Writing a Fact Page

Overview

In this 45-minute lesson, pupils turn a simple plan into a clear fact page. They will orally rehearse ideas, watch the teacher model how notes become sentences, compose a shared section and then write independently using a title, labels and at least three relevant facts. This is lesson 12 of 16 in the unit “Labels, Facts and Sentences” and builds on pupils’ previous work organising information and labelling illustrations.

Learning intentions

• WALT write a fact page from a plan.
• WALT say a sentence aloud before writing it.
• WALT turn notes into clear sentences.
• WALT use labels and facts to explain an illustration.

Success criteria

• I can write a title that tells the reader what my page is about.
• I can add labels that match the illustration.
• I can write three or more relevant, clear facts.
• I can leave spaces between words and check that each sentence makes sense.

Curriculum links

• Writing composition — saying aloud what they are going to write about.
• Writing composition — composing a sentence orally before writing it.
• Writing composition — sequencing sentences to form short narratives or connected texts.
• Vocabulary, grammar and punctuation — leaving spaces between words and applying Year 1 grammar knowledge.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook and revisit. Open with the opening image and question showing an intriguing animal or plant illustration and ask, “What could we teach someone about this?” Pupils discuss what they notice with a partner, then recall that labels name parts while facts give information.

2. 5–13 min · I do: model from notes. Use the model fact-page slides and display a simple plan with a title, two labels and short notes such as “wings—help it fly” and “beak—picks up food”. Think aloud as you say, “The wings help the bird to fly,” then model writing it with spaces and a full stop. Show how the note is not copied as a list but changed into a sentence.

3. 13–23 min · We do: compose together. Reveal a shared illustration and plan on the shared composition slides. Invite pupils to identify a suitable title, match labels to the picture and orally compose three facts. Partners rehearse each sentence, counting the words on their fingers. Scribe the class’s agreed sentences, prompting: “Is this information about our picture?” and “Does it make sense when we read it back?”

4. 23–27 min · Explain the independent task. Display the instructions on the independent-writing slides and distribute the planned fact-page worksheet. Model choosing one note, saying the sentence aloud, writing it and checking it. Pupils must write a title, label the illustration and write at least three facts; remind them to use their plan rather than invent unrelated information.

5. 27–40 min · You do: write and confer. Pupils complete their fact pages independently, first orally rehearsing each fact and then writing it. Circulate to assess relevance, sentence clarity, word spacing and label placement; briefly conference with pupils by asking them to read a sentence aloud and improve it if needed. Early finishers complete the challenge on the worksheet or add a second labelled diagram.

6. 40–45 min · Share and review. Use the plenary and review slides to show the success criteria. Pupils read one fact to a partner, who checks whether it is relevant and clear and whether a label matches the illustration. Invite two or three pupils to share, then ask everyone to circle their best fact and state one improvement they could make.

Resources

• the fact-page teaching and plenary deck
• the planned fact-page worksheet
• Teacher model fact page and enlarged illustration
• Board or visualiser
• Pencils, rubbers and coloured pencils
• Word banks and sentence frames
• Tablets or speech-to-text tools, where appropriate

Assessment

• During oral rehearsal, listen for pupils composing complete, relevant sentences rather than repeating isolated notes.
• While circulating, check each pupil’s title, label accuracy, word spacing and minimum of three facts; record pupils needing further support with sentence construction.
• Use the final partner check and pupils’ circled best fact as an exit assessment of clarity and relevance.

Differentiation

• Support pupils with a reduced number of facts, a partially completed page, picture-supported word banks and frames such as “The ___ can ___.” or “The ___ has ___.” Rehearse each sentence orally before writing.
• Provide adult dictation, shared writing, scribing or speech-to-text support for pupils with fine-motor, language or recording needs. Accept oral responses during assessment where writing is a barrier.
• Support EAL pupils by pre-teaching key vocabulary with the illustration, matching spoken words to labels and pairing them with a supportive talk partner.
• Challenge confident writers to add a second labelled diagram or write an accurate sentence joined with “and”, checking that both ideas remain relevant.

Extension

• Add a second labelled diagram that gives the reader extra information.
• Join two accurate ideas using “and”, then read the sentence aloud to check that it remains clear.
• Improve one fact by choosing a more precise topic word from the word bank.