Animal Facts Structures

Overview

In this lesson (lesson 23 of 30), students explore how informative texts are organised to help readers find facts. They will read a short animal information text, identify text features, and practise matching parts of the text to their purpose.

Learning intentions

• Students will understand that informative texts present factual information in organised sections.
• Students will identify key features such as headings, labelled parts, and simple sentence patterns that build meaning.
• Students will locate facts and decide which part of the text they come from (for example, title, headings, or diagram labels).
• Students will discuss how the structure helps a reader find information quickly.

Success criteria

• I can point to the title and tell what it helps the reader understand.
• I can find facts in the text and say which section (heading/paragraph/label) they belong to.
• I can describe how headings and features help readers find information.
• I can highlight or sort text features correctly (for example, facts vs non-facts; heading vs sentence).

Curriculum links

• Reading and viewing for comprehension: using text features and structure to understand and retrieve information.
• Language: recognising meaning and purpose in informative texts, including simple sentence structures and factual wording.
• Creating texts (spoken and written): using features of informative texts to communicate information.
• Literacy in context: building knowledge of how information texts work about familiar topics like animals.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 3 min — Warm-up: “Fact Finder” Teacher shows 3–4 short statements about an animal (some factual, one incorrect or unclear). Students vote by show of fingers and explain why a statement is a fact or not.

2. 7 min — Read-aloud: informative text with stopping points Teacher reads a short animal informative passage aloud (1–2 pages). Pause to model noticing structure: title, headings, a diagram/labels, and how paragraphs group related facts. Prompt: “Where would you look for this information?”

3. 10 min — Guided feature hunt (whole group) Students use highlighters or pencils (pre-drawn colour coding) to mark:

• the title
• headings
• facts (factual sentences)
• labels (if a diagram is included) Teacher checks understanding by asking one or two students to explain what they highlighted and why.

4. 10 min — Small-group “Match the facts” task (6 students total) In two teacher-led mini-groups of 3 (or one group with close teacher support), students match sentence strips to the correct part of the text (for example, “Heading: Habitat” or “Label: Body parts”). Students justify their choice using evidence (pointing to the text).

5. 8 min — Structure talk: how it helps readers Students complete a short oral reflection in pairs or as a group:

• “The title tells us…”
• “The heading helps us find…”
• “Facts are grouped because…” Teacher records key student ideas on a simple class chart: “Structure helps us find facts quickly.”

6. 5 min — Independent check-in: highlight and label Provide a small excerpt (or photocopy) of the text with blanks: students write the heading name beside a section (or choose from a word bank) and highlight one fact sentence. Teacher circulates for quick formative assessment.

7. 2 min — Exit ticket: one sentence Students answer: “One way the structure helps a reader is…” using sentence starters on the board.

Resources

• Short informative animal text (age-appropriate; clear headings and 3–6 main facts)
• Highlighters or coloured pencils (2–3 colours max)
• Printed sentence strips for the matching activity
• Diagram/labels page included in the text (if possible)
• Class chart template: Title / Headings / Facts / Labels
• Mini whiteboards or sticky notes for exit ticket
• Word bank for exit ticket sentence starters
• Timer for transitions
• Teacher copy with answers and key features marked

Assessment

• Observation during guided feature hunt: students identify title/headings/label/factual sentences.
• Matching task: correctness and ability to justify choices by pointing to text evidence.
• Exit ticket sentence: demonstrates understanding of how structure supports locating information.

Differentiation

• Support: provide a partially marked text model (first example done with students), and a reduced number of sentence strips (fewer choices) for matching.
• Support for SEN: use sentence stems (“This is a fact because…”, “This belongs under the heading…”) and allow pointing instead of writing for the check-in.
• Extension: ask students to add one additional fact they know, then explain where it would fit (under which heading) and why.
• EAL: pre-teach a small set of structure words (title, heading, label, facts) with visuals; allow oral responses using sentence frames rather than extended writing.