my plan will probably look different to yours if you have used different adaptations.

Here are just my ideas.

So for my adaptation one, I decided to write about the striped fur.

It camouflages against its surroundings.

I've written camouflage and then I've actually given some parenthesis in brackets the ability to blend in with its surroundings because my reader might not know what the word camouflage means, helps disguise it from prey.

My second adaptation is going to be the hypersensitive hearing and eyesight.

It's used to help see and hear prey when hunting at night.

Now I want you to do a quick check of your plan.

Do you see the way in my plan, I have named the adaptation and I have then explained how the tiger uses the adaptation to help it.

I want you to check your plan.

Have you named each adaptation, but also really important, explained how that adaptation helps the tiger survive.

Well done, once you've checked that we are ready to move on.

Now we're going to go on my second paragraph from my model.

We're just going to focus on this final sentence, which is the linking sentence.

Let's read it through together.

Having this range of adaptations means that tigers are well equipped to survive and thrive in their habitat.

So this sentence really acts as a summary sentence to wind up how important the adaptations are.

I'm not linking onto another section because my next section is actually my conclusion.

So really I'm just summing up what I have been writing about so far in this section.

Now it's time for you to plan your final sentence.

Use bullet points to note key words and phrases you will use in your linking sentence and use the questions to help you.

So have you considered your sentence opener and can you summarise the importance of adaptations? Pause the video while you do that.

Well done if you have completed that.

Here are some of my ideas.

I've written down that they have a range of adaptations and that the adaptations are essential to tiger's survival.

My linking sentence is actually quite similar to my introductory sentence.

That now brings us on to the end of our lesson.

So today we've been planning the adaptation section of a non chronological report about tigers.

Information in the adaptation section is specific for the reader.

Parenthesis is additional information that can be removed without compromising the grammatical accuracy of a sentence.

In nonfiction writing, parenthesis can be indicated using brackets.

The structure of a detailed paragraph can include an introductory sentence, specific information, sentences, and a linking sentence.

Well done everyone.

I feel so proud of how hard we've worked in our lesson today, and I hope you feel really successful with the plan that you have completed today.

I'm looking forward to seeing you again soon.