Lesson Title:Lions! Developing Paragraphing Skills......
Date / Lesson No. / 1 of 1Session Duration / 60 minutes / Year/Class / Year 7
Total Pupils / Ability / Mixed
Aim(how does this session fit into the bigger picture?)
Writing: AF3 organise text and ideas, AF4 construct paragraphs (cohesion between paragraphs), AF1 write imaginative, interesting texts, AF7 select appropriate vocabulary
Reading: AF3 deduce, interpret information or ideas from texts
Learning Objectives
1 / To be able to categorize information appropriately into relevant topics
2 / To understand what a paragraph is and when to start a new one in a piece of writing.
Differentiated Learning Outcomes / Check points (formative assessment)
Achievement of learning will be monitored by…
AllWill be able to categorise the facts about lions / Class feedback
Most Will be able to use those facts to write paragraphs for each topic / Class feedback
Take in students’ work
SomeWill use interesting vocabulary to enhance the facts and create effective paragraphs that are cohesive and well-structured / Class feedback
Take in students’ work
What resources do I need to prepare/book?
Sugar paper categories for the wall – blue tack, post-it notes
PowerPoint Presentation
Lion Facts, one set per pair (see below)
Handouts
Homework
Date to submit
Session Sequence
Time(mins) / Teacher’s activity / Pupils’ activity
Before the lesson: Pin 4 sheets of sugar paper to classroom walls, labelled Habitat, Behaviour, Appearance and Diet respectively.
10 / STARTER:Pupils are given 2 or 3 post-it notes as they enter the classroom.
(Whilst pupils are sticking their post-it notes up, teacher distributes Lion Facts, cut up and contained in an envelope)
Lead feedback; display and discuss the Learning Objectives
PowerPoint slides 1 -2 / Pupils are asked to write a fact they already know about lions on each post-it and then stick them on the relevant sheet of sugar paper.
Pupils explain how they know where to stick each fact.
10 / MAIN:
Explain task
Lead feedback using the board. Write numbers in appropriate column.
PowerPoint slide 3 / Working in pairs, pupils arrange Lion Facts into the appropriate category.
Differentiation:
Support the less able by pairing them with a more able pupil.
Ask the more able to write a definition of each category, and compare their definition against the dictionary version.
10 / Show YouTube clip(CBBC’s ‘Deadly 60’)
Discuss – point out interesting features Steve Backshall uses to describe/ inform viewer about the animal.
Distribute handout whilst pupils watch clip
Explain main task, using PowerPoint and handout
PowerPoint slides 4 - 7 / Watch clip and discuss
Guided reading of handout
18 / Model –show how one of the facts could be written it in a more interesting and engaging way.
Remind pupils toindent new paragraphs when writing in their books.
PowerPoint slides 8 - 9 / (Begin to) write article.
Differentiation:
Less able can use word banks and sentence starters as prompts; encourage more able to create their own.
Targets for more able:use facts from the Deadly 60 clip too /make cohesive paragraph links
12 / PLENARY: Peer assessment in pairs or threes. (Arrange pairs so that pupils are of similar ability.)
Invite pupils to share examples of their work they are proud of and comment/ask pupils to comment on how it shows the lesson objectives have been achieved.
PowerPoint slide 10 / Peer assessment - pupils ask:
- is each paragraph about one of the specified topics?
- does each paragraph include a suitable topic sentence?
- are the facts explained in an interesting way?
Lion Facts: to be cut up and distributed to pairs of pupils
Diet
Behaviour
Habitat
Appearance
1. Lions live in groups called prides.
2. Male lions have a thick mane of brown and black hair that encircles their head and neck.
3. Lions are found in savannas, grass lands, dense bush and woodlands.
4. Lions are the least active of the big cats. They usually spend 16 to 20 hours a day sleeping and resting.
5. Lions keep in contact with one another by roaring loudly enough to be heard up to 5 miles away.
6. Lions eat prey such as wildebeests, zebras, buffaloes, young elephants, rhinos, hippos and giraffes.
7. Lions hunt at any hour, but normally go after large prey at night.
8. Lion cubs weigh about 3 pounds.
9. Lions usually drink water daily but can go four or five days without it.
10. Not all lions live in prides. Young male lions leave their original pride when they reach maturity and can spend years living by themselves until they are strong enough to take over another pride.
11. The tails of lions end in a spine covered with a tuft of hair.
12. The average pride consists of around 15 individuals, including 5 to 10 females with their young and two or three territorial males that are usually brothers or pride mates.
13. Females do 85 to 90% of the pride’s hunting, while the males patrol the territory and protect the pride.
14. Lions often take kills made by hyenas, cheetahs and leopards; scavenged food provides more than 50% of their diets.
15. Lions are generally a tawny yellow colour.
16. With some males exceeding 250kg (550lb) in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger.
17. The lions’ habitat in India is a mixture of dry savanna forest and very dry scrub forest.
18. The habitat of lions originally spanned the southern parts of Eurasia, ranging from Greece to India, and most of Africa except the central rainforest-zone and the Sahara desert.
19. In the wild, lions live for around 10 - 14 years, while in captivity they can live over 20 years.
20. Most lions now live in eastern and southern Africa
Using Paragraphs
A paragraph is a section of a piece of writing. A new paragraph marks a change of focus, a change of time or, in dialogue, a change of speaker.
You are going to write a magazine article for young people about lions. It should include some of the facts from earlier in the lesson.
Each paragraph should be about a different topic:
A lion’s:
- Habitat
- Appearance
- Behaviour
- Diet
Write your paragraphs in this order. Remember to make the facts into fun and interesting sentences.
- Be descriptive
- Write in a friendly tone.
You might want to use some words from this Word Bank – or find lots of other interesting words of your own!
Ferocious / Powerful / Strong / IncredibleAmazing / Magnificent / Tremendous / Resilient
Beautiful / Mighty / Formidable / Huge
Dominant / Massive / Fierce / Muscular
©Teachit.co.uk 2012 18391Page 1 of 6