-+Lesson+3+of+10

**LTS2.3 -** //Identifies and describes the structure and function of living things and ways in which living things interact with other living things and their environment.// - Students discuss different aspects of a ladybug’s structure and way of living - Students create their own headings to describe different aspects related to the ladybug
 * **Unit Topic:** Mini-beasts |||| **Curriculum Link:** English and Science and Technology  || **Yr Level:** Stage 2/ Year 4  ||
 * **Lesson Number:** 3/10 |||| **Lesson Topic:** Written grammar – Structure of an information report  || **Learning Area(s):** English (Talking and Listening, Reading), Science (Living Things)  ||
 * **Outcomes and Indicators:**

**RS2.8 -** //Discusses the text structure of a range of text types and the grammatical features that are characteristic of those text types.// - Discusses the main idea of different paragraphs in an information report - Develops headings that match different sections of an information report - Organises sentences into the appropriate sections of an information report **TS2.2** - //Interacts effectively in groups and pairs, adopting a range of roles, uses a variety of media and uses various listening strategies for different situations.// - Works cooperatively to make decisions and complete the tasks - Listens and considers other student’s opinions - Discusses why they have taken a particular viewpoint   || Students will understand the basic structure that is used in an information report. Students will learn how to apply this structure into their next lesson where they will research more about insects. || - Computer and Projector. Loaded to the website [] - 6 x printed copy of the //Ladybug information report// - 6 Graphic Organisers - A3 pieces of paper with boxes [Graphic Organisers help students sort information into different categories (Stewart-Dore, 2007, p. 1). This is extremely important in understanding the structure of an information report .] - 6x Printed copy of the entire information report from - 6 Markers (1 per group) - 6 x Large cards with the headings ‘General statement’ on them (1 per group) - 6 x Large cards with the headings of ‘Description’ on them (1 per group) - 6 x Small blank cards (10 per group) - Paragraphs 1-4 of the //Ladybug information report// on separate sheets of paper (x6) - Sentences from paragraphs 5-9 of the //Ladybug information report// cut up on paper (x6) - Pencils || Remind students of the documentary they will make about an insect. Ask students, “What is the purpose of our task?” Establish that we want to provide information about an insect. Explain that today’s lesson will enable students to think about how to organise information for their task. Use the projector to show students the photos from the //Ladybugs information report// (reduce the window of the website so that the text does not show). Ask and then discuss, “What information might written text might include? What do you think the first paragraph would be about?” || - Suggests what the main point of the paragraph is
 * **Unit Aim or Outcome:** Students will use written and visual grammar techniques to construct a fact file documentary about an insect of their choice ||
 * **Lesson Outcome:**
 * **Resources:**
 * **Lesson Outline** ||
 * __Introduction (5 mins):__
 * __Teaching strategy/Learning__ __Activity (45 mins):__ ||
 * ===Students will ……=== |||| **Teacher will…** ||
 * - View, read and listen to the introduction of the information report.

- Discusses the main idea of the introduction in pairs |||| - Show students the first paragraph on the website. Read the first paragraph to students. Ask students, “What is the main point of this paragraph?”

- Explain that the first paragraph in an information report is called the //general statement,// which provides basic information about the subject, in this case the ladybug. Hold up one of the general statement cards for students to see. || - Orders the paragraphs into a structure
 * - Reads the paragraphs in their groups and discusses what they think the main idea of each paragraph is.

- Discusses what they thought each paragraph was about and why. - Compares the order of their paragraphs with the order on the website. Discusses whether this order was actually important. |||| - Break students off into their groups for their rich task. Give each group the paragraphs 1-4 of the //Ladybugs information report//. Explain that students need to read each paragraph, discuss what they think is the main point of each paragraph and order them correctly.

- Go through the selected paragraphs of the information report on the website while asking students what they thought the paragraph was about and why. Establish that each of these paragraphs describes a different aspect related to the topic and are part of the description stage in an information report. Get students to compare the order of their paragraphs with the order on the actual report. || - Writes on the blank cards to include sub-headings (‘the main point’) for the description stage. |||| - Hand out the cut up sentences from paragraphs 5-9, markers and heading cards (1x general statement card, 1x description card, 10x blank for each group). Explain that students need to organise their current paragraphs and their sentences into the correct headings. || - Discusses the differences that they see in the other students report and headings compared to their own.
 * - Discusses and physically organises the information into the different headings and also into the correct sentence order.
 * - Moves to another groups table and reads their information report.

- Discusses the difference between their constructed information report and the actual information report. Students read paragraphs 5-9 and write down the main point of each paragraph on the piece of paper. Students compare these points to their own headings.

- Answers question. Discusses and reasons why they made particular choices in their constructed information report. |||| - Explain that groups are to move around to the next table to read their constructed information report and discuss the differences with their own.

- Hand out the printed copy of paragraphs 1-9 to each group. Get students to read paragraphs 5-9 and write down the main point of each paragraph on the piece of paper and compare these to their headings. Get students to compare the categorisation of their sentences and whether they matched up.

- Ask students, “If your report was not exactly the same, do you think that it still made sense? Why/why not? Did you create any categories that were not covered in the actual report?” || Explain that the information report structure is also useful for creating the documentary. Explain that, there are many different categories that we could research and report about regarding insects, as today’s lesson showed. Hand students the A3 worksheet with the empty boxes on them (Appendix A). Students will use this scaffold to conduct research on an insect of their choice in the next lesson. Each box can be filled with information for a different topic. Students discuss which headings they think they should research for their insect write their headings on top of different boxes. Eg. //General statement,// //Habitat, Diet, Physical Features//. [This activity engages students in higher-order thinking as they are required to apply the knowledge they have learnt to their rich task (NSW DET, 2003, p. 11). || - Observation notes will be taken of student discussion. - Observation notes will be taken of students’ arrangement of paragraphs and sentences. - Photographs will be taken of groups constructed information reports with headings. - Students A3 worksheet will be assessed after the lesson has finished. || - Have a back up copy of the cut up strips in case they get misplaced during the lesson. - If most groups have difficulty organising the sentences into paragraphs, you can complete the activity as a whole class for one or more of the paragraphs. Otherwise, you can provide scaffolding to groups that need it while letting other groups complete the task independently. || Were students engaged in the lesson? If not, why not? Were students able to achieve the lesson outcomes? If not, what other activities/lessons need to be implemented to help the student achieve these outcomes? Did the task provide valuable support for students to be able to complete their rich task? Did the tasks cater for the range of student abilities in the classroom? Eg. ESL, learning difficulties, gifted and talented? If not how could this be improved for the next lesson? Eg. Different group structures. Did students understand the structure of an information report? How can the next lesson be modified to help students achieve this outcome? ||
 * __Concluding strategy (10 mins):__
 * == Assessment ==
 * **Any special considerations or contingency plans:**
 * **Self-reflection**


 * References**

NSW Department of Education and Training. (2003). //Quality Teaching in NSW public schools: Discussion paper//. Professional Support and Curriculum Directorate.

Stewart-Dore, N. (2007). //Learning with graphic organisers//. PEN159. Marrickville: PETA