Lesson video

Hi, everybody and welcome to our lesson today.

My name is Ms. Mullins.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what we achieve in our learning today.

So let's get started.

In today's lesson, you'll be using your research to plan the recount paragraph, focusing on the Titanic's design and construction.

Here are some keywords we'll be using.

Specific information, active voice, passive voice, relative complex sentence, parenthesis.

Specific information is clear, exact and particular information.

The active voice is a spoken or written voice in which the subject does the verb in a sentence.

The passive voice is a spoken or written voice in which the subject is acted upon by the verb.

A relative complex sentence is a sentence formed of a main clause and a relative subordinate clause.

Parenthesis is additional information that is added to a sentence.

If it is removed, the sentence still makes sense.

Today we're going to be planning the first recount paragraph of a journalistic report about the Titanic.

Firstly, we're going to be learning about the structural and linguistic features of this section, and then we'll move on to planning our paragraph.

The layout of a journalistic report can look like this.

We have a headline, an opening, which gives the reader some general information about the event, the recount section, which gives the reader specific information about the event.

The quotes section includes quotes from people who know more about the event.

And the closing.

This describes what is currently happening and what is likely to happen next.

So far in our unit, we've already written the opening and now we're planning the first paragraph of our recount section.

The purpose is the aim of the text.

The purpose of the recount section is to engage the reader and give the reader specific information about the topic.

When we're thinking about whether our information is general or specific in the recount section, our information is specific.

The paragraphs in the recount section gives the reader specific information about the topic.

This paragraph follows a clear structure.

We begin with an introductory sentence, then we use some specific information.

And finally, we have a linking sentence.

The introductory sentence includes or introduces what the paragraph will be about.

The specific information gives the reader detailed facts about aspects of the event, and the linking sentence links on to the next paragraph.

Match each part of the recount section paragraph to its function.

Pause the video while you do that.

Well done if you spotted that the introductory sentence introduces the reader to what the paragraph will be about.

The specific information sentence or sentences give the reader detailed facts about aspects of the event.

And finally, the linking sentence links onto the next paragraph.

A relative clause is a type of subordinate clause that starts with a relative pronoun.

Let's read some of these relative clauses together.

Who did his homework.

Which is at the top of the hill.

Who baked a cake.

Which covered the hills.

Well done.

You might have noticed that all of these relative clauses start with a relative pronoun.

Who or which.

Who is used when the relative clause is about a person, whereas which is used when the relative clause is not about a person.

Which of these relative clauses is suitable when writing about the Titanic? Who was constructed in Belfast or which was constructed in Belfast? Now, I know that this relative clause is about the Titanic, and the Titanic was a ship.

We only use who as a relative pronoun when the relative clause is about a person.

So for that reason, I'm gonna go with which.

Now it's your turn.

Which of these relative clauses is suitable when writing about the Titanic? Who was designed by Thomas Andrews or which was designed by Thomas Andrews? Pause the video now while you decide.

Well done if you spotted that again, these relative clauses are about the Titanic, which is not a person, so therefore, the correct relative pronoun is which.

A relative clause follows a noun or a noun phrase to add extra relevant information about it.

Let's read this sentence together.

The Titanic, which is the largest ship in the world, took three years to build.

Now, the subject of this sentence is the Titanic.

This sentence is all about the Titanic.

Therefore, our relative clause is about the Titanic.

So that means it has to go after the word Titanic in the sentence.

Let's read this one together.

Captain Edward Smith, who is the commodore of White Star Line, will command the ship.

The word commodore just means the most senior captain of the shipping company, which was White Star Line.

Now again, this whole sentence is about Captain Edward Smith and the who relative clause is also about him.

So therefore, the who relative clause needs to go after the words Captain Edward Smith.

In a relative complex sentence, the relative clause can interrupt the main clause after the noun or the noun phrase it links to.

Let's read this together.

Thomas Andrews designed the ship.

This is a main clause and it's currently written as a simple sentence.

However, let's read this version of the sentence.

Thomas Andrews, who is an expert marine engineer, designed the ship.

This time, we've still got the main clause but it has been interrupted by the relative clause.

The relative clause begins with that relative pronoun who, and because the relative clause is about Thomas Andrews, it has to go after the word Thomas Andrews in the sentence for it to make sense.

So when we're writing a relative complex sentence, we start with our main clause, which is interrupted by a relative subordinate clause, and then the other side of the main clause goes on the other side of the relative clause.

This forms a complex sentence, a relative complex sentence.

When a relative clause is added to a main clause, it creates a relative complex sentence.

Here we've got a main clause.

Let's read it together.

Titanic took three years to build, and here we've got a relative clause, which was constructed by White Star Line.

Let's try adding them together.

Now, this relative clause is about the Titanic, so it has to go after the word Titanic in the sentence.

Let's read it together.

Titanic, which was constructed by White Star Line, took three years to build.

Tick the examples of relative clauses.

Pause the video while you do that.

Well done, everybody if you spotted that who is an expert ship builder and which was built at Harland and Wolff Shipyard are both examples of relative clauses.

This is because they both start with relative pronouns, who or which.

Now we're going to move on to a different linguistic feature.

This time we're going to be talking about active and passive voice.

Active voice is a spoken or written voice in which the subject does or is the verb.

The dog caught the ball.

This is an example of an active voice sentence.

Let's read it through together.

The dog caught the ball.

Now, the verb here is caught.

When we're working out the subject or the verb or the object in a sentence, it's always best to start with a verb.

Remember, a verb is a doing, a being or a having word.

Here the verb is a doing word, caught.

Now, who did the verb? The dog.

So the dog is the subject.

Now, the object of this sentence is what had the verb done to it? So what was caught? Well done.

The ball.

This makes the ball the object.

And this is an active voice sentence and we know this because it follows this structure.

It starts with the subject completing the verb, and then finally, the verb is done to the object.

So it follows that subject-verb-object structure.

In this sentence, the verb, which is caught, is being done by the subject, the dog.

The object, the ball, is having the verb done to it.

Identify the verb, subject and object in this active voice sentence.

Start by thinking number one, what is the verb? Then the subject does the verb and the object has the verb done to it.

Let's read it together.

Passengers and crew boarded the ship.

Now, let's start by thinking about the verb.

What was the doing word here? I can spot that boarded is the verb.

Now we've worked out the verb, we can work out the subject.

So who or what was doing the boarding? The subject is the passengers and crew.

And what was being boarded? The ship.

So that makes the ship the object.

Remembering that our active voice sentences follow the subject-verb-object structure.

Now it's your turn.

Identify the verb, subject and object in this active voice sentence using this little checklist again to help you.

So starting with identifying the verb, then spotting the subject by knowing that it's the thing or person that does the verb.

And finally, the object has the verb done to it.

Let's read your sentence together.

Thomas Andrews designed the Titanic.

Pause the video now while you identify the verb, subject and object in this active voice sentence.

Well done if you spotted that designed is the verb.

Who completed the verb? Well done, Thomas Andrews.

So he is the subject.

And finally, what was designed? You're right, the Titanic.

So the Titanic is the object.

Well done.

Again following that subject-verb-object rule.

Now we're gonna talk a little bit about passive voice.

Passive voice is a spoken or written voice in which the subject receives the action of the verb.

So in a passive voice sentence, the subject has the verb done to it.

Let's look at an example.

So the ball was caught by the dog.

Firstly, just like with our active sentences, we're gonna identify the verb.

So the verb here is was caught.

Now remember, in a passive voice sentence, the subject this time is what is having the verb done to it.

So the ball was caught by the dog.

In this sentence, what was caught? Well done, the ball was caught.

So this actually makes the ball the subject of the sentence.

Okay? So in this sentence, the subject, which is the ball, has the verb, was caught, done to it.

Identify the subject and the verb in this passive voice sentence.

So starting with what is the verb? Then once we've identified the verb, we can identify the subject by working out what or who has the verb done to it.

Let's read this together.

Titanic is commanded by Captain Smith.

So the verb, the doing word here is is commanded.

What is commanded? Well done, you're right, the Titanic is commanded.

So the Titanic is the subject.

Now it's your turn.

Identify the subject and the verb in this passive voice sentence.

What is the verb? And then remember that the subject has the verb done to it.

Let's read yours together.

Titanic was built by White Star Line.

Pause the video now while you work out what is the verb and what is the subject in this sentence? Well done if you spotted that the verb is was built.

And what was built? Titanic was built.

Well done.

Now, if we actually read both of these sentences together, Titanic is commanded by Captain Smith and Titanic was built by White Star Line, and if we think back to our past sentence, the ball was caught by the dog, is there a word there in all three of those passive sentences that you notice? Well done if you spotted the word by.

So a key giveaway of a passive voice sentence is that it has the word by in it.

It also has the auxiliary verbs is or was or are to show the tense of when the verb was completed.

So they followed this sort of structure of the hmm is or was hmm by.

Okay? So that keyword is the word by.

We see the word by in passive sentences.

Now it's time for your task.

Change these active voice sentences into passive voice and pause the video while you do that.

Well done if you spotted that White Star Line shipping company built the Titanic can be rewritten in the passive form as the Titanic was built by White Star Line shipping company.

Passengers and crew boarded the ship can be rewritten as the ship was boarded by passengers and crew.

And huge crowds waved the luxury liner off, that can be rewritten as the luxury liner was waved off by huge crowds.

So we can see here those auxiliary verbs was in each of those sentences and the word by in each of those passive sentences as well.

Now we're gonna move on to the second part of your task.

You're going to read my model recount paragraph and answer the four questions.

Let's begin by reading it through together.

The vast ocean liner is allegedly the largest, safest and most luxurious ship of all time.

She was built by White Star Line at the Harland and Wolff Shipyard, Belfast, Ireland, and she is designed to transport passengers and cargo across the Atlantic.

The vessel, which was structurally designed by Thomas Andrews, a leading expert in the field, has been described by many as a miracle of modern marine engineering.

Before beginning his retirement, the ship will be commanded by Captain E.

Smith.

Including the captain, there are 885 crew who have a range of responsibilities including catering, post and entertainment, working on board.

The Titanic's exterior design is truly a marvel of the modern world but its interior is in some ways even more impressive.

Pause the video now while you reread my model and answer the four questions in your task.

Well done, everybody.

So find and copy one example of a relative complex sentence.

The vessel which was structurally designed by Thomas Andrews, a leading expert in the field, has been described by many as a miracle of modern marine engineering.

Or you could have written, As well as the captain, there are 885 crew who have a range of responsibilities including catering, post and entertainment, working on board.

Either of these would've been correct.

Find and copy one example of passive voice.

Now, there were a few in my model.

She was built by White Star Line, the vessel, which was structurally designed by Thomas Andrews.

The ship will be commanded by Captain Smith, described by many as a miracle of modern marine engineering.

So described by many.

Then find and copy one example of journalistic language.

You could have written the word allegedly.

And one example of parenthesis, marked using brackets.

Could have been Belfast, Ireland or a leading expert in the field.

Well done, everyone.

What an excellent start to our learning.

Now we're going to move on to planning the recount 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 and they look like this.

What is in a plan? Pause the video while you decide.

Well done if you spotted that in a plan, we have bullet points for notes and subject-specific vocabulary.

We don't write in full sentences and we don't include unnecessary information in our plans.

Let's review the structure of this paragraph in the recount section.

So we begin with an introductory sentence, which introduces what the paragraph will be about.

We also then have specific information which gives our reader detailed facts about the aspects of the event.

And then finally, we have our linking sentence, which links on to the next paragraph.

We're going to use this same structure in our plan so that when we come to writing, our plans are structured in an appropriate and sensible way.

Here we've got my model again.

We're not gonna reread the whole thing, but instead, we're just going to focus on the introductory sentence.

Let's read it together.

The vast ocean liner is allegedly the largest, safest, and most luxurious ship of all time.

This is my introductory sentence and it introduces to my reader what this section or this paragraph will be about.

Now you're going to use bullet points to note down keywords and phrases that you will use in your introductory sentence.

Use this prompt to help you.

How will you explain to the reader that this paragraph is about the Titanic? In particular, in this paragraph, we're gonna be thinking about its structure and its design.

Pause the video while you complete this task.

Great work, everyone.

I've jotted down a few of my own ideas and they'll probably be a bit different to yours, but that's great for us all to have different ideas.

So I'm going to refer to the Titanic as a vast navel wonder or as a miracle of marine engineering because that's how the Titanic was commonly described at the time.

It is the largest manmade moving object ever built, and it is allegedly the safest ship ever built.

So I've used that journalistic word there allegedly as well to give it that formal tone.

Now we're gonna go back to my model, and this time, we're gonna focus on the specific information section.

Let's read it through together.

She was built by White Star Line at the Harland and Wolff Shipyard, Belfast, Ireland.

And she is designed to transport passengers and cargo across the Atlantic.

By the way, often large structures were referred to as female pronouns, so that's why the Titanic is referred to as she.

The vessel, which was structurally designed by Thomas Andrews, a leading expert in the field, has been described by many as a miracle of modern marine engineering.

Before beginning his retirement, the ship will be commanded by Captain E.

Smith.

Including the captain, there are 885 crew who have a range of responsibilities including catering, post and entertainment, working on board.

Now that we've just read my specific information section, you're now gonna pause the video and use bullet points to note keywords and phrases you will use in your specific information sentences and use my bullet points down the side here to help you.

So you might want to include where it was built, who designed and built it, what details about the captain and crew can you give, are there statistics your reader might find interesting, such as how quickly it can travel, the strength of the engine, any of those additional factors.

If you're not sure about any of those facts, for example, those statistics around the travel speed or the engine strength, you might want to go and research those things as well.

Pause the video while you do this task.

Well done, everybody.

So I've included that the ship was built or constructed at the Harland and Wolff Shipyard in Belfast in Northern Ireland by White Star Line Shipping Company.

So I've included where it was built and who built it as well.

It was designed by Thomas Andrews, a leading expert, and Captain E.

Smith is the commodore of the White Star Line.

So I'm including that fact about Captain Smith being the person who's going to be in charge of sailing the ship, and it has a maximum speed of 23 knots, which is the same as over 26 miles per hour.

I've also managed to get in some passive voice there.

So I've got designed by Thomas Andrews, a leading expert.

Now finally, we're going to look at this final sentence, which is the linking sentence.

Let's read it together.

The Titanic's exterior design is truly a marvel of the modern world, but its interior is in some ways even more impressive.

This is my linking sentence.

Now, you're going to use bullet points to note down keywords and phrases you will use in your linking sentence.

You might wanna include some facts about what the Titanic will be used for and how can you summarise the information in this paragraph? Pause the video while you do that.

Great work, everybody.

So in my plan, I've jotted down that it's going to be used to transport passengers and cargo across the Atlantic.

Cargo is just a piece of subject-specific vocabulary to describe objects or things being transported across the ocean.

Andrews' creation illustrates innovative design and interiors are believed to be even more breathtaking.

My next paragraph is gonna be talking about the Titanic's interior.

So I've dropped that little seed into my linking sentence now to hint to my reader that that's what we're going to learn about next.

Well done, everybody.

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

Today we've been planning the first recount paragraph of a journalistic report about the Titanic.

The purpose of the recount section is to give the reader specific information about an aspect of the event.

We can vary how we present information to the reader by using structures such as relative complex sentences and passive voice.

When we plan, we write in note form using bullet points, and we include key keywords, phraseology, and subject-specific vocabulary in our plans.

Well done, everyone.

I'm so impressed with your positive attitude to your learning today.

Well done, and I hope you feel really proud of yourself.

I'm looking forward to seeing you again very soon.