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KS2 explanation text

4 replies

MrsTruper · 27/09/2014 08:42

Help needed please as my dd is confused about homework! She has to plan an explanation text with the question "What would you do with 1m pounds?" But she tells me that you are not supposed to write in the first person. I googled explanation texts and she is right, plus it says that they are non-fiction, technical etc.........HELP as I can't see how the question fits into the type of thing you would write about for an explanation text? Confused How would you approach this?

OP posts:
roaringwater · 27/09/2014 09:10

You don't say which year group of KS2, but if she was one of my Y5s, I'd be looking for this:

Introduction to set the scene - most people are constrained by their own earnings etc., but if you had £1m pounds, you would have a lot more freedom. Where might you get £1m? Inheritance? Lottery win?

Paragraphs explaining different options for using it

  • home
  • travel
  • massive shopping spree
  • charity
  • savings
(maybe not all of these - perhaps select 3. Possibly consider pros and cons of each use)

Conclusion - maybe consider whether money really would bring happiness.

The bit about not using 1st person is to encourage them to use phrases such as 'Some people think that...', 'It could be said that...' 'Occasionally, people spend money on...' - developing a more formal style of writing.

Not sure though, if it's a plan, how she's meant to show she's not writing in 1st person. If I was doing this in class, I would have them bullet point the content, and then alongside it (in class, I get them to use a different coloured pen) they would note key vocabulary and phrases they wanted to remember to use.

Hope this is helpful.

MrsTruper · 27/09/2014 09:30

ok thanks, so it is wider than just HER, and what SHE would do, it includes people/general....she will find that useful, thanks very much....

OP posts:
CatKisser · 27/09/2014 09:33

God I nearly had a heart attack - I've just set an explanation text for my class! Not with that title though. It seems an odd one to set, especially as they shouldn't be writing in the first person. Explanations are usually how something works, or how a phenomenon occurs, etc etc.
I think roaring's approach is the most sensible but it's not the easiest title to work with.

toomuchicecream · 27/09/2014 18:20

I agree - not an easy subject to write an explanation about at all.

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