The Amazing Adventures of Seeds!

Learning Intention:

I am learning to identify ways that authors use structure and language features to meet the purpose of a text so that I can deepen my understanding of topic knowledge and ideas.

Success Criteria:

• I can explain the meaning of language features in a text.
• I can explain the characteristic structures of an informative text.
• I can explain how language features and structures help meet the purpose of a text.

Focus Question:

How can imagery be used to make information texts more engaging?

1st Reading:

Read the title, byline and abstract of the text, stopping at “travel great distances?”

Ask students:

What type of text do you think this is? Why?

Students may recognise that this is an information text from the word “article” and the abstract. They may also note that the text has subheadings, which is characteristic of information texts.

Ask:

What is the purpose of an information text?

(To provide information to the reader about a topic.)

Who is the intended audience? (School-aged children.)

Do you think the intended audience will make a difference to the type of language used? Why?

(Yes, because if the text is for children they’ll need simpler vocabulary, more questions in the text to think about and more dynamic writing.)

Read through each of the subheadings and discuss their meanings. Some discussion points are below.

Globetrotters

Metaphor – globe = world, trotters = someone who walks at a moderate pace

Personification – seeds do not have feet, but the word has been used for them.

Ready for take-off

Metaphor – take-off implies a plane, and the text in this section of the article uses imagery to further the metaphor before explaining how seeds actually fly.

Hitching a ride

Personification – to “hitch” is short for “hitchhike”, which people do to get from one place to another.

Kaboom!

Onomatopoeia – the use of an explosive sound and an exclamation mark suggests something violent happens. The illustration of a cannon helps further this imagery.

2nd Reading:

Have students locate the two questions in the text. (Seeds can grow into plants and trees, but did you know that seeds also have the ability to travel great distances? Why do seeds need to travel?) Ask:

Where do these questions occur in the text? (At the beginning.)

Why do information texts use questions at the beginning? (To get the reader thinking about the topic, to hook the reader, to guide the reader into the text.)

Read the text under the subheading Ready for take-off. Reread the following sentences:

• But don’t expect to find a family of seeds dragging their luggage to the airport.
• The one thing most winged seeds have in common is that they look like little wings.
• If you’ve ever blown a dandelion, you would have seen the tiny seeds flying away on their little parachutes.

Students choose one of these sentences to draw a funny cartoon to represent the imagery used in the sentence. For example, the first sentence could be represented with a drawing of a family of seeds dragging luggage at an airport, the second sentence could be represented by a seed that looks like a fairy, blowfly or dragonfly and the third sentence could be represented by dandelion seeds with literal parachutes jumping out of a plane.

After students have finished their cartoons, they can share it with the class. Ask:

Why did the text use this kind of imagery? (Students may link this question to the one about how the language in an information text will vary depending on its intended audience. Because the imagery is playful and connects to everyday life, students may note that it is used to help children visualise the different types of seeds.)

Do you think this imagery helped meet the purpose of the text? Why/Why not? (If students think the playful imagery helped them imagine the seeds, then they should recognise it provided them with information, which was the purpose of the text.)

3rd Reading:

Ask students to locate instances of the word “you” in the text.

Answers:

• You can find them in flowers, hanging around on trees and in fruits and vegetables.
• Seeds can grow into plants and trees, but did you know that seeds also have the ability to travel great distances?
• If you’ve ever blown a dandelion, you would have seen the tiny seeds flying away on their little parachutes.
• So, you guessed it,
• You probably didn’t expect that,
• Perhaps you can discover more for yourself.
• you never know where a seed might end up!

Ask:

Why has the author used the word “you” in this way? (Ensure students understand that speaking directly to the audience in this way gives the text a more immediate and friendly tone, inviting the reader to participate in the discussion without literally doing so.)

Text connectives

Point out the following sentence under the subheading Ready for take-off:

Another flying seed is the dandelion.

Ask:

What is the purpose of the word “Another” in this sentence?

Ensure students understand that:

- this word links the sentence to the previous paragraph in the text

- the previous paragraph talked about winged seeds, while this paragraph talks about dandelion seeds

- the sentence starting with “Another” is a topic sentence for a “body paragraph” in an information text, meaning it tells the reader what the paragraph will be about

After discussing the use of the word “Another” in this sentence, read the following sentence:

Another way seeds can hitch a ride is inside an animal’s stomach.

Have students write down the purpose of the word “Another” in this sentence, using their answers for the previous question as guidance.

When complete, ask the class again:

What was the purpose of this text? (To inform.)

What was the purpose of the word “Another” in the text? (To link the sentence to the last paragraph; to start a new topic)

Give students time to discuss, ask clarifying questions and build on each other’s ideas when asking the following question:

How do text connectives like the word “Another” help meet the purpose of the text? (It leads to the next body paragraph in a text, linking to the last topic before beginning a new topic under a similar heading. This characteristic structure is used to provide information to the reader, which is the purpose of the text.)