Language: EXPLANATION Unit Planner Gr3

Date:6 January 2015 Unit Length: 6 weeks

Stage 1 Desired Results
Conceptual Understandings: Explanations Essential Questions:
tell how and why things occur
What do explanations tell us? (purpose)
Where are explanation texts found? (real-life
application)
What do explanation texts look like? (structure)
What kinds of words are used in good explanation
texts? (grammar)
Students will know . . .(Knowledge)
- That explanation texts are used in
technical and scientific fields
- that the structure of explanations
includes an introductory statement,
an explanation sequence and a
concluding statement
- the common grammar used in
explanations: simple present tense,
conjunctions of time and cause;
passive voice, technical language

Students will be able to . . . (Skills)

Create explanation texts that follow the

appropriate purpose, the structure and
language features:

Build word families about the chosen

subject/experiment, etc.

Construct a complete sequence of events using

a variety of action verbs and conjunctions.

Use a variety of adverbial phrases.

Use conjunctions and connectives to organize

the flow of the text.

Stage 2 Assessment Evidence

Pre-Assessment: Students write an explanation on What Happens To The Snow prompts are
given to encourage paragraphing: Why does it melt? How does it melt? Where does it go?
Performance Tasks:
Other Evidence:
Students write an explanation text about
their chosen scientific experiment linked to
the Matter Unit of Inquiry
Stage 3 Learning Plan
Learning Experiences: (include differentiation)

Model oral explanations and have students identify the stages of an oral explanation. Make a class
chart exemplifying these stages and encourage students to refer to this when constructing their own
explanations.

Ask students to reconstruct an oral explanation using visual texts, e.g. flow charts, cross-sections,
timelines, as a prompt for the speaker or as a visual aid for the audience.

Match pictures/diagrams that show sequence of events, to highlight the purpose of explanations, to
explain how things work. Draw on class word banks of causal connectives to suggest words that could
link cause and effect, e.g. because, so, consequently, as a result.

Use questions that focus on the use of time connectives about a model or diagram, eg What happens
next? What will happen after that?

Students evaluate the effectiveness of different visual texts for oral explanations, eg photographs,
flow charts, demonstrations, samples, diagrams. Ask students to consider which visual text best
assists the audiences understanding of the topic.

Demonstrate how to summarize information from a written explanation using flow charts. Highlight
word clues, e.g. time connectives, or organizational features, e.g. paragraphs, that assist in
determining separate events.

In shared and guided reading, locate features of explanations that assist understanding, eg glossary,
diagrams, key words in bold text, clearly defined stages.

PARAGRAPH- SENTENCE-WORD from Visible Thinking Routines

Cut up cause and effect sentences. Read each part and ask students to decide if it is a cause or
effect. Reconstruct sentences so that the cause precedes the effect.

Relate class learning to outside experiences students explain their learning engagements in OLE.

Brainstorm a list of how and why questions related to the current unit of work. Identify the questions
that would be answered with an explanation, How does a puddle of water disappear? explanation.
Consider possible sources for answers to the questions.

Prepare for writing an explanation by labeling a diagram of an animal, plant, machine with its parts
and their function. Students can use the information on this diagram as a resource when writing an
explanation independently.

Use highlighters to identify time connectives in an explanation. Create word banks of time
connectives, e.g. before, while, until, and causal connectives, eg because, so, if so that, as a
resource for students to use in their writing.

Ask students to construct independently or in small groups different sections or events of an

explanation.

Edit an explanation on a familiar topic, which has events in the wrong order. Focus on the
importance of correct order to make meaning clear. Re-order the events with correct conjunctions
and connectives.