Lesson video

Hi, I'm Mr. Buckingham, and it's so nice to see you here for today's lesson.

Now, we're going to be learning lots of fascinating information about a very interesting creature today, and I think you're going to really enjoy it.

So let's make it start.

Today's lesson is called "Identifying features of a model non-chronological reports about an insect" from my unit called "Pandas or Antarctic animals: non-chronological report." If you're doing this lesson, you're working towards writing a report about an antarctic animal, specifically a penguin.

By the end of today's lesson, we'll be able to identify the features of a non-chronological reports about an insect.

Now for today's lesson, it would be really great if you could have a copy of the non-chronological report about this stag beetle from the additional materials in this lesson.

However, if you don't have it, please don't worry because I will be reading it aloud as part of this lesson.

Let's get to work.

Here are our keywords for today's lesson, my turn, your turn: Non-chronological report; Subheading; Paragraph; Theme; And chronological order; Well done.

As you might know, a non-chronological report is a non-fiction text that informs the reader about a subject and that's written out of time order.

A subheading is a word, phrase or sentence used to introduce part of a text.

And a paragraph is a section of a piece of writing that is shown by a new line and an indentation.

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

And if we write in chronological order, we are following the order in which a series of events happened.

So here's our lesson outline for today.

We're going to start off by understanding and reading a non-chronological report, and then we'll move on to looking at the structure of a report.

So, let's have a look at this incredible looking creature here.

What might we want to find out about this creature? Well, we might want to know what's it called? How big is it? Where does it live? What does it eat? And is it common or rare? All of these questions could be answered in a non-chronological report because a non-chronological report is a non-fiction text that informs the reader about a subject.

So, this creature is actually called a stag beetle and it's the UK's largest beetle.

It's incredible to think that an insect like this lives in our own country, but it's true.

So we're going to find out a lot about this creature in this lesson as we read a non-chronological report together.

Now, non-chronological reports often use lots of subject-specific vocabulary about the subject of the report.

So in a non-chronological report about stag beetles, we might find the following subject-specific vocabulary.

We might see the word metamorphosis.

If a creature changes its form, it undergoes the process of metamorphosis, like a caterpillar changing into a chrysalis and then a butterfly emerging from that chrysalis.

That's a metamorphosis.

A creature's jaws can be called its mandibles.

A larva is an insect's non-adult form.

Sometimes like a bit of a fat worm.

Creatures survive by using nutrients to make energy.

Many animals mate in order to reproduce, and insect bodies usually have a head, a thorax, and an abdomen, and we can think of that as the front, the middle, and the end of the body.

So, we've learned some subject-specific vocabulary now about stag beetles.

So we're ready to read.

We're going to read the introduction of an non-chronological report about stag beetles.

If you have it with you, you might want to pause the video and read it yourself, or you can listen to me read the introduction.

Are you ready? Introduction: "The stag beetle, Lucanus cervus, is a species of insect that is instantly recognisable from its impressive jaws.

Measuring the same length as a human thumb, it is the UK's largest beetle.

However, the stag beetle is an endangered species, and this fascinating insect is now protected by law in the UK.

In this report, the stag beetle's appearance, adaptations, habitat, and diet will be explored before the threats to its future survival are considered." Wow! So, as big as a human thumb.

This is a gigantic beetle, so we're very lucky to have them still in the UK even if they are endangered.

So let's see what we've learned.

Based on the introduction, are these true or false? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done, good effort.

So A, The UK gives no protection to stag beetles.

Well done, that's false.

It says they're protected by law.

B says, the report will only consider the beetles' diet.

Hmm, that's not true.

The report has different sections looking at different aspects of the beetle, like the adaptation, appearance, habitat, and diet as well as the conclusion.

And C says the stag beetle is easy to recognise.

That's true, isn't it? It has those amazing mandibles, jaws, which you might have spotted in the first picture.

And D says the stag beetle is quite rare in the UK.

That is also true.

It's an endangered species and that's why it's protected by law.

Great job if you've want to learn that much about the beetle.

Good job.

So, non-chronological reports often also contain lots of expanded noun phrases that refer to the subject of the report.

And you probably know, an expanded noun phrase contains a noun and then adjectives and articles and other words that are linked to it to describe or add detail to that noun.

So we could just say, "the stag beetle", that's a noun phrase.

We've got an article, the, and then the noun, stag beetle.

We could say "these beetles" or "these insects".

We could say "the adult stag beetle", "the female stag beetle", "the adult male stag beetle".

"This fascinating insect" will be another way of describing these beetles.

We could call them "these distinctive beetles" or "this distinctive beetle".

They're definitely distinctive with that huge mandible.

Here you can see a picture of two male stag beetles wrestling, which is a way of fighting each other.

And you can see those gigantic mandibles there.

And here you can see the stag beetle lava, which is non-adult form that it takes before it metamorphosizes into a fully grown beetle.

So let's read some more about the stag beetle.

Let's read about the adaptations and appearance of the stag beetle.

We're going to read the sections called "What does the stag beetle look like?" and "Stag beetles adaptations".

If you'd like to read them on your own, that's fine.

I'm going to read them out loud.

Ready? "What does the stag beetle look like? The adult male stag beetle is easily identified by its oversized mandibles, jaws, that resemble the antlers of a male deer, a stag.

Although these pincers may look threatening, stag beetles are completely harmless.

The female stag beetle, which is smaller, has mandibles of a normal size.

While both males and females have wings, which are protected by a hard wing case, females only rarely fly.

The stag beetle's body is composed of three main parts, the head, the thorax, and the abdomen, and it has antenna that are used for detecting sets." Now I'm going to read the next paragraph called "Stag beetles adaptations".

"The stag beetle is well adapted for survival.

Incredibly, the beetle can spend up to six years buried underground as a larva, building up food reserves.

Consequently, once it emerges as an adult beetle in May, it's able to live for four months without feeding.

During this time, males use their large wings to fly around on summer evenings looking for female mates.

When a male finds a mate, he displays his immense mandibles to impress her.

In addition, these mandibles are used to fight off and wrestle other competing males.

In contrast, the female spends most of her time on the ground.

As a result, she's able to find an appropriate place to lay eggs." Wow, some really amazing facts there about the snag beetle.

Let's test our knowledge.

Based on the sections about appearance and adaptations, can you answer each of these questions? Pause the video and have a try.

Well done, good effort.

So A says, which is larger, the male or female stag beetle? It is the male.

Are stag beetles dangerous to humans are harmless? They're harmless.

Even those mandibles look scary, they are harmless to humans.

C says, how long does the beetle larva stay buried underground? The answer is up to six years.

And D, what are the male's huge mandibles used for? Impressing females and wrestling.

So we saw the picture of the males using their mandibles to wrestle each other.

So two uses there for those huge mandibles.

Really well done.

Have you got those answers correct? Good job.

Now you might have noticed that sentences in our report often started with a noun or a noun phrase.

For instance, "The stag beetle is a species of insect," "The adult male stag beetle is easily identified," "The stag beetle's body is composed of," and "This fascinating insect seeks out dry areas." We could also say the stag beetle is well adapted.

So doing this, starting with these noun phrases in purple, helps the reader understand that we're talking about something that all stag beetles have in common or a particular type of stag beetle like the adult male.

So starting a sentence with a noun phrase can be a really useful thing in a non-chronological report.

Now, let's read the next section of our report.

We're gonna read the section titled "Where are stag beetles found," which is all about the stag beetle's habitat.

As before, you can read it on your own, but you can listen to me.

Let's go.

"Where is stag beetles found? The stag beetle is found in Southeast England, particularly in London.

When it is a larva, the stag beetle is found underground.

The larva, which feeds on rotten wood, stays underground until it is fully transformed into a beetle.

Once it emerges, it prefers to live in sunny oak woodlands, but it can also be found in gardens and parks.

This fascinating insect seeks out dry areas without too much rain and it needs soft soil with lots of dead wood so that it can dig down to lay its eggs.

Because the stag beetle is attracted to warmer surfaces, it can sometimes be seen walking on roads and pavements." Wow! So the stag beetle is a creature which we could see in our own country.

If you choose to visit London or the southeast of England, you might have a chance of seeing a stag beetle, even it says on a road or a pavement.

Wouldn't that be incredible? So let's see what we've learned.

True or false? The stag beetle spends its whole life underground.

Pause the video and decide.

Well done.

You're right, that is false.

Now can you explain why? Which explanation best tells us why that must be false? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done.

You're right, it's A, The stag beetle larva lives underground until it's fully transformed into a beetle.

And remember, we said that it could live underground for up to six years before that happens.

Really well done if you got that one.

So, you will have also seen, as we've been reading and listening, that other sentences in the non-chronological report have started with a fronted adverbial, and remember, that's a sentence starter followed by a comma.

For instance, "However, the stag beetle is an endangered species", "Although these pincers may look threatening", incredibly, consequently, in addition.

Each time the fronted adverbial is either a word, a phrase, or a clause, and in each case, what comes after the comma will be a complete sentence because this is a sentence starter.

So let's read the next section of the report now about the stag beetle's diet.

It says, "Interestingly, the out stag beetle consumes very little nutrients at all.

When the beetle is in its larva form, it feeds on decaying, rotting wood, and plant matter underground using its sharp jaws to scrape away at its food.

As a result, the lava grows to lengths of up to 11 centimetres and it stores considerable amounts of energy.

When the lava eventually metamorphosizes, transformed, into its adult form, the beetle can survive on the nutrients built up by the larva for the few short months of its life.

However, the adult beetle also drinks some tree sap during this time.

Incredibly, the male's massive mandible serves no purpose for feeding whatsoever." Wow.

So, the stag beetle larva can grow to 11 centimetres, about this long.

Imagine digging up one of those.

If you do, you should be careful to put it back and not disturb it because they're endangered species.

So let's see what we learned there.

Which of the following are true? Pause the video and decide.

Well done, good job.

So A says, the adult stag beetle is constantly eating.

No, far from it.

We know it mostly relies on the energy built up by the larva.

B says the stag beetle larva feeds on decaying wood underground.

That is true.

C says the adult beetles survives on nutrients built up by the larva.

Yep, we just said that one's true.

And D says that stag beetle's huge mandibles are vital for feeding.

No, they're not used for feeding at all.

They're mostly used, as we said, for fighting and for impressing female mates.

Really well done for your knowledge on stag beetles so far.

Great job.

Now you might have also spotted some brackets used to add parenthesis in these sentences.

For instance, Lucanus cervus in this sentence is parenthesis.

It's extra information that's been added to the sentence.

"The stag beetle, Lucanus cervus, is a species of insect," and that's the stag beetle's scientific Latin name.

We could say, "once it emerges as an adult beetle, in May," "The stag beetle is found in south east England, particularly in London." And "the larva eventually metamorphosizes, transforms, into its adult form." So in that example, the information in brackets tells us what that word, metamorphosizes, actually means.

So the words in brackets are parenthesis because they are additional information added to the sentence that could be removed.

We could take that out and the sentence would still make sense.

Okay, let's read the final section of the report.

The section titled, "What does the future hold for the stag beetle?" And we can think of this as a conclusion because it's thinking about in general, what does the future hold for stag beetles? I'm going to read aloud, you can read from the text if you prefer.

"What does the future hold for the stag beetle? The stag beetle is a protected species in the UK because of its low numbers.

In the past, large areas of woodland were turned into farmland and housing.

As a result, the beetle's habitats were reduced and their numbers fell.

Because the beetle feeds on dead wood when it's in its larva stage, efforts to tidy forested areas in recent years have damaged its habitats a great deal.

In addition, the beetle's fearsome appearance and large size intimidate some humans.

Consequently, some are killed intentionally every year.

Although the habitats available to stag beetles are much reduced, many wooden areas in the UK are now protected from human development.

As a result of this, stag beetle numbers are now stabilising." Stabilising means they're staying the same.

So it's sad to think, isn't it, that some humans are so scared of these beetles that they kill them on purpose.

I know none of us would ever do that, but let's make sure that we protect any that we see.

So which of the following gives the best summary of that final paragraph? Pause the video and see if you can decide.

Well done, good effort.

Hopefully, you spotted that it is B that gives the best summary.

A says, "Because forests are becoming tidier, stag beetle numbers are stabilising." Actually, tidying the forest to get rid of dead wood is bad for stag beetles 'cause the larva need that dead wood.

B says, "Stag beetle habitats have been damaged, but many are now protected and the numbers are stabilising." That's correct.

The habitats were damaged so the numbers fell, but they're now more stable because those habitats are protected.

And C says, "Stag beetle habitats have been destroyed by farmland housing and their numbers continue to fall." Well, that's what happened to start with.

The numbers fell, but we can see they're now stabilising.

Really well done if you spotted that B was the correct summary.

Good job.

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

You can see there, we've put a summary for that final paragraph.

I'd like you to write a one sentence summary of each paragraph of the report with that last one done for you.

But you can change that one if you would like.

So pause the video and see if you can summarise each paragraph in a short sentence.

Have a go.

Well done, great job.

Here are some example summaries of what you might have written.

For the introduction, I just wrote, "The stag beetle is the UK's largest beetle." That was the most important fact for me from that introduction.

For what does a stag beetle look like, I've put, "The adult male has huge mandibles, but the female does not.

Both sexes have wings." And for adaptations I put, "The males' mandible helps them impress females and fight other males so that they can reproduce." For where are the stag beetles found, I've put, "The larva lives underground and the adult beetles lives in parks and woodlands." And for the diet I've put, "The larva eats dead wood and the adult beetle uses up the larva's nutrients." And we've got a same summary for our conclusion as we had before.

Really well done if you've managed to summarise the text in the same way.

Good job.

So let's move on to the second part of our lesson, looking at the structure of a non-chronological report.

Now, all non-chronological reports are different because they're all about different subjects, but they often follow a similar structure or layout.

So we can see, the whole stag beetle non-chronological report in front of us.

Let's look at its structure in detail.

We've got a title to start off with telling us that this text is about the stag beetle.

And then we have an introduction.

We've even titled it, "Introduction".

Then we have some subheadings.

Here's one, "What does the stag beetle look like?" Then we have "Stag beetle's adaptations", "Where are stag beetle's found?" and "The stag beetle's diet".

And each of these introduces a paragraph organised around the theme that the subheading tells us about.

So that helps our reader to find each of those different sections.

And then we finish off the report with a conclusion.

Now in our case, the conclusion looks towards the future.

It talks about the threats to stag beetles and the fact that they're endangered.

A conclusion doesn't have to do that, but in our report that's what we focused on.

And you can see, the conclusion is at the end of the report.

It's the last paragraph of the report.

So we can see here the basic structure of a non-chronological report starting with a title and an introduction, then we have paragraphs organised around different themes each with a subheading, and we finish with a conclusion.

So, why is a non-chronological report structured like this? Why do we have a title? Well, we need to tell the reader the subject of the report so they know straight away, is this something I care about? Why do we need introduction? Well, that gives some general information to the reader about the subject and encourages them to read on.

Those subheadings are really useful.

What they do is tell the reader the subject of each paragraph.

So if they're looking for particular information about the stag beetle's diet, they can see exactly where it should be.

So what are those paragraphs for? Well, paragraphs and sections of writing indicated by a new line and an indent, that little nudge in from the side that we saw, organised around one theme.

So they're about one idea, and that allows the reader to engage deeply with that one idea without being distracted by other information.

So the reader knows they're only going to read about diet in the diet section and not be distracted by other information that isn't to do with that one theme.

And what's the purpose of the conclusion? Well, in our case, it looks to the future and considers the subject in general again.

Instead of a specific theme, we're thinking about the general idea of the future of the stag beetle.

So taken all together, this structure helps the report to meet its purpose, which is to inform the reader.

It does that by helping the reader to find the information they want in different parts of the text.

So, how is the title different from a subheading? Pause the video and see if you can decide on all the correct answers.

Have a go.

Well done, good job.

So A says, "A subheading introduces the whole text while a title introduces a paragraph." Well, that's not right, is it? The correct way around is B.

The title introduces the whole text and the subheading introduces a paragraph organised around a particular theme.

And C is also true.

There's only one title, but there are several subheadings, which may be questions as we've seen in our own text.

Really well done.

Now let's think about the purpose, the audience, and the layout of a non-chronological report.

Can you match each question to its answer? Pause the video and have a go.

Well done, good effort.

So A says, "What's the purpose of a non-chronological report?" Well, it is to inform the reader about the subject.

B says, "Who's the intended audience of the report?" Well, that would be someone who's interested in the subject.

If you're not interested in stag beetles, you're not likely to read this report.

And C says, "How does the layout help meet the purpose of the report?" So how does the layout serve that purpose? Well, it does it by helping the reader find the information they want to read.

If they want to read about the habitat, they know exactly where to look by knowing that that subheading introduces the paragraph which is organised around that one specific theme.

Really well done for matching this up correctly.

Now, events are written in chronological order if they're shown in the order they happen.

But in non-chronological report, there's no time order to the events.

Instead, the report is structured around general and specific information.

Let me show you what I mean.

We start off with an introduction that gives us general information about the subject.

Then, we zoom in to specific sections, giving specific information about the theme of each paragraph.

And then, we zoom back out in the conclusion to give information about the future of the subject in general.

So we start off generally on introduction to get the reader engaged, then we go specific for those specific paragraphs about specific themes, and then the conclusion, we are more general again, giving general information, in our case, about the future and the threats to stag beetles.

So as you said before, specific information is in sections organised by theme.

So we can see here the paragraph about where are stag beetles found.

Every piece of information in that paragraph links to that idea.

It's around the theme of the stack beetle's habitats.

So let's look in more detail the structure of one of these sections.

The subheading, first of all, tells us the theme of the section.

Then we have a new line and an indent.

Notice how that first line, "the stag beetle", is indented slightly from the rest of the paragraph.

Then the information in the paragraph gets more and more specific.

We start off by saying where they're found in the country, and then we talk about where they could be found around us on the streets and on the pavements.

So we go from much more general to more specific as we go through the paragraph.

And the subheading tells the reader that this section is where we'll find all the specific key information about that theme in the report.

So it's a really helpful little flag for the reader to say, look over here if you want to find out about the stag beetle's habitats.

So have a look at this first section of the report on the right-hand side.

Can you explain the difference between the two sections shown in this image in terms of their purpose and their content, the information they contain? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done, good thinking.

So, first of all, the introduction is the first section we see, and the introduction gives general information about stag beetles and it's designed to encourage the reader to continue reading.

And then the second paragraph, "what does a stag beetle look like", is giving a specific information about the beetles appearance, and the subheading tells the reader that this is where they'll find all the information about this theme.

So we can see there's a difference between a general introduction and a specific paragraph with a subheading that tells us what the theme of that paragraph is going to be.

Really well done for noticing those differences.

Let's do our final task for this lesson.

Each section of our report has a subheading, and some of these are questions and some are not.

The purpose, remember, of the subheading is to make the theme of the following paragraph clear.

So first of all, I'd like you to look at each section of the report again, and if you don't have it with you, you can look back in the video to where we saw the whole report all in one screen.

Then I'd like you to think first of all of an alternative title for the whole report.

What else could we call it to tell our reader what's this report about? Then, can you think of an alternative subheading for each section that reflects the theme of the paragraph and makes the reader want to find out more? You have to keep the one that says introduction the same because we always call that paragraph introduction.

So pause the video and see if you can write an alternative subheading and alternative title for the whole piece for this report.

Have a go.

Really well done.

Let's take a look at some examples of what you might have written.

I've written as my title, "The Stag Beetle: Britain's Biggest Beetle." I've got introduction the same because we're gonna keep that one.

For appearance, I've got, "The stag beetle's appearance".

I've got, "How are stag beetles well-adapted?" I've got, "Stag beetle's habitats", and "What does stag beetles eat?" So I've used some which are questions and some which are not.

And I finished with my conclusion titled, "Threats to the stag beetle." Hopefully you came up with some really similar ideas that engage your reader and tell them most importantly of all, what is the theme of the paragraph that's about to come.

Really good job.

Okay, we've now read and understood a non-chronological report and we've looked at the layout and structure.

Let's summarise our learning for this lesson.

We've learned that a non-chronological report is a non-fiction text that informs the reader about the subject and that's written out of time order.

We've learned that the information is organised into paragraphs by theme with subheadings used to help the reader locate information.

And we've learned that general information about the subject is included in the introduction and the conclusion, and the sections give specific information about the theme of each paragraph.

I hope you enjoyed as much as I did finding out all that information about stag beetles today.

Really well done in this lesson, and I hope to see you again in a future one.

Goodbye.