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Primary English · Year 5Chapter 10 · Reading non-fiction: retrieving, summarising and fact or opinion
Year 5 English · Reading non-fiction: retrieving, summarising and fact or opinion · Lesson 10.1

Year 5 English: Text types and their purposes

Part of the Year 5 English reading non-fiction: retrieving, summarising and fact or opinion chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page

10.1

Text types and their purposes

Year 5
Read non-fiction for a purpose, from a range of text types (RC-Y5j, RC1b)
Story. Hana has to read two non-fiction texts for her science project. She asks herself two questions: what is the text for, and how is it set out? Her answers help her decide how to read each one.

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.

Key ideas

  • A report gives facts about a topic, in clear sections.
  • An explanation tells how or why something happens.
  • Instructions tell the reader how to do something, in order.
  • A biography tells the life story of a real or fictional person; a recount tells what happened, in order.
Worked example 10.1.1
What is the purpose of Why Bees Matter: to tell a story, or to give facts about bees?

Method. Look at the text type and what it does.

  1. Look at the content. It gives facts about bees and why they matter.
    facts
  2. Name the purpose. The purpose is to inform the reader.
    to inform
  3. Write the answer.
    to give facts about bees

Check. To give facts. ✓

Worked example 10.1.2
Which text type is Why Bees Matter: a recount, a report or instructions?

Method. Look at the layout and the purpose.

  1. Look at the layout. The text has bold headings and facts.
    bold headings
  2. Name the type. Its purpose is to report facts, so it is a report.
    a report
  3. Write the answer.
    a report

Check. A report. ✓

Worked example 10.1.3
How many paragraphs does Why Bees Matter have?

Method. Count the paragraphs.

  1. Count. There are three paragraphs.
    three
  2. Write. Three.
    3
  3. Write the answer.
    3

Check. Three. ✓

Exercise 10A  Practice: text types and purposes

1
FWhich text type gives instructions in order: a report or a set of instructions?
2
FWhich text type tells the life story of a person: a biography or a recount?
3
FWhich text type tells what happened on a trip, in order: an explanation or a recount?
4
FWhat is the purpose of an explanation text?
5
PSHow do we know that Why Bees Matter is not a recount?
6
PSWhich of these features is typical of a report: headings, a story character or a list of steps?
7
PSWhich text type would most likely use the word first, next and finally?
8
PSWhy might a reader use the headings in a report before reading the whole text?
9
RName one non-fiction text you have read this year, and say its text type and purpose.
10
RExplain why a writer might choose a report rather than a story to share facts.

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