Lesson video

Hi, I'm Mr Buckingham, and thank you so much for joining me for today's lesson.

Now today, we're going to be learning some fascinating facts about one of my favourite animals, so I'm really looking forward to it and I hope you are too.

Let's make a start.

Today's lesson is called researching information about pandas' appearance and physical features from our unit called, pandas or Antarctic animals, non-chronological report.

And if you're doing this lesson, you're working towards writing a report about pandas.

By the end of today's lesson, we'll be able to write notes about pandas' appearance and adaptations from a range of sources.

So today we're taking our first step towards writing a non-chronological report about pandas.

Now, we want to have lots to write about, so we need to know lots about pandas first in order to do that.

So today's lesson is going to be all about gathering information in notes about pandas for writing with in the future.

Now your teacher might tell you a special way to record those notes, or you might want to use the worksheet that comes with this lesson, but either way you'll want to keep those notes safe for future lessons.

Let's make a start.

Here are the keywords for today's lesson.

My turn, your turn.

Source.

Credible.

Origin.

Theme.

And bullet points.

So, a source is someone or something that supplies information.

And something is credible if it can be believed or trusted.

The origin of something is where it starts or where it comes from.

And, a theme of a paragraph is its central idea that the writer wants the audience to engage with deeply.

And bullet points are punctuation marks that lay out key information in a non-fiction text.

And in this lesson, we'll use bullet points to record notes as well.

So here's our lesson outline for today.

We're going to start off by looking at the difference between general and specific information and we'll record some notes we could use in the introduction of a non-chronological report.

Then we'll go onto researching pandas' appearance, and finally researching pandas' adaptations.

Let's get to work.

So in this unit, we're going to write a non-chronological report that tells our reader all about pandas.

I'm really looking forward to this because pandas are one of my favourite animals.

So, we'll include the following paragraphs in our non-chronological report about pandas.

We'll have an introduction, we'll have a paragraph about pandas' appearance, one about their adaptations, one about their habitats, and one about their diets, and finally we'll finish with a conclusion talking about threats to pandas in the past and in the present.

Perhaps your report could have a particular audience in your own school, and maybe your teacher has a plan for how they're going to present your work and who's going to read it in the end.

If we want to write all of this information about pandas, we'll need to do some research using trusted sources.

And when we're doing research, we have to look carefully at the origin of the information, where it comes from, in order to decide if it's credible, if it's trustworthy, if it's something we can rely on to be true, because in a non-chronological report, our information must be true because it's a non-fiction text, we're not using our own opinion, we're relying on facts.

So, look at this statement.

Pandas only ever eat bamboo.

Well, what's the source of that? Hmm, I found it in a comment on an online video about pandas.

But then I also found this information in my research, pandas mostly eat bamboo, but occasionally they eat other things too.

So the source here was a well-known online encyclopaedia.

Hm, so I'm looking at the origin of the information.

The first one has its origin in a comment on a video and the second has its origin in a well-known encyclopaedia.

So which is more credible? I'm sure you guessed, it's this one, isn't it? The second one is much more credible because of where the source comes from, because of its origin.

So when we're looking at pieces of information, especially online, we have to think, where does it come from? What's the source? Can I trust that source? And is the information credible? So, using the information about the origin, the source, decide which panda fact here is the most credible, the most trustworthy? Pause the video and have a careful think.

Well done, hopefully you spotted that it is B here.

So this one comes from an organisation that produces national news for TV, so that must be an organisation which has to follow certain rules perhaps about its information and how reliable that information is, so this is a credible fact.

A comes from a website I've never heard of, so I can't be sure about whether that's a credible source or not, and C is just a conversation, so although some adults may be very, very knowledgeable about animals, not all adults are, so the fact that it's a trusted adult doesn't mean everything they say must be correct.

So sometimes it's good to think really carefully about the origin of a piece of information in order to know whether it's credible.

Well done.

Now, we'll need to find both general and specific information about pandas for our report.

A non-chronological report might follow this structure.

It might start off with a general introduction, giving general information about pandas.

Then we'll have specific sections that give specific information about the theme of each paragraph, for instance, appearance, adaptations, habitats, and diet.

So we're zooming in on some specific information about specific themes.

And then, we go general again at the end of the report to talk about the future of pandas in general.

So we have a general introduction, specific paragraphs about specific themes, and then a general conclusion looking at those threats to the future of pandas.

So, is each of these facts about pandas general or is it specific to a particular theme? General information is likely to be found in the introduction and conclusion of a non-chronological report.

So decide if each fact is general, is it about pandas in general, or is it specific to a particular theme like the ones we mentioned on the last slide? Pause the video and decide if each is general or specific? Well done, good effort.

So A says, the panda is the member of the bear family, Ursidae, that is a general fact, isn't it, it's about pandas in general.

B says, pandas use their black eye markings to identify each other.

That's specific to pandas' appearance and their behaviour.

C says, pandas must eat around 38 kilogrammes of bamboo a day.

Now that's specific to pandas' diet isn't it, to what they eat.

And D says, the panda is a vulnerable species.

That's a general fact, it's about pandas in general and not about a specific aspect of pandas.

So those two general facts might find their place in the introduction of a non-chronological report.

So, let's discover some general information about pandas that we could use in that introduction to our report.

So, some of this you might know already, and I bet you could go and research some of this for yourself as well.

Here are some ideas to get you started though.

So pandas are formally called giant pandas, and they're easily recognised, as we all know, by their black-and-white fur.

They're native to China and they're bears from the Ursidae family and their scientific name is, and I might get this wrong, Ailuropoda melanoleuca.

So that's the Latin name that scientists use to describe pandas.

Their habitats, unfortunately, have been destroyed by humans in many places, and finally, they're a very rare, vulnerable species.

So those are some general pieces of information about pandas.

So can you decide if each general piece of information here is true or false based on what we just learnt? Pause the video and decide.

Well done, good job.

So A, pandas are very common nowadays, no, that's false, they're rare.

Pandas only live naturally in China, that's true, it's their native country.

Pandas are members of the cat family, no, they're bears, well done.

And it says, technically, we should refer to pandas as giant pandas, that's true, that's their technical name, we also have that scientific name in Latin as well.

Really well done for getting those, good job.

So let's do our first task of this lesson.

Based on what we just said and perhaps some research of your own, I'd like you to create bullet point notes to help you with your writing.

We don't have to use full sentences for this.

So here's an example of notes giving general information about basking sharks, another animal we could write a non-chronological report about.

I could say, as general information, second-largest fish, found in UK seas, type of mackerel shark, endangered species, hunting banned in many countries.

Now, those are not full sentences are they, but they trigger in my head a memory of information I know about basking sharks and they're a reminder to me when I come to write of exactly what I want to say.

So that's general information about basking sharks.

In the same way, can you write five or perhaps more bullet point notes of general information about pandas that we could use in the introduction to our report.

You could use the facts I've told you or you could do some research of your own.

Pause the video and write those notes.

Well done, fantastic effort.

So here are some examples of bullet point notes that you might have taken about pandas for your introduction.

I could have written, called giant pandas, from bear family, Ursidae, Ailuropoda melanoleuca, black-and-white fur, native to China, very rare, vulnerable species, habitats destroyed.

Now those are not complete sentences, but they're triggers for my memory of the complete fact that I remember.

So you might want to try right now converting your notes back into complete sentences or even more than one sentence by saying them out loud to a partner or an adult.

And this will really help you to remember them because this will mean when you see these notes again when you come to write, then your memory will be remembering the complete fact.

So, if you like, pause the video now to have a go at converting these bullet point notes back into complete sentences and complete facts.

So, we've talked about the difference between general and specific information and we've noted down some general information about pandas.

Now let's move onto researching a specific area, pandas' appearance.

So we've done research for an introduction giving general information about pandas, and we now need to research a specific theme, pandas' appearance.

So we know that pandas are known for their distinctive black-and-white fur, that's what really makes them stand out, that's how we remember that they're pandas.

Now pandas' white fur camouflages them with snow and the black fur camouflages them in shade, like in a dark, shady forest.

Pandas are black on the legs and shoulders and white on the torso and head.

And torso is the word for their body.

The black areas around the eyes are unique to each panda and used to identify each other.

So they might look all the same to us, but to each panda, those black eye patches, those eye markings are unique to every panda and they can use them to identify each other in the wild.

Amazing.

So, can you match the part of a panda's appearance to its purpose? Pause the video and have a go.

Okay, let's take a look.

A says black fur on their shoulders and legs.

Hm, that gives camouflage in the shade, like in a dark, shady forest.

The white fur on the face and torso gives camouflage in the snow.

And finally that black fur around the eyes helps pandas to identify each other.

Some really, really interesting features about pandas' appearance there.

Good job.

So let's find out some more about the theme of pandas' appearance.

So, adult pandas are 120 to 190 centimetres in length, and the average adult panda weighs around 110 kilogrammes compared to around 70 kilogrammes for humans.

So pandas are heavier than lots of humans.

Pandas look cuddly, as we all know, but they can attack humans if they're threatened and they have a powerful bite.

And pandas have the second-longest tail in the bear family, measuring 10 to 15 centimetres.

Now that's not very long, it's about this long, but it's still the second-longest in the bear family.

Now you might find some other features as well by doing your own research and that would be fantastic, it will put your own spin on your report when you come to write it.

Let's match the measurements to the features of a panda's appearance.

Pause the video and have a go.

Well done, good job.

So a panda's weight is about 110 kilogrammes, obviously they're going to vary, but that's about an average weight.

A panda's length is 120 to 190 centimetres.

And the length of a panda's tail is 10 to 15 centimetres.

Well done.

So let's do our second task of this lesson.

We've now seen lots of information about pandas' appearance and we can use this to create our research notes, which we're going to use later when we write our report.

So here's an example of bullet point notes about the appearance of basking sharks.

We could write, second-largest fish, length of two double-decker buses, up to 12 metres, weight up to six tonnes, light grey body and large dorsal fin.

Again, these are notes, not complete sentences, and not complete facts, they're there to trigger our memory to remember those complete facts.

So, can you now draw a picture of a panda or perhaps use a photograph of one and annotate it, label it with notes like these about the panda's appearance.

Pause the video and have a go.

Well done, good job.

So here are some examples of notes you might have made about a panda's appearance.

Perhaps you wrote distinctive black-and-white fur.

Perhaps you write white fur, head, torso, black fur, legs, shoulders.

It sounds funny to say it out loud, but this is going to remind me of where that black fur is and where that white fur is when I come to use these notes to write.

I've put white equals camouflage in snow, black equals camouflage in shade.

I don't need a full sentence, that's going to trigger that memory for me.

I could say eye markings unique, used to identify.

We know pandas use them to identify each other.

And I've just written down those numbers as really brief notes here, the length is 120 to 190 centimetres, weight equals 110 kilogrammes, tail equals 10 to 15 centimetres, and I've squeezed in that last note about their deceptive appearance, they're not just cuddly, they can bite.

So I've put that as a bullet point note as well.

Again, it might be good now to try and say these notes as full sentences or as complete facts to try and boost your memory by locking in the connection between the note and the fact it represents.

So if you'd like to do that, pause the video again now.

So, we've talked about general information about pandas, we've researched their appearance, now let's research their adaptations.

So, we're going to research a paragraph now about pandas' adaptations.

Adaptations are special features that animals and plants develop to help them survive where they live, or to make them well designed for certain aspects of their life.

Now, you probably know that pandas eat bamboo, so this is what bamboo looks like.

It's a plant with very thick, very woody stems, and you can see the stems on the right.

Now pandas rely on eating bamboo to survive, and luckily, they're very well adapted for eating bamboo.

Let's find out how.

How are their bodies adapted to make it easier for them to eat bamboo? So, here are some of those adaptations that help pandas eat so much bamboo.

First of all, unlike other bears, pandas have a kind of thumb that lets them grip onto bamboo stems. Now you can imagine if an animal didn't have a thumb, it just had a paw, then it would be very hard to grip onto things, wouldn't it? But pandas have a kind of thumb which allows them to grip onto those bamboo stems to let them eat it properly.

Now it's not technically a thumb because it's not made of a bone, but it's a kind of thumb that allows them to grip well, so that's really useful.

They also have smooth, wide molars, you can point to your molars at the back of your mouth, which are really good for crushing bamboo stems. Now pandas do have canines, those sharp, pointy teeth you see at the front of their mouth in the picture there, but they seldom use them because they only very rarely eat meat.

So they don't use those canines very often, they're mostly reliant on these molars at the back to crunch down the bamboo.

Finally, pandas have strong, powerful jaw muscles so they can chew through thick stems for a long time because, we'll find out later, that pandas spend an awful lot of their lives chewing down on bamboo, so they need very strong jaw muscles in order to be able to do that.

So they're really useful adaptations there that help a panda to eat bamboo.

So which of the panda's adaptations do you think is most useful for helping them eat bamboo? And why? Now we could all disagree on this question, but I want to know which one do you think is most useful and why? Pause the video and have a think.

Good job, good thinking.

So, here are some possible answers you might have said.

Maybe you said the thumb is most important because it'd be very hard for pandas to bite through the bamboo if they couldn't hold it in place.

And I think that's true.

You might have said the molars are most important because the bamboo stems are so thick and they need to be crushed with those thick, smooth, wide molars.

And you might have said the jaw muscles are most important because, without them, the pandas wouldn't be able to chew for very long or break through the thick, woody stems of the bamboo.

So you could justify any of those answers, but it's interesting to think about how useful these adaptations are for pandas and eating bamboo.

Well done.

So pandas also have adaptation to their habitat to help them survive.

So, pandas' thick fur helps them to stay warm because they live mostly in snowy mountains.

Now, those mountains can be cold in winter, but they can get warm in summer.

Pandas also have a thick oesophagus, that's that food pipe that goes down from our mouth to our stomach.

Now you can image that bamboo, which is woody, might have splinters coming out of it or might have very sharp edges.

So pandas have a thick oesophagus so that woody bamboo doesn't hurt the inside of their digestive system.

Pandas also have extra-strong legs that help them to forage for bamboo for a long time.

And, they're excellent at climbing trees, which enables them to find bamboo more easily.

So, again, some really useful adaptations to their habitat there.

So which adaptations help the panda with each of these tasks? Pause the video and decide what are the adaptations that help the panda do each of these things.

Have a go.

Well done, hopefully you remembered for gathering bamboo they've got those strong legs and those climbing skills.

For staying warm, they've got that thick, woolly fur.

For holding the bamboo, they've got that thumb.

And for breaking through the bamboo they've got lots of things, those wide molars, the thumb again, and those strong, powerful jaw muscles to help them crunch through that thick, woody stem.

Really well done.

So let's do our final task for this lesson.

We've now seen lots of information about pandas' adaptations and we're gonna use this again to create bullet point notes for our future writing.

So here are some bullet point notes about the adaptations of basking sharks, just as an example of what we're aiming for.

And, I've used arrows here to show how the adaptations help the basking shark.

So I've said meter-wide mouth, helps it to filter lots of water.

Swimming open-mouthed helps it to filter as they swim.

Gill rakers help it to filter out the zooplankton, and huge liver helps it to stay buoyant.

So that arrow's showing me this is how it helps the basking shark.

So, in the same way, I'd like you to make a list of notes about the ways pandas are adapted to their diet and to their habitat, using arrows to show how each adaptation helps the panda.

So you could start with a physical feature, then the arrow, and then how is it helping them? What does it help them to do? So pause the video and see if you can make those bullet point notes now.

Well done, really good job.

So here are some of the notes you may have made about pandas' adaptations.

Maybe you found some more of your own with your own independent research, that would be great.

So I've said strong jaw muscles, arrow, eat for long periods of time.

The jaw muscles allow them to eat for a long time.

The thumb allows them to grip bamboo stems. The wide molars allow them to crush bamboo stems. The thick oesophagus means they're protected from that bamboo as it goes down.

The thick fur means that they're warm in snow.

And the strong legs allow them to gather lots of bamboo.

Now remember, each of these bullet points represents a complete idea, a complete sentence or a complete fact, so you might want to practise making those, and maybe all of your notes from this whole lesson, into complete sentences, complete facts now by saying them out loud to a partner, and that will really help to lock these facts, these ideas into your memory to use in the future.

So if you'd like to, you can pause the video now and have a go at that.

Okay, let's summarise our learning in this lesson.

We said that because non-chronological reports are non-fiction texts, we have to research carefully before we write them so the information is factual.

We said that our introduction will include general information about pandas, but the sections will give specific information about each theme.

We said that when we research, we should think about the origin of the information to help us decide if it's credible or not, and we should only include credible information.

And finally we said that while we research, we can use bullet points to record our notes so that we can refer to them later.

Really well done for all your research in this lesson, I hope that you found it really fascinating and I hope to see you again in a future lesson, goodbye.