Tuesday, 12 August 2025

Informational Writing

 

What is Informational Writing?

Informational writing, also known as expository writing, is a type of non-fiction writing that explains, describes, or informs the reader about a specific topic. Unlike narrative writing, which tells a story, informational writing focuses on facts and evidence to present information clearly and objectively. 🧐

Key characteristics include:

  • Facts, not fiction: The content is based on real-world information and evidence.

  • Clarity and organization: Ideas are structured logically, often using headings, subheadings, and paragraphs to make the information easy to follow.

  • Objective tone: The writer's personal opinions are not included. The goal is to present information impartially.

  • Formal language: Uses specific vocabulary related to the topic.


Why is Informational Writing Important for Primary Students?

Teaching informational writing helps students develop essential skills that they'll use throughout their academic and professional lives. 🎓

  • Reading comprehension: By writing informational texts, students gain a deeper understanding of how these texts are structured, which in turn improves their ability to comprehend similar texts they read.

  • Research skills: It encourages students to seek out and evaluate information from various sources like books, websites, and interviews.

  • Critical thinking: Students learn to analyze information, identify key facts, and synthesize them into a coherent piece of writing.

  • Communication: It gives students a structured way to share what they've learned with others.


Practical Classroom Strategies for Teachers

Here are some effective strategies to help your students master informational writing. ✍️

1. Model the Process

Show students what a finished informational text looks like and how it's constructed.

  • Mentor Texts: Use high-quality non-fiction books as examples. Point out features like the table of contents, glossary, headings, and images with captions.

  • Think-Alouds: As you write a sample text on the whiteboard, vocalize your thought process. For example, "I'm writing about penguins. I'll start with a heading, 'What is a Penguin?' and then add some facts I know."

2. Provide Structured Scaffolding

Break down the writing process into manageable steps.

  • Graphic Organizers: Use simple templates like KWL charts (What I Know, What I Want to know, What I Learned) to help students organize their thoughts before writing.

  • Sentence Starters: Offer sentence stems to help students begin their sentences. For example, "Did you know that...", "The main reason is...", or "For example...".

3. Encourage Research and Exploration

Make the research phase fun and interactive.

  • Topic Selection: Let students choose a topic they are genuinely interested in. This increases their engagement and motivation.

  • Mini-Projects: Turn research into a small project. Students can watch a short documentary, read a book, or even conduct a simple "interview" with a family member who knows about the topic.

4. Focus on Specific Features

Teach students about the conventions of informational writing.

  • Text Features: Create an anchor chart listing common features like headings, bold words, diagrams, and captions. Have students identify these features in mentor texts.

  • Glossary Creation: Encourage students to create a simple glossary for their writing, defining key vocabulary words.

5. Emphasize Revision and Editing

Help students refine their work.

  • Peer Review: Pair students up to read each other's work and offer constructive feedback. Use a simple checklist to guide their review.

  • Checklists: Provide a checklist that focuses on both content (e.g., "Did I include three facts?") and mechanics (e.g., "Did I use capital letters and full stops?").

Tuesday, 5 August 2025

Google Gemini


Professional Development: Unpacking Google Gemini for Aotearoa Educators

As a teacher in New Zealand, the integration of AI tools like Google Gemini into our professional practice presents a significant opportunity to streamline workflows and enrich learning experiences. Gemini, an advanced AI assistant, is built on a multimodal model, meaning it can understand and process different types of information, including text, images, and code. This versatility is its core strength, allowing educators to move beyond simple text-based queries. The key functions for us as teachers include rapid content generation, from drafting lesson plans and creating rubrics to generating quiz questions and vocabulary lists. This can drastically reduce the time spent on administrative and preparation tasks, freeing up valuable time for direct student interaction and support.

Beyond content creation, Gemini’s integration with Google Workspace for Education is a game-changer. For those of us using Google Classroom, Docs, and Gmail, Gemini can summarise long email threads, draft communications to whānau, and even generate ideas for projects aligned to our curriculum. This seamless integration means we don't have to switch between multiple applications, making our digital workflow more efficient. Furthermore, features like "Gems" allow us to create custom AI experts tailored to specific learning needs. We could, for example, create a "study partner" Gem that provides support and practice materials on a particular topic, grounded in our own classroom resources. This moves AI from a general tool to a personalised assistant for both teachers and students.

However, as we embrace these powerful tools, it's crucial to approach their use with a critical and ethical lens. While Gemini is a powerful co-creator and time-saver, it is not a replacement for our professional expertise. We must always fact-check and refine any AI-generated content to ensure its accuracy, cultural appropriateness, and alignment with the New Zealand Curriculum and our school's values. As kaiako, our role is to model responsible digital citizenship, teaching our students how to use these tools ethically. The goal is to use Gemini to amplify our teaching, not to automate it entirely, fostering critical thinking and creativity in a way that respects academic integrity and promotes a balanced integration of technology into the learning process.