Year 4 English · Reading fiction and vocabulary · Lesson 8.1

Year 4 English: Retrieving and recording information

Part of the Year 4 English reading fiction and vocabulary chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page

8.1

Retrieving and recording information

Year 4
Find a fact that the writer has stated, and check that the answer makes sense (RC2a), Record the facts clearly in a list or table, ready to explain your understanding (SL1)

Story. Lena is helping at a night market while her aunt is busy. Visitors ask her questions, so she checks the facts in the story before she answers them.

Retrieving means finding information that the writer has stated. A stated fact is written in the text, so you can point to the sentence that gives it. Read the question first, then search the text for the key words in the question.

Recording means writing the facts down clearly, in a list, a table or a short note. A table with a column for each question word keeps the facts in order.

Question word	What to look for	Example from a story
Who?	a name or a group of people	Joss
Where?	a place	on the harbour wall
When?	a time or day	at half past eight
What?	an object or an event	painted shells

Key ideas

Retrieving means finding a fact the writer has stated, and pointing to the sentence that gives it.
Use the question words who, where, when, what and how many to search the text.
Record facts in a list or table, with one fact in each row or box.
A fact must come from the text. Do not record what you think might have happened.

Read: The Night Market

Every summer, the village of Marlow Cove holds a night market on the harbour wall. Lena helped her aunt set up their stall at six o'clock. By seven, there were fourteen stalls, a band playing near the boats, and the smell of fried fish drifting along the quay. Lena's aunt sold honey, and Lena sold painted shells for two pounds each. At half past eight, a small boy named Joss ran up to the table. He had lost his blue scarf near the lanterns. Lena did not hesitate. She pulled a spare scarf from her bag and handed it to him. "Keep it until you find yours," she said. Joss grinned and ran back into the crowd. At the end of the night, Lena counted her money. Her shells had made eight pounds, and her aunt had sold every jar of honey.

Worked example 8.1.1

Use this extract: The shop on Oak Road opened at nine and sold fresh bread, cakes and milk. What time did the shop open?

Method. Find the question word, then find the matching words in the text.

Find the question word. When asks for a time.
When did the shop open?
Find the time in the extract. The extract says the shop opened at nine.
opened at nine
Check that it is a time. Bread, cakes and milk are things to buy, not times.
at nine
Write the answer.
at nine

Check. The extract states the time. ✓

Worked example 8.1.2

Record the who, where and when of this extract in a table: On Saturday, Hana and her brother cycled to the lake at noon.

Method. Make one row for each question word, and copy the matching words.

Find the who. Who is the name or the group of people.
Hana and her brother
Find the where. Where is the place they went.
the lake
Find the when. When is the day and time.
On Saturday, at noon
Write the answer.
Who: Hana and her brother; Where: the lake; When: Saturday at noon

Check. Each row has one fact from the extract. ✓

Watch out. Copy the words from the extract. Do not add extra details.

Worked example 8.1.3

Which statement is not a fact in this extract? Mia wore a green hat to the park, and it started to rain. A: Mia wore a green hat. B: Mia had a dog. C: It started to rain.

Method. Check each statement against the extract.

Check statement A. The extract says Mia wore a green hat.
A is in the extract
Check statement C. The extract says it started to rain.
C is in the extract
Check statement B. The extract does not mention a dog, so this is not a fact from the text.
B is not in the extract
Write the answer.
Mia had a dog (B), because the extract does not mention a dog

Check. Only B is missing from the extract. ✓

Watch out

Watch out: write only what the text states. A reader may guess that Lena felt proud, but that is not stated in the text, so do not record it as a fact.

Exam tip

Grown-up tip. Read the box together. Ask your child to point to the sentence that answers each question, then copy the fact in their own words.