Text Types and Animals

Overview

In this lesson you will explore how narrative and informative texts work, using animal topics the class knows and enjoys. Students will identify key features, then practise choosing the right type of text for a purpose.

Learning intentions

• Students will understand that narratives entertain and include characters, events, and a beginning, middle, and end.
• Students will understand that informative texts teach about topics and use facts and simple features like headings and labels.
• Students will compare narrative and informative animal texts and name similarities and differences.
• Students will orally justify why a text is narrative or informative.

Success criteria

• I can tell whether an animal text is narrative or informative.
• I can point to features of each type (characters/events vs facts/labels).
• I can say what the text is trying to do (entertain or inform).
• I can match a sentence or short passage to the correct text type and explain why.

Curriculum links

• English: reading and viewing—identify features of different text types and use them to understand purpose.
• English: writing—plan and create short imaginative and informative texts for familiar purposes and audiences.
• English: speaking and listening—use clear language to explain ideas and respond to questions.
• Literacy practices—use comprehension strategies to interpret texts (predict, retell key events, locate key information).

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 5 minutes – Warm-up: “Animal or Story?” Students view two short teacher-read prompts (one factual sentence set; one story starter). In pairs, they decide: is it telling facts or telling events? Share answers as a whole group.

2. 7 minutes – Teach: Narrative vs Informative (mini-lesson) Teacher models with a simple animal example.

• Narrative: “First… then… after that… at the end…” with a character (e.g., “a small penguin”).
• Informative: “Did you know…?” with facts about habitat, diet, or body parts. Teacher charts two columns: Narrative features / Informative features with student language.

3. 8 minutes – Guided practice: Feature hunt Teacher reads a mixed set of 4–5 short animal paragraphs (2 narratives, 2 informative). Students hold up either a red card (narrative) or green card (informative) as the teacher reads each one. After each, students say one reason using a sentence frame:

• “This is narrative because… (characters/events/beginning-middle-end).”
• “This is informative because… (facts/labels/teaching information).”

4. 10 minutes – Compare and sort (hands-on) Provide small picture-sentence cards (e.g., “The koala sleeps in a tree all day.” / “Milo the koala felt scared, so he hid.”). In groups of 3 (or whole class if needed), students sort cards into two piles on a class display. Teacher circulates, asking:

• “What tells you it’s facts?”
• “What tells you it’s a story?”

5. 8 minutes – Interactive reading: Short text excerpts Teacher shows two short excerpts on cards or on chart paper (one narrative, one informative) about animals. Students do a quick oral routine:

• Narrative: retell in 3 steps (beginning/middle/end).
• Informative: identify the topic and one key fact. Teacher records one student sentence under each column.

6. 5 minutes – Quick assessment: Exit talk Each student answers one prompt individually with the teacher:

• “Which type is this, narrative or informative? How do you know?” Use a simple tally sheet: feature mentioned correctly (purpose + one feature).

7. 2 minutes – Close: Reflection Teacher returns to the lesson question: “When would you choose narrative? When would you choose informative?” Students give one oral example sentence.

Resources

• Red and green cards (narrative/informative).
• Teacher-written animal excerpts (short, age-appropriate).
• Picture-sentence sorting cards (4–6 per group total).
• Two-column class chart: Narrative features / Informative features.
• Sentence frames for justifying choices.
• An animal-themed book or two-page teacher excerpt (optional).
• Sticky notes for student recording (optional).
• Simple timer/visual agenda.

Assessment

• Observational checks during the feature hunt and sorting task (whether students identify text type and name a feature).
• Exit talk prompt: teacher listens for accurate justification (purpose + at least one feature).
• Informal evidence from student oral retelling (beginning/middle/end) or key fact identification.

Differentiation

• Support:
• Provide sentence frames with word banks (character, events, first/then/after that/end; facts, topic, labels).
• Use picture prompts to reduce reading load; teacher reads unknown words aloud.
• Offer a guided sorting table with fewer cards.
• Extension:
• Ask students to add an extra feature (e.g., narrative includes feelings or problem; informative includes headings/labels or a “how/where/what” detail).
• Students create one additional sentence card and justify its category.
• EAL/EALD:
• Pre-teach key words using visuals (character, event, facts, topic).
• Allow oral responses before written responses; model sentence starters repeatedly.
• SEN:
• Reduce card set size and give more time for sorting.
• Use partner support with a clear role (Reader/Sorter/Checker).