Ten lessons — from recounting facts to writing a full explanation — each with teaching content, an exam‑style question, a Band 6 model, analysis and self‑check criteria.
Intended learning: distinguish informative texts from imaginative and persuasive ones, and name the forms.
Introduce the purpose triangle: informative texts inform, imaginative texts imagine, persuasive texts convince. Sort real examples into columns and notice that many texts blend purposes while having one dominant aim. Then name the major informative forms — explanation, description, recount, news report, procedure, journal — and look at one example of each.
The bake-sale report is informative because its purpose is to give facts — what was sold, how much was raised, who organised it — in a plain, objective voice. The poster wants to persuade me to attend, and the cake story wants to entertain me with a fictional mishap. The report could teach me everything the other two leave out: its words are chosen for accuracy, not for feeling or atmosphere.
Collect three short texts and sort them by purpose, justifying each choice.
Intended learning: describe accurately using precise nouns, verbs and adjectives.
A description pictures a subject factually. Model the difference between vague (“a dog”) and precise (“a sandy-coated kelpie with one ear flopped”). Teach students to choose exact nouns and verbs, to classify (what is it?) and to organise detail (parts, features, uses) rather than dumping random observations.
A paperclip is a small fastening made of a single length of springy steel wire, bent into two parallel loops that taper to a point at each end. It measures about three centimetres and holds two or more sheets of paper together by slipping over the top edge without piercing the paper — which is why it leaves no permanent hole and can be removed cleanly. Classifying it first (a fastening), then its parts (one wire, two loops) and its use (holding sheets), lets the reader picture and understand it at once.
Write a precise description of a leaf or a pencil, organised into parts and use.
Intended learning: retell real events in time order with an orientation and key details.
A factual recount tells what happened, in order: orientation (who, what, when, where), events in sequence, and a brief final comment. Teach time markers (first, then, next, finally) and the difference between a fact (verifiable) and an opinion (a judgement). Keep the voice factual — feelings may appear, but the facts are the spine.
On Monday 12 June at 9:15 am, the fire alarm sounded across the school, and classes filed out to the oval. Class 5B left their room at 9:34, moving in single file to the fence as rehearsed; by 9:40 the teacher took the roll call on the clipboard and every name was answered. The all-clear came at 9:26, and classes returned in reverse order. The recount stays in time order and reports only what happened — no opinions about the noise or the weather — so a reader who was absent can follow every minute.
Recount an excursion or school event in order, with an orientation and time words.
Intended learning: write an explanation with a logical cause-and-effect sequence.
Explanations answer “how” and “why.” Teach the structure — introduce the phenomenon, then sequence the stages or causes, and conclude — and the connective grammar of causation (because, therefore, as a result). Model turning a process (e.g. a seed growing) into an ordered scientific account with present tense.
A seed germinates when three conditions are met: moisture, warmth and oxygen. First, water enters through the seed’s tiny hole, the micropyle, and rehydrates the dormant embryo; this softening causes the seed coat to split. Next, the warmth quickens the chemical reactions inside, and oxygen enables the young root to begin using the stored food for energy. As a result, the radicle (first root) pushes downward, anchoring the plant, while the shoot bends upward toward light. By this stage the seed has become a seedling, and each further stage depends on the ones before — which is why explanations move from cause to consequence.
Explain how a bicycle wheel moves on a smooth path, or why rivers flow toward the sea, in stages.
Intended learning: write a procedure with a goal, materials and ordered steps another person can follow.
A procedure tells the reader how to achieve a result. Teach its three parts: goal, materials, and ordered steps. Language is imperative (“mix, pour, wait”), sequence words order the steps, and precise measurements prevent failure. Model how vague steps break a procedure.
Goal: to fold a paper plane that glides straight for at least five metres. Materials: one A4 sheet of paper, a flat table. Steps: 1. Place the sheet with its short edge toward you. 2. Fold the top left corner down to meet the right edge, and crease firmly. 3. Fold the top right corner down to meet the left edge, creasing over the first fold. 4. Fold the triangle tip down to the bottom edge. 5. Fold the whole paper in half along the centre line. 6. Fold each wing down so its edge lines up with the bottom, and crease. 7. Launch with a level, gentle throw. Each step names a where and a how, so a beginner who has never folded a plane can still succeed.
Write a procedure for a simple recipe, game or craft; swap and follow a partner’s.
Intended learning: write a news report with a lead that answers the key questions and detail that follows.
A news report uses the inverted pyramid: the lead packs in the essentials (who, what, when, where, why), then come the key facts, then the extra detail — so a busy reader gets the story from the first line. Teach an objective, factual voice and a neutral headline.
Garden reopens to grow canteen produce. Forty students replanted the school’s vegetable garden on Friday, the first phase of a plan funded by a P&C grant to supply fresh produce to the canteen. Classes rotated through the beds across the morning, planting tomatoes, lettuce and herbs in raised boxes under the guidance of staff and parent helpers. The produce will begin reaching the canteen salads within a term, with the scheme expected to cut waste and teach food-growing skills across all grades. The lead names who, what, when, where and why in two lines; the following paragraphs unfold the detail the reader may wish to know.
Turn class-news notes into a report with a lead and two detail paragraphs.
Intended learning: record observations, questions and findings over time in dated entries.
A journal captures a process — an enquiry, a plant growing, a weather record — in dated entries that build over time. Teach the entry formula: date, observation, question, finding. The journal’s power is the sequence: a single observation is a moment, but dated entries show change. Keep the voice honest — including what did not go as expected.
Day 9 — bean plant, north windowsill. Observation: the first true leaf has unfolded beyond the two seed leaves, which are now paler and beginning to shrivel; the stem leans noticeably toward the window. Question: does the plant always lean toward the light, or will it straighten at night? Finding from this entry: the lean has grown about two centimetres since Day 5, evidence that the plant responds to light it can reach. Tomorrow I will turn the pot to see whether it bends back — the journal keeps working by asking the next question.
Begin a weekly journal on something changing (a plant, the weather, a hobby skill).
Intended learning: gather facts from reliable sources and record them as organised notes.
Good informative writing rests on good research. Teach the reliability check — who wrote it, why, when, is it backed up? — and note-taking that selects, paraphrases and records the source. Model turning a source paragraph into three bullet notes and an ethical citation.
The zoo/science passage is more reliable: it names its organisation, states a clear purpose, is recent, and its claims match what other specialists report, whereas the blog gives no author, no date and no evidence. Notes from the reliable source: (1) koalas spend up to 20 hours a day sleeping; (2) they eat mainly eucalyptus leaves, which are low in energy — this explains the long rest; (3) bushfires and habitat loss are the leading threats (source: Koala Conservation Centre, 2023). Paraphrasing in my own words shows I understand, and recording the source lets a reader verify — the two habits at the heart of reliable information.
Research a topic from two sources, judge each, and take cited notes.
Intended learning: plan and draft a complete informative report with structure, accuracy and support.
Bring the forms together into a full report. Teach the plan-first routine: choose the form, plan the structure (sequence, classification or cause–effect), gather accurate facts, then draft with headings, precision and a concluding summary. Introduce the value of a small diagram or table as support.
The Honey Badger Introduction: The honey badger is a small, stocky carnivore of the weasel family, famous for fearlessness out of proportion to its size. Appearance: it measures about 26 centimetres to the shoulder with a broad, flat back; its loose, thick skin makes it hard for predators to grip. Behaviour: it is solitary and mostly nocturnal, milking beehives and raiding prey far larger than itself; its strength and persistence are its chief tools. Conservation: the species is widespread across Africa and parts of Asia and is not currently threatened. In summary, the honey badger’s success lies less in size than in tenacity — a fact a small, precise report can let the reader carry away.
Complete your plan, then draft the full report within the time.
Intended learning: check facts, clarity and structure against criteria and polish the final report.
Editing informative writing means checking the three A’s: Accuracy — are the facts right and sourced? Clarity — does the structure lead the reader, and are sentences precise? Audience — did I define terms and add support where needed? Use the marking criteria as a checklist and read aloud to catch muddy sentences.
Original said “the honey badger lives in Australia” — a factual slip, since it is native to Africa and parts of Asia; I corrected and sourced it. “It is really strong” I tightened to “its strength and persistence let it overcome far larger prey,” which is precise and measurable. Finally I added a small labelled map of its range, because a map shows in a second what a paragraph takes a minute to say. Editing for accuracy and the reader is what turns a draft into a report.
Mark your report against the guide’s criteria and publish it.
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