Year 5 English: Retrieving and noting information
Part of the Year 5 English reading non-fiction: retrieving, summarising and fact or opinion chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Retrieving and noting information
Why Bees Matter (a report)
Bees are insects that help plants to make seeds and fruit. When a bee lands on a flower to collect nectar, pollen sticks to its fur. The bee carries the pollen to the next flower it visits.
Many of the foods we eat depend on bees. Apples, strawberries and runner beans all need to be pollinated before they can produce fruit or seeds.
Bees are in danger. Some farm sprays can harm them, and wild meadows have been turned into roads and houses. Gardeners can help by planting flowers of many colours and by leaving a patch of grass to grow long.
Bee visits in one week (a table from a school garden)
The pupils counted the bee visits to four plants on sunny afternoons.
| Plant | Bee visits |
|---|---|
| Lavender | 24 |
| Clover | 31 |
| Sunflower | 18 |
| Mint | 9 |
Key ideas
- To retrieve information, find the key words in the question, then scan the text for them.
- Notes are short: key words and short phrases, not whole sentences.
- Write notes in your own words, so you show that you understand.
- Check the notes against the text to make sure they are right.
Method. Look for the key word in the question.
- Choose the key word. The question asks about pollen.pollen
- Scan the text. Pollen is in the first paragraph, on the bee's fur.first paragraph
- Write the answer. pollen
Check. Pollen. ✓
Method. Find the list in the second paragraph.
- Find the list. Apples, strawberries and runner beans are named.three foods
- Write the note. Foods: apples, strawberries, runner beans.apples, strawberries, runner beans
- Write the answer. apples, strawberries, runner beans
Check. The three foods. ✓
Method. Find the largest number in the table.
- Read the numbers. Lavender 24, Clover 31, Sunflower 18, Mint 9.31
- Choose the largest. 31 is the largest number, for clover.Clover
- Write the answer. Clover
Check. Clover had 31 visits. ✓
Exercise 10B Practice: retrieving and noting
Method. Look for the word in the first paragraph.
- Scan the text. Pollen sticks to its fur.pollen
- Write the answer. Pollen.pollen
- Write the answer. pollen
Check. Pollen. ✓
Method. Find the sentence about collecting.
- Find the sentence. A bee lands on a flower to collect nectar.nectar
- Write the answer. Nectar.nectar
- Write the answer. nectar
Check. Nectar. ✓
Method. Find the paragraph about danger.
- Find the paragraph. The third paragraph says bees are in danger.third paragraph
- Write a note. Danger: farm sprays, and meadows lost to roads and houses.farm sprays
- Write the answer. Accept any danger, such as sprays on farms or loss of wild meadows
Check. A correct danger is noted. ✓
Method. Count the rows.
- Count. Lavender, clover, sunflower and mint.four
- Write. Four.4
- Write the answer. 4
Check. 4. ✓
Method. Find the sunflower row.
- Find the row. Sunflower has 18 bee visits.18
- Write. Eighteen visits.18
- Write the answer. 18
Check. 18. ✓
Method. Find the smallest number.
- Read the numbers. Lavender 24, Clover 31, Sunflower 18, Mint 9.9
- Choose the smallest. 9 is the smallest, for mint.Mint
- Write the answer. Mint
Check. Mint had 9 visits. ✓
Method. Subtract the smaller number from the larger.
- Find the numbers. Clover 31, mint 9.31 and 9
- Subtract. 31 minus 9 is 22.22
- Write the answer. 22
Check. 22 more visits. ✓
Method. Try each pair of numbers.
- Try lavender and sunflower. 24 plus 18 is 42.42
- Check the answer. Lavender and sunflower had 42 visits.Lavender and Sunflower
- Write the answer. Lavender and Sunflower
Check. Lavender and sunflower. ✓
Method. Name the topic and the measure.
- Name the topic. Bee visits to plants.bee visits
- Write the note. Bee visits to four plants, counted in one week.four plants
- Write the answer. Accept any note, such as bee visits to four plants in one week
Check. The note names the topic. ✓
Method. Look at what the table says about the counting.
- Find the detail. The pupils counted visits on sunny afternoons.sunny afternoons
- Explain. The same conditions make the counts fair to compare.fair to compare
- Write the answer. because bees are more active in sunny weather, so the counts would be fairer
Check. The count used sunny conditions. ✓
Method. Think about what the report does and does not say.
- Check the report. It does not give numbers of bees in a hive.no numbers
- Name the need. Look up the number in another source.another source
- Write the answer. Accept any reasonable question that the report does not answer, such as how many bees live in a hive
Check. Not in the report. ✓