Explain It: Non-fiction and Feature Writing

You need: three model texts (a report, an explanation, a feature) · highlighters in three colours · large paper

1. Read each text once for the gist.
2. Highlight the title and lead in one colour, headings and topic sentences in another, and visuals in a third.
3. Draw each text's 'skeleton' as boxes: what comes first, next and last.
4. Compare the three skeletons. What is the same? What is different?
5. Write one rule for each type, such as 'Explanations follow the steps in order'.

How you'll know: You can look at a new non-fiction text and say what type it is, pointing to at least two features.

Go further: Rewrite the first paragraph of the report as a feature lead.

You need: your topic notes · four coloured cards

1. On card 1, write a lead that starts with a question.
2. On card 2, start with a surprising fact or number.
3. On card 3, drop the reader into a scene: 'It's 5 a.m. and the kererū are already feasting…'.
4. On card 4, start with a short quote from a real person.
5. Read all four to three classmates. Tally which one they'd keep reading, and ask why.

How you'll know: You chose a lead based on what real readers told you, and you can explain what makes it work.

Go further: Write a matching ending that circles back to your lead.

You need: class data (such as how everyone gets to school) · grid paper · coloured pencils · a spreadsheet (optional)

1. Collect a quick class survey with one clear question.
2. Tally the results and check the total matches the number of people.
3. Draw a bar graph with a title, labelled axes and a key if needed.
4. Draw the same data as a pie chart or pictograph.
5. Decide which graph explains the data better, and write a caption that tells readers what to notice.

How you'll know: Someone who hasn't seen the data can read your graph and tell you the main finding.

Go further: Find published data on the same question (for example from CensusAtSchool) and compare your class with the country.

You need: your topic notes · A3 paper · pencils and fine markers

1. Choose a process from your topic (how a kererū spreads seeds, how a river floods, how a building was made).
2. List the steps in order. Cut any that aren't needed.
3. Draw each step as a simple picture with an arrow to the next.
4. Add short labels using the correct topic words.
5. Test it: can a partner explain the process using only your diagram?

How you'll know: Your partner explains the process in the right order using your diagram alone.

Go further: Add a 'what if' branch showing what happens when one step fails (for example, no kererū left).

You need: four printed or on-screen sources about one topic (one weak) · source check card · reference list template

1. For each source, answer: Who made it? When? Why? What evidence does it give?
2. Rank the sources from most to least trustworthy, with a reason for each.
3. Find one fact that appears in two trusted sources. That fact is well supported.
4. Write a reference for each trusted source: author or organisation, title, date, website or publisher.
5. Check any image you want to use: is it Creative Commons or your own? Record the credit.

How you'll know: Your ranking has reasons, and every fact you plan to use has a reference you could find again.

Go further: Use a primary source (an old photo, letter or newspaper on Papers Past) and explain what it adds that a website can't.

You need: interview plan with 5–6 open questions · notebook or voice recorder (with permission) · a thank-you card

1. Write open questions: 'What was it like…?', 'How did…?', 'What do most people get wrong about…?'.
2. Introduce yourselves and explain what the article is for. Ask permission to record and to quote.
3. Ask your questions and listen. Ask one follow-up question you didn't plan.
4. Write down your best quote word for word, with the person's name and role.
5. Send a thank-you and offer to share the finished article.

How you'll know: You have at least one accurate, interesting quote that adds something your other sources didn't.

Safety: Interview in pairs, at school or with a whānau member present. Never meet someone you only know online. For iwi or whānau knowledge, ask how it may be shared.

Go further: Interview two people with different views and include both in your article.

You need: a list of 6–8 dry facts (teacher-supplied or your own) · transition word bank

1. Read the dry fact list. Which fact is most surprising? Start there.
2. Group the facts into two paragraphs with a clear topic sentence each.
3. Link the facts with transitions: because, as a result, however, for example.
4. Add one comparison readers can picture ('as heavy as a can of spaghetti').
5. Read it aloud. Does it flow? Does it still say only true things?

How you'll know: Your paragraph is more interesting than the list but every fact is still accurate.

Go further: Rewrite the paragraph for a much younger reader and compare the choices you made.