Rainforests. Our first project will be to wri - Meon Junior School

Hello children. I hope you are well. We have a very exciting topic this half term: Rainforests. Our first project will be to write an animal fact file about an animal from the rainforest.

First of all to give us a bit of a background let’s watch the clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vijLre760w

We will be looking at deforestation later on in this unit but firstly, we will be creating an animal fact file in the style of a non-chronological report about an animal that lives in the rainforest. First all let’s have a think about the animals that live in the rainforest.

The jaguar is a member of the wild cat family that can be found in the rainforest regions.

The scarlet macaw is one of at least 17 known species of macaws. Most are intelligent, social birds.

The red-eyed tree frog is just one of many species of frog that lives in the rainforest.

Potoos are a noisy, strange-looking bird, which can often be found in the canopy of the Amazon rainforest.

Sloths are nocturnal mammals and are known for being particularly slow-moving creatures.

The emerald tree boa is a non-venomous snake, which is often found in the Amazon rainforest.

There are around 100 species of Lemurs. Many species are now endangered.

Orangutans are members of the great ape family. They spend 95% of their time in trees

Tapirs are large hoofed mammals.

These are just a few animals that can be found in rainforests.

LO: To explore the features of a non chronological report

Your main task today:In a home learning book or a piece of paper, write these two categories in bubbles:

Presentational features Language features

Read the example of an animal fact file on the following page. Either write on post-it notes and stick your ideas onto the paper or write your answers onto the bubble map. (Example answers on slide 10)

IntroductionHave you ever wondered where these beautiful snakes live? Are they are threat to humans? Read on to find out everything you need to know about the emerald tree boa including where to find them, how to identify them and what they like to eat for their lunch! You will be pleased to know it is a non-venomous snake which means they are not poisonous! As they are nocturnal, they are mostly active at night.

The Emerald Tree Boa

Appearance The emerald tree boa is distinctively bright green in colour with an electric yellow underside. They have an irregular, zigzag pattern along their back, which is sometimes compared to a lightning bolt, and they are similar in appearance to the green tree python. Adult emerald tree boas can grow to reach up to 2 metres in length and over 1kg in weight which is as heavy as an average pineapple! They have vertical pupils – similar to that of cats – which help them to detect their prey’s movement. They have a pair of long, sharp teeth, pointed backwards, and a forked tongue. Their heads are relatively large and flat.

Diet They feed mostly on small mammals, such as rats, bats and possums. Younger snakes may also eat other reptiles and amphibians. They can be hunted themselves by birds of prey, such as the eagle. It subdues its prey by wrapping its body around the animal preventing it from breathing.

Habitat As indicated by their name, these snakes spend most of their time inhabiting trees and are often found in the Amazon rainforest.Their habitat is 'arboreal', which means 'related to or resembling trees'. They usually coil themselves around branches during the day and rest their head in the middle of the coil. They can often be found near rivers or swamps but are not dependent on open water.

Interesting Facts Emerald tree boas have a life expectancy of approximately 20 years in captivity or slightly less in the wild. They are not dangerous to humans and are therefore sometimes kept as pets. They give birth rather than laying eggs and can give birth to 6 - 14 young at a time.

Answers

Presentational features Language features

Heading/ title Subheadings

Pictures

Bold fonts/underlined texts

sections

An introduction

Relative clauses

Expanded noun phrases

Rule of threeFronted subordinate clauses

Rhetorical questions

Technical and factual language

Lesson 2LO: To explore the language and the effect of presentational features in a non-chronological report.

There are 2 tasks in this lesson

Last lesson we looked at the presentational and language features of the text on the following page.

Today we are looking at examples of these features and the effect they have on the reader.

IntroductionHave you ever wondered where these beautiful snakes live? Are they are threat to humans? Read on to find out everything you need to know about the emerald tree boa including where to find them, how to identify them and what they like to eat for their lunch! You will be pleased to know it is a non-venomous snake which means they are not poisonous! As they are nocturnal, they are mostly active at night.

The Emerald Tree Boa

Appearance The emerald tree boa is distinctively bright green in colour with an electric yellow underside. They have an irregular, zigzag pattern along their back, which is sometimes compared to a lightning bolt, and they are similar in appearance to the green tree python. Adult emerald tree boas can grow to reach up to 2 metres in length and over 1kg in weight which is as heavy as an average pineapple! They have vertical pupils – similar to that of cats – which help them to detect their prey’s movement. They have a pair of long, sharp teeth, pointed backwards, and a forked tongue. Their heads are relatively large and flat.

Diet They feed mostly on small mammals, such as rats, bats and possums. Younger snakes may also eat other reptiles and amphibians. They can be hunted themselves by birds of prey, such as the eagle. It subdues its prey by wrapping its body around the animal preventing it from breathing.

Habitat As indicated by their name, these snakes spend most of their time inhabiting trees and are often found in the Amazon rainforest.Their habitat is 'arboreal', which means 'related to or resembling trees'. They usually coil themselves around branches during the day and rest their head in the middle of the coil. They can often be found near rivers or swamps but are not dependent on open water.

Interesting Facts Emerald tree boas have a life expectancy of approximately 20 years in captivity or slightly less in the wild. They are not dangerous to humans and are therefore sometimes kept as pets. They give birth rather than laying eggs and can give birth to 6 - 14 young at a time.

Task 1: Answer the following questions:1. Why is it important to have a title and subheadings?

2. Why might the author use bold texts/underline the text?

3. Why is the text written in sections?

4. What would be the benefit of a picture? Either discuss the answers with an adult in your house or write the answers on paper or a home learning book.

ANSWERS

1. Why is it important to have a title and subheadings?It is important to have a heading so that the reader knows what they are going to read about. Subheadings help direct the reader to the different sections.

2. Why might the author use bold texts/underline the text? This is used to signal these are the subheadings and ensure they stand out.

3. Why is the text written in sections? The text is written in sections to ensure information is easily accessible to the reader and not all muddled. It gives a clear structure for the reader.

4. What is the benefit of a picture? It engages the reader and helps to further explain the appearance of the animal. It might show the animal in their habitat or hunting their prey to help demonstrate certain facts.

Task 2: Find an example of the following features in the text and write the example in the outer bubble.

Language deviceRhetorical question

Expanded noun phrase

Rule of three

Factual information

Subordinate clause openers

Either print out this page or write it out in a home learning book or on paper.

Relative clause

Task 2: ANSWERS

Language deviceRhetorical question

Expanded noun phrase

Rule of three

Factual information

Subordinate clause openers

Adult emerald tree boas can grow to reach up to 2 metres in length and over 1kg in weight.

As they are nocturnal, they are mostly active at night.

...including where to find them, how to identify them and what they like to eat for their lunch!

Have you ever wondered where these beautiful snakes live?

The emerald tree boa is distinctively bright green in colour with an electric yellow underside.

EXTENSION: Now think about why the author used these language features in the text. Was it to engage the reader? Perhaps it was to add extra information. Discuss each feature with an adult or think about it yourself.

Relative clause

They have an irregular, zigzag pattern along their back, which is sometimes compared to a lightning bolt...

Lesson 3LO: To revise relative clauses and expanded noun phrases

There are 2 tasks in today’s lesson.

Examples from the text we looked at were:

Expanded noun phrase:

The emerald tree boa is distinctively bright green in colour with an electric yellow underside.

Relative clause:

...which is sometimes compared to a lightning bolt...

We’ve identified in the text that expanded noun phrases and relative clauses are an important language feature in a non chronological report.

We looked at relative clauses and expanded noun phrases in depth when we did our object description. Do you remember? However, it’s definitely worth revising.

Here is a reminder of what a noun phrases is:

What is an expanded noun phrase?

Starting with a noun

A trollA dragonA frog

Describe it with adjectives

An ugly trollA fierce, silvery dragonA bright green, speckled frog

Extend it

To make your expanded noun phrase even better, add a prepositional phrase:An ugly troll on the bridge,A fierce, silvery dragon in the midnight sky,A bright green speckled frog with a yellow tummy.

Have a look at this:You could play a game of making up crazy sentences to help you understand how to write a detailed expanded noun phrase.

And let’s recap relative clauses:

● Relative clauses include relative pronouns: who, whose, which, that, where or when.

● Relative clauses are not main clauses.

● A relative clause refers back to the noun.

● Relative clauses can tell us extra information about the noun.

The slow movements of the sloth are mainly because of their leaf-based diet, which is low in energy and creates a slow metabolism.

The relative clause can be added at the end of a main clause to provide extra information:

Jaguars are solitary creatures who tend to live and hunt alone.

Or dropped into the middle of the sentence after a noun with a pair of commas to separate the relative clause from the rest of sentence.

Orangutans, who are members of the great ape family, spend 95% of their time in trees.

The relative clause always refers back to the noun that came before it:

Jaguars, who are famous for their beautiful spotted coats, can reach up to six feet in length.

Jaguars have very powerful jaws and sharp teeth which are strong enough to crack bones or pierce a turtle shell.

Refers back to Jaguars

Refers back to teeth

The sentence will always make sense if you remove the relative clause.

Task 1 Fun QuizIn this quiz there are 8 questions. See how many you get right.

Question 1:

Answer yes or noHas this relative clause been used correctly?

Jaguars have razor sharp teeth who are famous for their beautiful coats.

Question 2:

Which relative clause is punctuated correctly?a. Red-eyed tree frogs, who are generally considered

to be carnivores mainly eat at night.b. Red-eyed tree frogs, who are generally considered

to be carnivores, mainly eat at night.c. Red-eyed tree, frogs who are generally considered

to be carnivores, mainly eat at night.

Question 3:

Fill in the missing relative pronoun:

His teeth, _______ were as sharp as razors, pierced through his prey.

Question 4:Which of the following include an expanded noun phrase?a. Red Eyed Tree Frog are known for their huge, bright red

eyes.b. The frogs use their eyes as a way of startling predators.c. The rest of their body is neon green in colour with a hint of

blue and yellow at the sides.

Question 5

Which is the noun being expanded in this sentence?

The emerald green snake with long sharp teeth coiled around the branches.

Question 6 Has the relative clause been used correctly?

James, which owned the boa constrictor, held him confidently around his neck.

Question 7:Which of the following is an expanded noun phrase?

a. The lion roared intensely at the crowds of people.b. The enormous elephant with a mottled grey coat, stood

waiting to be admired. c. In the forest, a lion stood waiting to attack.

Question 8:

Is this relative clause used correctly?

The river, where the creature waited, was narrow and shallow.

ANSWERSQ1. No. ‘Who are famous for their beautiful coats’ refers back to jaguars the relative clause would need to link to teeth if placed at the end of the sentence since that is the last noun.

Q2. b is correct

Q3. ‘which’

Q4. a and c

Q5. snake

Q6. No ‘which’ should be ‘who’ as refers to a person

Q7 b is the expanded noun phrase

Q8. Yes

Task 2:Create 2 expanded noun phrases and 2 relative clausesfor an animal of your choice. It doesn’t have to be a rainforest animal it can be a pet or an animal at the zoo.

Example:The adorable, two-week-old kitten with a soft fluffy coat, wobbled as he shuffled towards me.

The irritated tiger, who had fiery eyes, bellowed out a thunderous roar.