The definition and purpose of information reports

The definition and purpose of information reports Reports are factual texts which describe and classify the way things are. The things described and classified can be a range of phenomena in our natural or cultural environment

phenomena natural cultural • living • non-living • social • political • historical • technological

The structure of information reports Reports, like all text types, have a structural shape. The stages in the structure of a report are:

General classification where the phenomenon is identified and assigned to a general classification, e.g. Dolphins are mammals. This opening statement may be expanded in some following sentences Description of the phenomenon in a series of paragraphs each of which focuses on a feature, e.g. *parts and their functions; *qualities (e.g. appearance, size, colour, shape); *habits / behaviours (or uses if a non-living phenomenon).

Snakes General Classification Snakes are reptiles (cold blooded creatures). They belong to the same group as lizards but form a sub-group of their own. Snakes have a scaly skin and no legs. They can wriggle and slide out of their old skin and grow a bright new one. Female snakes lay eggs. When the baby snakes hatch out of the eggs they are small, sticky and have a bright scaly skin. They look just like a tiny version of the mother. Baby snakes have to look after themselves and find their own food. Some snakes kill animals such as frogs, fish, rabbits, rats and mice. They can kill these animals in two ways. Firstly by squeezing them, to death and secondly by injecting them with poison. Description

presentation Information reports are often accompanied by: • tables/diagrams; • illustrations with captions. The information must be organised and presented in a way that is clear.

language features generic (general) nouns, e.g snakes simple present tense (unless report concerns historical phenomenon)

language features • some action verbs especially when describing behaviour, e.g. Some snakes kill animals • the verb “to be” is used often in order to link bits of information, e.g. Snakes are reptiles. • the verb “to have” is also used often to describe attributes of the phenomenon, e.g. Snakes have a scaly skin and no legs.

Purpose and audience • The way information is conveyed is affected by the audience. Young audience: Adult audience: • short blocks of text; • longer text; • cartoons; • graphs; • illustrations. • pie charts.

Report writing activities • Find the facts: Read a factual text to the children and they must write down two or three of the important facts. Order these according to the children’s ideas of importance. • Text Titles: on OHP display a short report. After the children have read it, ask them to provide a heading for the text. • Text analysis: use the text as above but this time ask the children to suggest what each part of the text is about. This will enable them to see how the text is constructed. • Ask the expert: The children prepare an oral report to be presented to the class on a topic of their choice. They must be prepared to answer questions about their chosen topic so they need to read up on it. This is a meaningful way of encouraging them to read for information.

Beat the Panel: a group of children is given a report to read on a chosen subject (perhaps related to a topic being studied in the classroom). The group is then given a nominated time to read the report and to become ‘experts’ on the subject. At the same time, the rest of the class is required to read the same article and compose questions to ask “The Experts” about the article. The panel gains points for each correct answer and the class gains points for those questions that the panel cannot answer. This activity encourages the reading of factual texts and develops the ability to recognise important facts in a report.

News reports: individuals or a small group of children are given the task of presenting a report on the week’s news. Emphasis is on reporting the facts and not opinion. • Write, Read, Write: children are given a picture from a report or a copy of a report with the text blocked out and only the pictures, diagram and title visible. They write their own report for the pictures and share these with partners. The original text is uncovered and read by the children who then rewrite their reports to include the facts in the original text.

Writing to headings: The children can compose their own reports using guided headings. This is a very good way to help children organise their information for reports. For example: If the children are writing about a class topic on animals, the headings may be: • Description; • Habitat; • Food; • Enemies; etc

Grouping Information: • provide the children with a series of facts related to a particular topic. The children must group related facts ready for writing. • The children brainstorm all the information related to a set topic and group this information into related facts. They then provide a heading for each of these groups of information. Grouping activities help children develop a structure for report writing.

What I want to write about dolphins Description Enemies Habitat Breeding Food Movement Communication

What I know about dolphins • Live in the sea • Live in large groups called schools • Are very intelligent • Are mammals • Get caught in driftnets • Have a nostril on the top of the head

What I need to know about dolphins • FOOD What do they eat? How do they catch it? How much do they eat daily? • HABITAT Where are they found? Why? Are they migratory? • DESCRIPTION How many kinds of dolphin are there? What is the average size of an adult dolphin? How small is a newborn dolphin?

My research guide • I can get help from… • The school library • The local library • Danny’s Dad • Encyclopaedias • The Marine Centre • The Zoo • The Aquarium

summary of text types met so far (re-)tell (re-)tell or record reveal describe instruct purpose

The definition and purpose of information reports