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Year 1 Non-fiction - Unit 4 - Suggested teaching approaches

Note: Children working significantly above or below age-related expectations will need differentiated support, which may include tracking forward or back in terms of learning objectives. EAL learners should be expected to work within the overall expectations for their year group. For further advice see the progression strands and hyperlinks to useful sources of practical support.

Phase 1: Reading; exploration (5 days)

Teaching content:

  • Using another curriculum area as a starting point, model how to ask questions, for example How many wheels does a fire engine have? Ask children how they know whether you are asking a question or not. Focus on question words and inflection of voice.
  • Demonstrate how to use an information text to find the answers, showing how the index, contents page and glossary work.
  • Play games sorting books into fiction and non-fiction and matching key words to books, for example, 'Does 'fire engine' come from the book about things with wheels or the book about sewing?' Give children words from the index of a book and ask them if they can sort them into the right order, using the alphabet to help.
  • Ask children to come up with their own questions in pairs. Discuss what makes a good question. Are there some questions which couldn't be answered? Why not? Help children begin to distinguish between sensible questions (which may, however, not be able to be answered by a particular book) and those with no answers, for example How many wheels are there in the world? Demonstrate how to find the answer to one or two questions and then ask children to demonstrate to others how to do it.
  • Carry out practical work relating to the curriculum area, for example, playing with wheeled toys in the playground (see Developing early writing, unit 6: Wheels pp. 66-69.) Discuss activities with children, encouraging them to ask questions and make observations. Record activities using a digital camera.

Learning outcomes:

  • Children can ask simple questions.
  • Children can identify a contents page and an index in an information text. They can use these to find the right page to answer simple questions, for example Where would I find out about kittens?