Components of Procedures

Overview

This 60-minute lesson is designed for Year 1–3 students to explore and identify the key components of procedural texts: the title, ingredients (materials), and steps (instructions). Students will collaborate to create a colourful, engaging class poster showcasing these elements. This lesson aligns with the Australian Curriculum (v9) English strand focusing on understanding and using procedural texts.

Australian Curriculum Links

English > Literacy > Texts in Context and Interacting with Others

• ACELY1667: Understand the purpose of procedural texts.
• ACELY1669: Recognise some features of procedural texts including the use of sequencing words to connect ideas.

English > Literacy > Creating Texts

• ACELY1668: Create short procedural texts to describe familiar processes.
• ACELY1672: Use simple sentence structures and vocabulary to convey meaning.

English > Literacy > Language for Interaction

• ACELA1448: Understand how to use capital letters and full stops in writing titles and sentences.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

• Identify and describe the components of procedural texts: title, ingredients, and steps.
• Recognise sequencing words used in procedural texts (e.g., first, next, then).
• Collaborate to produce a class poster displaying these components clearly.
• Develop skills in reading, writing, and cooperative learning related to procedural texts.

Materials Needed

• Copies of a simple procedural text (e.g., a recipe for making a fruit salad) with clear title, ingredients, and steps.
• Large poster paper.
• Coloured markers, pencils, and stickers.
• Sentence strips with common sequencing words.
• Dyslexia-friendly font printed procedural texts on coloured paper for easy reading.
• Whiteboard and markers.

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Lesson Sequence

1. Introduction (10 minutes)

• Begin by asking, “Have you ever followed instructions to make something?” Discuss examples such as making a sandwich or tying shoelaces.
• Introduce the idea of procedural texts as ‘how-to’ guides that tell us how to do things.
• Display a simple procedural text on the board. Point out the title, ingredients, and steps.
• Read the procedural text aloud, modelling fluency and clear pronunciation.
• Highlight sequencing words like “first,” “next,” and “then” as clues to the order.

Differentiation: Use visual cues and gestures to support understanding for EAL/D and emerging readers.

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2. Guided Exploration (15 minutes)

• Divide students into pairs to examine individual copies of the same procedural text.
• Provide highlighter pens or coloured pencils.
• Ask each pair to highlight or underline the title in one colour, ingredients in another, and steps in a third colour.
• Invite pairs to identify sequencing words using sentence strips.
• Facilitate a whole-class discussion to share findings.

Dyslexia-Friendly Strategy: Provide procedural texts printed in a dyslexia-friendly font on pastel-coloured paper to reduce visual stress.

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3. Class Poster Creation (25 minutes)

• Explain that the class will create a poster together identifying parts of a procedural text.
• Assign roles:
• One or two students illustrate pictures of ingredients.
• A group writes the title in big letters.
• Another group lists ingredients with bullet points.
• Two students write the steps using sequencing words.
• Encourage use of their highlighted texts as references.
• Teacher scaffolds writing and spelling support as needed.
• Use visuals, stickers, and colours to make the poster engaging and accessible.

Extension for Advanced Learners: Invite these students to write their own simple procedural sentences or create one more step to add to the poster.

Differentiation: Students needing extra support can focus on drawing or sorting pictures of ingredients and steps to include.

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4. Sharing and Consolidation (10 minutes)

• Display the poster in the classroom.
• Invite students to explain the components to the class, practising oral language skills.
• Ask questions such as:
• “What is the title of this procedure?”
• “What do we need to make this?”
• “What do we do first? Then what happens?”
• Reinforce understanding by summarising key points.

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Assessment

• Observe students during pair work highlighting components.
• Monitor participation and accuracy during poster creation.
• Informal oral questioning to check comprehension of procedural components.
• Collect and review highlighted texts and contributions to poster for evidence of understanding.

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Differentiation Strategies

• Use multimodal teaching: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic.
• Provide printed procedural texts in dyslexia-friendly fonts and pastel paper for students with reading difficulties.
• Pair EAL/D learners with peers for collaborative support.
• Use sentence stems and word banks for students requiring language support.

Extension Activities

• Advanced students write their own short procedural text on a familiar task (e.g., brushing teeth).
• Illustrate and label steps with sequencing words independently.
• Create a digital version of the class poster using simple presentation software if technology is available.

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This lesson offers a rich and scaffolded exploration of procedural text components while fostering cooperative learning and literacy development, tightly aligned with the Australian Curriculum for early primary years.