Senior Planning Sheet Class: Room 2, Year 4/5, Morningside School

							Unit Plan Class: Room Year: 4/5/6                         Level: 2/3
Unit: Volcanoes Hot Rock in a Cool World
Curriculum Area: English: Transactional; explanation writing
Integrated With: Science: Planet Earth and Beyond

Achievement Objectives:
Students will:
    To read, investigate and note features of explanatory text
    To plan and write an explanation in the form of an aspect of volcanoes

Bloom’s Taxonomy Higher Order Thinking Skills or Thinking Keys:
Remember Understand Apply Analyse Evaluate Create

Specific Learning Outcomes:
Students will be able to:
    to take notes from a range of sources and record these on to a template
    to plan, compose , edit and refine an explanatory text about volcanoes

Instructional Strategies/Tools I will Use:
      note taking template
      planning draft template
      exploring features of text from English exemplars of explanatory text
      use good models of explanatory text to develop children’s understanding of how
       good explanation writing looks like and sounds like.



Groups: Flexible        Ability/Aptitude      Cooperative

Assessment:
Diagnostic: use knowledge of children’s writing skills from previous
observations

Formative: check through the process using reflective discussions and
buddy checks that the children are developing the understandings of what
is required when writing a piece of exploratory text

Summative: children complete a piece of explanation writing about
volcanoes (or aspect of) and include a labelled diagram to support their text.


Year Book Assessment Will Be: copy of draft and published explanation
writing with teacher comment

Lesson Sequence
Lesson 1
Share and read a piece of explanation writing: use of exemplars for NZ curriculum and English
on line. Google: writing for fun by Jenny Eather for models of explanation writing (has a
range of examples)
Teacher models features of explanation writing and has children using planning templates to
draft and practice formulating brief pieces of explanatory writing

Up to two weeks prior to the unit have the children reading and viewing a range of books etc
about volcanoes.

 (3 minutes)In groups of 4–6, students brainstorm the questions: 'What do I know about
volcanoes?' and 'What do I want to find out about volcanoes? Share with class groups.

Children choose the question they would like to answer and over the next few writing sessions
set about using their note taking skills to source the information they need.

Children draft their ideas onto template and also decide on at least one diagram to use.

Children edit their work and publish their work – make use of Tips for Writing an Excellent
Explanation

Diagnostic Assessment

Resources:

Unit Evaluation
   Did the unit incorporate objectives from the curriculum?

   Were the Learning Outcomes achieved?


   Did the unit incorporate;   Group Activities;          Self/Peer Assessment;


   Changes for future teaching: