Year 4 elaborate on their explanations of eccentric machines!

In English, Year 4 have been learning all about the features and organisation of explanation texts. After looking at a range of examples, the children noticed that these are written in the third person, in the present tense and are organised into clear sections, often using questions as sub-headings. They discovered that these texts use a range of causal conjunctions to explain why and how (e.g because, so, therefore, consequently, as a result). They also found that time conjunctions may be included to order a process clearly (e.g firstly, after that, meanwhile). Next, the children came up with their own imaginative idea for a new machine, writing an explanation of who might use it and how it works. We had some great inventions, including the Lucky Love Machine, the Super Sports Maker and the Amazing Animalator, to name a few!

This writing links well with our topic, where the children are now putting their explanation skills to the test as they explain the different movements of Earth’s tectonic plates and how these can lead to natural disasters such as volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis. To make these easier to understand, the children are using a combination of text and clear diagrams. We are also looking forward to creating our own booklets all about volcanoes!