Information Report Explorer

Overview

In this first lesson of the “Endangered Animals Expedition” unit, students explore what an information report is for and what it looks like. They build early comprehension by visualising, predicting, connecting, and asking questions while listening to short animal reports.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• identify the purpose and audience of information reports about animals
• describe key features of information reports (topic, facts, headings/labels, simple structure)
• use comprehension strategies (visualising, predicting, connecting, questioning, monitoring) to understand literal and simple inferred information from an example text
• identify similar animal information presented in different ways (photo, simple caption, short paragraph)

Success criteria

Students can:

• explain that an information report shares facts to help a reader learn
• point to one or two features of an information report (facts about one animal, clear topic, simple sections/labels)
• answer questions about an animal report using evidence from the text or picture (e.g., “It lives in…”, “It eats…”)
• use a question stem (“I wonder…”) to ask something they want to know

Curriculum links

• Literacy: use comprehension strategies such as visualising, predicting, connecting, summarising, monitoring and questioning to build literal and inferred meaning - Literacy: identify how similar topics and information are presented in different types of texts - Literacy: identify the purpose and audience of imaginative, informative and persuasive texts - Language: identify how texts across the curriculum are organised differently and use language features depending on purposes ## Lesson structure (30 minutes)

1. 0–4 min · Hook and purpose Teacher shows 2 images of endangered animals (e.g., koala with fire, tiger, pangolin) and says: “Today we start an expedition! We will read to learn facts.” Students do a quick think-pair-share: “Who is this for and why would someone write it?”

2. 4–10 min · Direct teach: What is an information report? Teacher displays a short, teacher-read example of a simple information report about one endangered animal (2 short sections only). Teacher models comprehension strategies aloud:

• Visualising: “I picture the animal because the text tells me…”
• Predicting: “Next I think it will say where it lives…”
• Questioning: “I wonder why it is endangered…” Students repeat one strategy after the teacher and hold up a finger each time they hear a fact.

3. 10–18 min · Features scavenger (listen + mark) Teacher reads the same short report again, stopping at clear points to highlight features on a simple class chart:

• Topic (animal name)
• Facts (what it is like)
• Where it lives / what it eats (if included)
• Labels/sections (e.g., “Where it lives”) Students use a simple response sheet with boxes: “I heard a fact”, “I noticed a label”, “I saw a picture clue”. They circle one box per stop.

4. 18–24 min · Guided questions (literal + inferred) Teacher shows a second short, photo-led snippet (caption + 2 sentences) about the same or another endangered animal. Students respond using sentence starters (on cards due to low literacy):

• “The animal lives in…”
• “It eats…”
• “I think it is endangered because…” (allow drawing on prior knowledge; teacher confirms or gently corrects) Teacher checks monitoring: “Did your prediction match what the text said?” Students show thumbs up/down.

5. 24–28 min · Connect and compare text types Teacher asks: “How are these facts shown in a different way—picture/caption vs report paragraph?” Students match information to representations using a simple cut-and-paste activity: one fact strip to one image/caption.

6. 28–30 min · Exit ticket (question + fact) Students complete a 2-part exit ticket:

• “One fact I learned is…” (fill-in)
• “One question I have is: I wonder…” (choose from a set: “where it lives”, “what it eats”, “why it is endangered”)

Resources

• Teacher-made short information report text (large print, 150–220 words) for one endangered animal
• Second snippet with photo and caption (same/related topic)
• Endangered animal image cards (2–4 animals)
• Feature chart with icons: topic, fact, label/heading, picture clue
• Student response sheet (boxes to tick/circle)
• Sentence starter cards (especially for low literacy)
• Cut-and-paste fact strips + image/caption cards
• Exit ticket slips with sentence frames
• Whiteboard/markers; projector if available

Assessment

• Formative during scavenger: teacher listens for correct identification of “facts” and “labels” (quick tick/notes)
• Guided questioning responses: teacher checks for evidence-based answers and correct use of sentence starters
• Exit ticket review: track whether students can state a fact and pose a relevant question

Differentiation

• Sentence starters and visual icons for every question (reduces decoding load)
• Read-aloud with pause points; students respond orally if writing is difficult
• Word banks with high-frequency words (lives, eats, has, skin/fur/scales, lives in, endangered) and animal names
• For students needing extra support: one-feature focus only (e.g., “Find the fact about where it lives”)
• For students ready to extend: ask “What might happen if this animal loses its habitat?” and accept a simple inferred sentence (“It might…”)
• For EAL learners: allow pointing/matching rather than full sentence writing; use gesture support for where/what/why