Our Rain Information Text

Overview

In the final lesson of Rain Writers Workshop, students use shared knowledge and a familiar word bank to write a short information text for a real audience: the school library or a younger class. They revisit the structure of a beginning, middle, and ending, then independently write three sentences, illustrate their ideas, and reread to check that their writing informs the reader.

Learning intentions

• WALT write an informative text about rain for a real audience.
• WALT organise ideas into a beginning, middle, and ending.
• WALT use topic words and clear sentences to share information.
• WALT reread our writing and check that it makes sense.

Success criteria

• I can write three sentences about rain.
• I can explain what rain is, what it is like, and what it does.
• I can use rain words such as clouds, drops, puddles, or plants.
• I can use a capital letter, spaces, and a full stop, then reread my writing.

Curriculum links

• Communicating and Presenting — Verbal reasoning: using if/then sentences to explain what might happen when something else happens.
• Word Recognition — Fluency: reading decodable sentences and Year 1-level text with phrasing and growing automaticity.
• Composition — Sentence structures, grammar, and punctuation: using capital letters and punctuation to make writing clear.
• Composition — Writing to entertain, and Comprehension — Text form, structure, style, and features: sequencing ideas and noticing how texts are organised for a purpose and audience.

Lesson structure (30 minutes)

1. 0–4 min · Hook and purpose. Open with the rain hook and audience slide and show a photograph or illustration of rain falling on a school playground; ask, “What would a younger child need to know about rain?” Students turn and talk, then help identify the audience for today’s writing: the school library or a younger class.

2. 4–9 min · Revisit structure and vocabulary. Display the rain word bank and three-part plan and revisit the words rain, water, clouds, drops, wet, cold, puddles, plants, grow, boots, and umbrella. Jointly plan three ideas: beginning—what rain is; middle—what rain is like; ending—what rain does or what people use in rain. Students orally rehearse one sentence for each part with a partner.

3. 9–14 min · Teacher model. Model writing on the board while referring to the model sentence and editing prompts: “Rain is water that falls from clouds.” Think aloud about choosing an information word, starting with a capital letter, leaving spaces, and using a full stop. Add two simple sentences, for example: “Rain drops can be cold and wet.” “Rain helps plants grow.” Reread the three sentences aloud, showing how the illustration should match the information rather than replace it.

4. 14–24 min · Independent writing and illustrating. Give each student the three-part rain information writing page. Students write three short sentences—one for each planned idea—using the word bank and their own knowledge, then draw an illustration that supports the text. Circulate and confer briefly: prompt students to say the sentence first, stretch sounds, reread each sentence, and check whether it teaches the intended audience something about rain. Encourage early finishers to add a useful detail, such as an if/then sentence: “If it rains, then we can use an umbrella.”

5. 24–28 min · Partner read and improve. Show the partner-check routine. Students read their text aloud to a partner and ask, “What did you learn about rain?” The writer checks the response against the intended message, then makes one improvement to a word, idea, capital letter, space, or full stop. Partners give specific feedback such as, “I learned…” or “You could tell me more about…”

6. 28–30 min · Share and celebrate. Invite two or three students to read their texts to the class, using the sharing and celebration slide. Celebrate clear ideas, sentence structure, purposeful word choices, and illustrations that support meaning. Collect texts for sharing with the chosen audience.

Resources

• the Rain Writers Workshop teaching deck
• the three-part rain information writing page
• Whiteboard and marker
• Pencils, crayons, and erasers
• Class rain word bank display
• Student writing folders or display space

Assessment

• Listen during partner rehearsal for students explaining what rain is, what it is like, and what it does.
• During writing, check for three related sentences, appropriate rain vocabulary, a clear sequence, and developing use of capitals, spaces, and full stops.
• Use the partner response “What did you learn?” as a quick check that the text informs its audience; note students who need further support with sentence construction or rereading.

Differentiation

• Support writers by orally rehearsing each sentence, pointing to picture-supported word-bank items, and providing sentence starters: “Rain is…”, “Rain can be…”, and “Rain helps…”.
• Scribe a student’s spoken sentence, or provide a partially completed first sentence, while the student contributes words and rereads the finished sentence.
• Pair students thoughtfully for oral rehearsal and partner reading; allow students to draw first and label the illustration before writing.
• Extend confident writers by adding an if/then sentence or a fourth information sentence, while maintaining the purpose and audience of the text. Provide additional time or adult reading support for students who need it.