Lesson Plan: Structuring for Clarity

Unit: The Writer's Toolkit | Time: 75 minutes

He Whakamārama (Rationale)

This lesson teaches students that a clear structure is like a skeleton for their writing—it holds everything together. By learning to identify and use common informational text structures, students can present their ideas logically, making their writing more effective and easier for the reader to understand.

Learning Intentions (WALT)

We are learning to...

Identify different informational text structures.
Understand when to use each structure.
Write a paragraph using a specific text structure.

Success Criteria (WILF)

What I'm looking for...

I can name three text structures and give an example for each.
I can match a topic to the best structure.
I can write a paragraph that clearly follows one of the structures.

Resources

Student Handout: Structuring for Clarity
Whiteboard or Projector
Student notebooks or devices

Lesson Sequence (75 Minutes)

1. Starter: Unscramble the Story (10 mins)

Teacher Action: Provide students with a short paragraph (4-5 sentences) that has been cut up into individual sentences and jumbled. The paragraph should have a clear chronological order (e.g., the steps for making toast). In pairs, students must reassemble the paragraph into a logical order.

Student Action: Students work in pairs to sequence the sentences correctly. Discuss why their chosen order makes the most sense.

2. Introduction: Building a Framework (15 mins)

Teacher Action: Introduce the three main text structures from the handout: Chronological, Compare/Contrast, and Cause/Effect. For each one, draw a simple icon on the board (e.g., a timeline for chronological, a Venn diagram for compare/contrast, a flowchart for cause/effect). Briefly explain the purpose of each.

Student Action: Students take notes, perhaps sketching the icons next to the definitions on their handout.

3. "I Do" & "We Do": Structure Sorting (20 mins)

Teacher Action: Use the "Deconstruction" examples from the handout. Read the first one aloud ("Due to a lack of rainfall..."). Ask students: "Which structure is this? What are the signal words?" Confirm it's Cause/Effect. Repeat for the second example.

Teacher Action: Provide a list of writing topics on the board (e.g., "My first day of school," "Cats vs. Dogs," "The effects of social media," "How to make a pūrini"). As a class, sort the topics under the best text structure heading.

Student Action: Students participate in identifying the structures and sorting the topics.

4. "You Do": Independent Application (20 mins)

Teacher Action: Direct students to the "Application" task on their handout. Instruct them to choose one topic and write a short paragraph using the specified structure. Remind them to use the signal words.

Student Action: Students work independently to write their structured paragraph.

5. Plenary: Peer Review (10 mins)

Teacher Action: Have students share their paragraph with a partner. The partner's job is to identify the structure used and one signal word that proves it.

Student Action: Students read their partner's work and provide feedback based on the task instructions.

Differentiation & Teacher Notes

Support: Provide sentence frames for each structure (e.g., "The first thing that happened was... Then...", "One similarity is... however, a key difference is...", "Because of..., the main result was...").
Extension: Challenge students to write a paragraph that combines two structures. For example, a paragraph that compares and contrasts the causes of two different historical events.
Cultural Note: Briefly mention that whakapapa is a powerful and complex structure. It is chronological (listing generations in order) but also relational, showing the connections between people, places, and events, similar to cause and effect.

📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot

Ngā Whāinga Ako — Learning Intentions

Students will engage with this resource to develop literacy, critical thinking, and writing skills, with connections to Te Ao Māori and real-world New Zealand contexts.

Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria

✅ Students can apply the key skill or concept from this resource in their own writing or analysis.
✅ Students can explain the learning using their own words and connect it to a real-world context.

Differentiation & Inclusion

Scaffold: Provide sentence starters, graphic organisers, and entry-level tasks. Offer extension challenges for capable learners to address a range of readiness levels.

ELL / ESOL: Pre-teach key vocabulary before the lesson. Provide bilingual glossaries and allow first-language drafting.

Inclusion: Neurodiverse learners benefit from chunked instructions and visual supports. Ensure accessible formats throughout.

Curriculum alignment

English — Writing: Students will construct and communicate meaning using language features appropriate to purpose and audience.
Social Sciences: Understand how people participate individually and collectively in response to community challenges.