Turn a facts card into one clear paragraph
An informational paragraph helps a reader understand a focused subject. Here your reader is a learner who has never used a classroom reading box. Your job is to explain how the box works using the supplied facts. You are not being asked to persuade the reader that it is the best box or to invent a story about it.
All places, activities and figures in this lesson are fictional classroom data. Treat the cards as the evidence for your writing. You do not need internet research, private information or a real survey. A short planning map can help you group facts before you turn them into sentences.
Facts pack A: the travelling reading box
| Card | Fact |
|---|---|
| A1 | The travelling reading box is shared by three classes. |
| A2 | Each class keeps the box for one week before passing it to the next class. |
| A3 | The box contains twelve storybooks and six information books. |
| A4 | A contents list stays inside the lid. The receiving class checks the books against it. |
| A5 | Learners read the books in the classroom; they do not take them home. |
| A6 | Before passing on the box, the class checks the contents again and records any missing book on the list. |
| A7 | The outside of the box has a painted orange circle. |
P1. Choose the best opening for an explanation of how the box works: (a) “Orange is my favourite colour”; (b) “Three classes share a travelling reading box on a weekly rotation”; (c) “This box will make every learner a better reader”. Explain your choice.
P2. Which card is least necessary for this paragraph’s purpose? Explain when that detail might become useful.
A completed planning map
| Part | Selected information | Job in the paragraph |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Shared box; three classes; weekly rotation (A1–A2) | Tell the reader what arrangement is being explained. |
| Contents | Twelve storybooks and six information books (A3) | Explain what is shared. |
| Arrival and use | Check lid list; read in class, not at home (A4–A5) | Explain what happens while a class has the box. |
| Departure | Check again; record missing books (A6) | Complete the sequence without inventing a result. |
The whole first draft
The travelling reading box is orange and it is good. It has eighteen storybooks. The classes use it. They check it and keep it and they pass it. You can take the books home. There is a list. Everyone loves the box because it makes reading easy.
This draft has a topic, but some details are vague, inaccurate or unsupported. Adding capital letters will not repair those problems. Revision must first protect meaning. Check “eighteen storybooks” against A3 and “take the books home” against A5. The pack gives no satisfaction survey and no measured improvement in reading.
P3. Revise the whole first draft into one paragraph of about 80–110 words. Use cards A1–A6 accurately. Give the arrangement a clear opening, then organise the details from receiving the box to passing it on. Keep the paragraph informative. The word range is a practice guide, not a universal paragraph rule.
Independent facts pack B: the puzzle folder
| Card | Fact |
|---|---|
| B1 | A classroom puzzle folder contains eight picture puzzles. |
| B2 | Learners use the folder in pairs during the Friday activity period. |
| B3 | Each pair chooses one puzzle at a time. |
| B4 | Answers are kept in a separate envelope. Pairs compare an answer only after attempting the puzzle. |
| B5 | At the end of the period, pairs return each puzzle to its numbered pocket. |
| B6 | A learner helper checks all eight pockets before closing the folder. |
| B7 | The cover has a drawing of a hill. |
P4. Make a four-part plan and write a focused paragraph of about 80–110 words for a new learner. Explain the folder’s use. Underline your topic sentence. Then write two revision notes: name one change you made and explain why; identify one supplied detail you left out and explain why.
Answers and revision decisions
P1. Opening (b) identifies the arrangement and its timing using A1–A2. Opening (a) gives a personal preference unrelated to the procedure. Opening (c) invents a guaranteed improvement. A different accurate opening is acceptable if it introduces the same focus.
P2. A7 is least necessary when explaining rotation and use. The painted circle could help somebody identify the box among several boxes. Relevance depends on the reader’s question; the detail is not false merely because we omit it here.
P3 · One revised paragraph. Three classes share a travelling reading box on a weekly rotation. The box contains twelve storybooks and six information books. When a class receives it, learners check the books against the contents list inside the lid. They read the books in the classroom and do not take them home. Each class keeps the box for one week. Before passing it to the next class, learners check the contents again and record any missing book on the list. These checks happen at both the beginning and the end of a class’s turn.
| First-draft problem | Revision | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| “orange and it is good” | Open with three classes and weekly rotation. | State the focus and remove unsupported praise; A7 describes only an orange circle, not an entirely orange box. |
| “eighteen storybooks” | Twelve storybooks and six information books. | The total is eighteen books, but they are not all storybooks. |
| “They check it” | Name the books and the contents list. | Make the action and its reference clear. |
| “take the books home” | Read in the classroom; do not take them home. | Preserve the restriction in A5. |
| “Everyone loves” | End by summarising the two checks. | No preferences were supplied; the summary follows A4 and A6. |
Read the final paragraph as a writer
The first sentence names the shared arrangement. The second explains its contents. “When” introduces arrival; “Before” introduces departure. The phrase “the box” is repeated where needed so a new learner can follow the subject. “They” refers to the learners in the previous sentence, not to the books. These links organise the explanation without putting “firstly”, “secondly” and “thirdly” into every sentence.
The final sentence draws together facts already given. It does not have to announce a grand conclusion. Nor must every informational paragraph contain exactly this number of sentences. A paragraph is complete when it supplies the details its particular purpose needs, in a form the intended reader can follow.
Independent task: one plan and model
P4 · Plan. Focus: paired puzzle activity on Friday (B1–B2). Choice: one puzzle at a time (B3). Checking: attempt before consulting the separate answer envelope (B4). Return: numbered pockets and helper’s final check (B5–B6).
P4 · Model paragraph. During the Friday activity period, learners work in pairs with a classroom folder of eight picture puzzles. Each pair chooses one puzzle at a time and attempts it before comparing its answer with the answers in a separate envelope. The envelope is kept apart from the puzzles. At the end of the period, pairs return each puzzle to its numbered pocket in the folder. A learner helper then checks all eight pockets before closing it. The arrangement includes a time for attempting puzzles, a way to check answers and a final check that the folder’s contents have been returned.
P4 · Example revision notes. “I changed ‘look at answers’ to ‘attempts it before comparing its answer’ to preserve B4’s order.” “I left out the hill drawing because it does not explain how to use the folder.” Other justified revisions are welcome. The model’s last sentence summarises the supplied arrangement; it does not claim that nobody will ever lose a puzzle.
Feedback checklist
Check four things separately: focus, factual accuracy, sequence and clear sentences. Mark each as secure, developing or revisit, and cite a sentence as evidence. A well-written sentence containing a wrong fact still needs correction. A paragraph with accurate facts but no clear order needs reorganisation rather than a change to its data.
For support, let the learner arrange card labels before composing orally, then write the paragraph. For extension, change the audience to a visitor who needs to identify the box; discuss why A7 may then become relevant. Do not introduce real classmates’ private information.
Background: Purdue OWL’s paragraph guidance discusses focus, coherence and development. The data, drafts and revisions here are original. Broader collections are available through the Junior School resource hub; individual resources may have separate access conditions.
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