WEEK 3:

EXPLANATION TEXT
LIFE CYCLE OF A CHICKEN.
WHAT IS AN EXPLANATION TEXT?

• Grown ups, please hide the answer to see if your child can remember

An Explanation Text is a non-fiction piece of writing which describes a process such as how a
car is made for example
MONDAY 4 MAY 2020 TH

WALT: SEQUENCE EVENTS

• As we continue with Sunny’s journey, he finds himself in Texas in a chicken farm! So within
English this week we are going to create a explanation text on the life cycle of a chicken.
• What do you already know about chickens? (Tell your grown up)

• Today we will be firstly looking at the features of a explanation text and then the life cycle of a
chicken, we will then create a story snake to show the life cycle.
• Grown up’s before going to the next slide, why not ask your child if they can recall any
features of an explanation text…..
STARTER ACTIVITY
FEATURES OF A EXPLANATION
TEXT.

•Using this key to help you,

can you identify some of the
features of a explanation text
on the WAGOLL The
WAGOLL will be on the next
slide
 The life cycle of a Monarch butterfly:
Did you know that a butterfly begins life as a caterpillar? Butterflies are
insects which go through a complete life cycle made up of four stages. This
includes egg, larva, pupa and the adult stage.

Egg stage
First, a female monarch butterfly lays a small, round egg on a suitable leaf. This
is important because once the egg hatches the leaf will provide all the food.
Then, after around four days the egg hatches and a larva also known as a
caterpillar emerges.

Larva stage:
Then in the larva stage, the small caterpillar gets straight to work and begins
eating the leaf around it. For around 2 weeks the caterpillar eats and eats and
sheds its skins four times in this stage as a result of it becoming larger.

Pupa stage:
After that, when the caterpillar is two weeks old it will find a place to create
its chrysalis and shed its skin one last time. This is usually on the underside of a
leaf. This is known as the pupa stage and lasts for 8 to 10 days. Inside the
chrysalis, the caterpillar is developing wings to transform into a beautiful
butterfly.

Adult stage:
Finally, once the 10 days have been completed the butterfly slowly emerges
from the chrysalis and it begins to create a straw out of its proboscis. It then
sucks the nectar through the straw. The blood pumps through the body of the
butterfly and into the developing wings therefore causing them to fully expand
in a few minutes. The transformation of a butterfly is then complete.
 LIFE CYCLE OF A
CHICKEN
• Today we will be looking at
the life cycle of a chicken,
watch the video that will go
through the stages of the
cycle.
• Then we would life you to
create a story snake going
through the life cycle, at each
stage you will need to:
1. Draw a small labelled picture of that
stage.
2. Write a short sentence describing
what stage of the chicken life cycle
this is.
LIFE CYCLE OF A CHICKEN
STORY SNAKE MODEL

• Refer to Mr Hopkin’s Morning Welcome for example of a story snake if you are unsure.
TUESDAY 5 MAY 2020 TH

WALT: WRITE IN THE PRESENT TENSE.

• When writing a explanation text we need to write in the present tense. Why do you think that
is?

• The present tense is used when describing an action that is currently happening, or an event

that happens regularly. 

Today you will be given a range of different sentences that are in past tense and you will then
edit/rewrite these sentences so that they are in the present tense.
 TYPES OF PRESENT TENSE
Let’s remind ourselves of the different ways we can write the present tense:
 Main task:
CONVERTING PAST TENSE INTO
PRESENT TENSE

Extension
As a extension can you rewrite this passage of text
in the present tense.

Jane will be going to Glasgow, for the Commonwealth

Games. She will be competing in the marathon, which
will be just over 26 miles long. She will have a team of
runners to help her. The goal she will have will be to win
the gold medal. She will do her best at all times. She will
take a lot of beating, as she will be the best in the world.
WEDNESDAY 6 MAY 2020 TH

WALT: CREATING TIME OPENERS AND

SENTENCES STARTERS.
• Today we are going to look at sentence openers for our explanation
text.
• On each slide we will be looking at different openers you can use.
• We would then like you to go back to you story snake and add in a
sentences opener that you could use. These will be used later in the
week to write your explanation text.
OPENING PARAGRAPH STATEMENTS

First we will look at openers you might use for your introductory paragraph

• This explanation will . . .

• The purpose of this explanation is to . . .
• This explanation is intended to . . .
• This explanation is designed to . . .
• The following information . . .
• It can be difficult to...so...
• Firstly, I
• Following that I intend to . . .
• The purpose of this explanation is to help . . .
TIME CONJUNCTIONS
Now onto time conjunction. We have looked at lot at time conjunctions and how we can use them to
show the time at which an event happened, these will be really important in our life cycle of a chicken
to give the reader a chronological idea of when the events happened. Here are some examples:
 CAUSE AND EFFECT CONJUNCTIONS
Causal conjunctions gives the reader an indication on why something has happened. This can be used in our
text to explain why certain events take place at different stages of the cycle.

• o So…
• o This causes . . .
• o As a result ...
• o This results in . . .
• o This leads to...
• o This is because . . .
• o This was because . . .
• o Because . . .
• o Therefore . . .
• o Furthermore . . .
YOUR TURN

• Now look back at your story snake and add in sentence openers you could use.
THURSDAY 7 MAY 2020 TH

WALT: WRITING EXPLANATION.

• Today we want you to write your explanation text on the life cycle of a chicken.
• Remember to use all the things we have looked at this week to help you. You should make sure
you are following your story snake to help you know what to include when.
EXPLANATION

Tells us how something works or gives us

Purpose information about something.
STRUCTURE
A general statement is used to introduce the topic of explanation.

There are lots of things we can do to stay healthy and to keep

illnesses away.

A series of logical steps explaining how or why something occurs.

The best drinks for staying healthy are water and milk.
Fruit juices can be good for us but they can have a lot of
sugar in them. Fizzy drinks are not good for us at all.

Steps continue until the final state is produced or the explanation is complete.
FEATURES
Explanations are written in the present tense.

Many birds fly south

Conjunctions that signal time are used in explanations.

then next several months later

Explanations are written using causal connectives.

because so this causes

FEATURES
• Title – explains what the text is for – life cycle of a chicken

• Opening Statement – about the subject

• Clear, simple points about why or how something occurs

• Technical words – where appropriate

• Conjunctions – e.g. because, resulting in

• Present tense

• Summary Paragraph
 Use a clear title Decide whether to
use diagrams,
that indicates
charts, illustrations
what you are or flow charts to
writing about. help explain.

Title and
Use the first Try to make the
paragraph to Introduction title intrigue the
introduce the reader.
subject to the What is the
reader. process of the life
cycle of a
Using how or chicken?
why in a title
helps.
ORGANISE THE WRITING AND ILLUSTRATIONS TO
EXPLAIN:
• What you need.

• How it works.

• Why it works.

• When and where it works.

• What it is used for.

• Add in extra, interesting information.

Interest the reader with an exclamation or question.

Beware – whirlwinds can kill!

Did you know...?

Interest the reader.

Strange as it may seem…,

Not many people know that…

 Reread the
explanation Finish by drawing
pretending that you all ideas together
know nothing about in a concluding
paragraph.
the subject. Does it
make sense?

Ending

If specialised
Relate the
terminology is
ending to the
used, a glossary
reader.
may be needed.