ALL ABOUT TEXT TYPES

Text Types

This pack of text samples is designed to help children learn the essence of each text type. Please note that these texts have been specially written so that they do conform to the same rules. They should be seen simply as a basis. Once children have assimilated these and are regularly using them in their writing, they should be encouraged to look at variations and more sophisticated models. It is assumed that the order of teaching is as follows: Teacher reads texts and encourages the class to suggest what the framework is (shared reading) Teacher shows more texts and encourages children to see if their framework still applies (shared reading) Teacher uses framework to model their own writing (modelled writing) Teacher and children write a text between them using the framework (shared writing) Groups of children write texts with teacher support (guided writing) Children write texts independently (independent work/extended writing) Check lists are provided so that children can self-mark. Recounts Non-Chronological Reports Instructions Explanations Newspaper Reports Persuasive Texts Discursive Arguments Biography

EXPLANATION TEXT

A.COMMUNICATIVE PURPOSE

·        To explain How/Why something occurs

B. GENERIC STRUCTURE

·        General Statement

·        Sequenced Explanations

·        Conclusion

C. OTHER FEATURES

·        Present Verbs

·        Process

·        Scientific

·        Explained in sequence

D. SOME EXAMPLES OF EXPLANATION TEXT

1.     Venus

How Venus eclipse happens is best given to an example of explanation texts. Explanation text is compose to describe how something forms and why something exists and happens.
What is an explanation text and how is the explanation text composed? Explanation text is structured by the generic level of general statement and followed with sequenced explanation. To have clear understanding on the explanation text, let's see the following example of explanation text!

2.     Photosynthesis

What is photosynthesis? Photosynthesis is a food-making process that occurs in green plants. It is the chief function of leaves. The word photosynthesis means putting together with light. Green plants use energy from light to combine carbon dioxide and water to make sugar and other chemical compounds.

How is the light used in photosynthesis?

The light used in photosynthesis is absorbed by a green pigment called chlorophyll. Each food-making cell in a plant leaf contains chlorophyll in small bodies called chloroplasts. In chloroplast, light energy causes water drawn form the soil to split into hydrogen and oxygen.

What are the steps of photosynthesis process? Let me tell you the process of photosynthesis, in a series of complicated steps, the hydrogen combines with carbon dioxide from the air, forming a simple sugar. Oxygen from the water molecules is given off in the process. From sugar together with nitrogen, sulphur, and phosporus from the soil-green plants can make starch, fat, protein, vitamins, and other complex compounds essential for life. Photosynthesis provides the chemical energy that is needed to produced these compounds.

3.     How is a Kite Flying?

A kite is an object which is made from a light material stretched over a frame. Due to its light material a kite will lift off the ground and fly when it is tilted into the wind.

A kite is uses wind to make it fly because it is heavier than air. When wind travels over the surface of the kite, it is split into two streams of air. One stream of the air goes over the kite while the second stream goes under the kite.

The upper stream creates an area of low pressure above the kite. The lower stream hits the kite at a shallow angle and creates an area of high pressure.

The high pressure area has a pushing effect while the low pressure area has a pulling effect. The combination of push and pull can creates enough force to lift the kite into the air.

Kites have been known for thousand of years. They are used for military or scientific purposes. Todays kites are much used for leisure and competition.

4.      How Earthquakes Happen

Earthquake is one of the most destroying natural disasters. Unluckily it often happens in several regions. Recently a horrible earthquake has shaken West Sumatra. It has brought great damages. Why did it occur? Do you know how an earthquake happens?

Earthquakes are usually caused when rock underground suddenly breaks along a fault. This sudden release of energy causes the seismic waves. It make the ground shake. When two blocks of rock or two plates are rubbing against each other, they stick a little. They don't just slide smoothly. The rocks are still pushing against each other, but not moving. After a while, the rocks break because of all the pressure that's built up. When the rocks break, the earthquake occurs.

During the earthquake and afterward, the plates or blocks of rock start moving, and they continue to move until they get stuck again. The spot underground where the rock breaks is called the focus of the earthquake. The place right above the focus is called the epicenter of the earthquake.

5.     How Chocolate is Made

Have we wondered how we get chocolate from? Well this time we will enter the amazing world of chocolate so we can understand exactly we are eating.

Chocolate starts a tree called cacao tree. This tree grows in equatorial regions, especially in place such as South America, Africa, and Indonesia. The cacao tree produces a fruit about the size of a small pine apple. In side the fruits are the tree's seeds. They are also known as coco beans.

Next, the beans are fermented for about a week, dried in the sun. After that they are shipped to the chocolate maker. The chocolate maker starts by roasting the beans to bring out the flavour. Different beans from different places have different qualities and flavour. So they are often shorted and blended to produce a distinctive mix.

The next process is winnowing. The roasted beans are winnowed to remove the meat nib of the cacao bean from its shell. Then the nibs are blended. The blended nibs are ground to make it a liquid. The liquid is called chocolate liquor. It tastes bitter.

All seeds contain some amount of fat and cacao beans are not different. However, cacao beans are half fat, which is why the ground nibs from liquid. It is pure bitter chocolate.

6.      The effects of acid soil

Soils with a pH of less than 7.0 are acid. The lower the pH, the more acid the soil. When soil pH falls below 5.5, plant growth is affected. Crop yields decrease, reducing productivity

Soils provide water and nutrients for plant growth and development. Essential plant nutrients include phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium and sulfur. Plants require other elements such as molybdenum, in smaller quantities. Some elements eg aluminium and manganese, are toxic to plants.

Nutrients become available to plants when they are dissolved in water. Plants are able to take up phosphate, nitrate, potassium and sulfate ions in solution.

The solubility of nitients changes with pH. In acid soils (low pH), molybdenum becomes less soluble and aluminium becomes more soluble. Therefore, plant growth may be affected by either a deficiency of molybdenum or too much aluminium.

Both crop and pasture plants are affected by acid soils. there may be a range of symptoms. Crops and pastures may be poorly established resulting in patchy and uneven growth. Plant leaves may go yellow and die at the tips. The root system of the plant may be stunted. Crops may yield less.

Plants vary in their sensitivity to low pH. Canola and lucerne are very sensitive to acid soils so do not grow well. Lupins and triticale are tolerant to soils of low pH so they still perform well.

Land can become unproductive if acid soil is left untreated. Incorporating lime into the soil raises the pH. Therefore, liming soil can reverse the effects of acid soil on plants and return a paddock to productivity.

7.     How does Rain Happen?

Rain is the primary source of fresh water for most areas of the world, providing suitable conditions for diverse ecosystems, as well as water for hydroelectric power plants and crop irrigation.

The phenomenon of rain is actually a water circle. The concept of the water cycle involves the sun heating the Earth's surface water and causing the surface water to evaporate. The water vapor rises into the Earth's atmosphere. The water in the atmosphere cools and condenses into liquid droplets. The droplets grow until they are heavy and fall to the earth as precipitation which can be in the form of rain or snow.

However, not all rain reaches the surface. Some evaporates while falling through dry air. This is called virga, a phenomenon which is often seen in hot, dry desert regions.

8.     Tsunami

The term of “tsunami” comes from the Japanese which means harbour ("tsu") and wave ("nami"). A tsunami is a series of waves generated when water in a lake or a sea is rapidly displaced on a massive scale.

A tsunami can be generated when the sea floor abruptly deforms and vertically displaces the overlying water. Such large vertical movements of the earth's crust can occur at plate boundaries.

Subduction of earthquakes are particularly effective in generating tsunami, and occur where denser oceanic plates slip under continental plates.

As the displaced water mass moves under the influence of gravity to regain its equilibrium, it radiates across the ocean like ripples on a pond.

Tsunami always bring great damage. Most of the damage is caused by the huge mass of water behind the initial wave front, as the height of the sea keeps rising fast and floods powerfully into the coastal area.

9.     How Cell Phone Work

A cell phone is a great gadget in this modern world. What is a cell phone? A cell phone is actually a radio in certain way. Like a radio, by a cell phone we can communicate to other people in real time. Million people use cell phone for their communication. Even nowadays, people use cell phones to communicate in voice, written and data. Alexander Graham Bell is the person who make great change in the way people communicate to each other. He invented a telephone in 1876. While wireless radio was formally known in 18994 presented by Guglielmo Marconi. By these two technologies, then a cell phone was born. However do you know how actually cell phones work?

This short explanation on how a cell phone work is really wonderful. A cell phone or in long term "cellular telephone' works by transmitting signals of radio to towers of cellular. The towers are networked to a central switching station. The connection usually uses wire, fiber optic-cables, or microwave.

Then the central switching station which handles calls in certain given area is directed connected to the wire-based telephone system. Cellulars are pick up by the towers and relayed to another cellular telephone user or the user of wire-based telephone network.

the towers vary in the capacity and capability to receive signals. Some can receive the signal from short distance and the others can receive more distance. However, there are usually more than one tower in certain given area so that the system can handle the increasing telephone traffic.