Finding Animal Facts

Overview

In this lesson, students learn how to gather information for an Animal Information Report using books and teacher-selected, reliable websites. They practise finding facts, key details, and recording them accurately.

Learning intentions

• Students will learn how to ask a clear research question about an animal.
• Students will be able to locate information in books and digital texts.
• Students will record factual information using their own notes (not full sentences copied).
• Students will identify whether information is a fact or an opinion.

Success criteria

• I can write a short research question and use it to guide my reading.
• I can find key facts in a text using headings, captions, and diagrams.
• I can record key details in note form and match them to the correct section of my report.
• I can check that my information is factual (not an opinion or made-up claim).

Curriculum links

• English: reading and viewing strategies for locating key information in informative texts.
• English: writing brief notes and using evidence from sources to support ideas.
• English: language features of information reports (facts, key details, simple factual language).
• Literacy and comprehension: monitoring understanding and using text features to find information.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 5 min – Hook and purpose

• Show 2 short animal statements: one factual and one opinion (e.g., “Koalas eat eucalyptus leaves” vs “Koalas are the cutest animal”).
• Students thumbs-up/down and explain why; connect to “We need facts for our information report.”

2. 7 min – Mini-lesson: research question and where to look

• Model how to turn a topic into a research question (e.g., “What do wombats eat?” “How do penguins survive in cold weather?”).
• Explain text features for finding information in books: headings, subheadings, captions, bold words, diagrams, and the index/table of contents.

3. 10 min – Guided practice: book information hunt

• In pairs, students receive a class set of animal books with different sections (or different animals).
• Using a worksheet with three boxes (Question → Fact → Key detail), students locate one fact that answers their question and one key detail that supports it.
• Teacher circulates, prompting: “What feature helped you find it?” and “How do you know it’s a fact?”

4. 10 min – Guided practice: reliable websites (teacher-selected)

• Model browser navigation without using links: show students how to use the page headings, captions, and “fact box” style text.
• Emphasise reliability criteria the teacher sets: age-appropriate, non-sensational language, clear author/organisation on the page, and facts that match other resources in the classroom.
• Students repeat the same note-taking task from step 3, recording one new fact and one key detail.

5. 8 min – Note check: facts, key details, and section match

• Whole-class checklist on the board: “Is it answering the question?”, “Is it a fact?”, “Is it a key detail?”, “Did I copy or reword in note form?”
• Students swap with a partner and do a quick check, pointing to where the information came from (book/digital page title).

6. 5 min – Share and exit ticket

• 3–4 students share their best fact and key detail (briefly).
• Exit ticket: “Circle: Fact or Opinion” for one statement and write one research question you could use next.

Resources

• Teacher-selected, age-appropriate animal websites (opened in advance; no student searching)
• A selection of animal information books (with indexes, headings, captions, diagrams)
• Note-taking sheet: Question / Fact / Key detail / Source (Book or Website page title)
• Highlighters or coloured pencils to mark facts and key details
• Chart paper or interactive board for “Where to find information” (text features)
• Sentence starters for notes (e.g., “It eats…”, “It lives in…”, “It uses… to…”)
• Fact vs opinion cards or printed statements for the hook and exit ticket
• Classroom timer for each station

Assessment

• Teacher observation during pair work: ability to locate information using text features and record key details.
• Collected note sheets reviewed for factual accuracy and matching to the research question.
• Exit ticket to gauge understanding of fact vs opinion and clarity of research questions.

Differentiation

• Support: provide partially completed note sheets and sentence starters; allow students to choose from 2–3 research questions already written.
• Support: pre-highlight headings/captions in a model text so students know where to look first.
• Extension: challenge students to find a second key detail from a different text feature (diagram caption or comparison box).
• EAL/SEN: allow oral recording (teacher scribes) before students copy into note form; use consistent language frames for fact statements; provide small-group instruction for text feature navigation.
• For students needing extra challenge: ask them to add a “how/why” key detail (e.g., “because it…”) while keeping it factual.