Writing

CURRICULUM FOCUS

This week in Writing, Grade 2 students will be creating individual explanation texts on a chosen topic.

VOCABULARY

An explanation text tells us how or why something happens. It explains something step by step so that we can understand it better.An explanation text tells us how or why something happens. It explains something step by step so that we can understand it better.

ACTIVITIES YOU CAN DO AT HOME TO SUPPORT YOUR CHILD'S LEARNING

With your child, use the structure and create an explanation text. 

Step 1: Choose a topic With your child, pick one interesting topic that they’d like to explain. Here are some ideas:

• How does a rainbow form?
• How do plants grow?
• How does a washing machine work?
• How do bees make honey?

Step 2: Follow the structure Help your child write their explanation text following this structure:

1. Title: What is your explanation about? (e.g., "How Bees Make Honey")
2. Defining Statement: Write a sentence to explain what the explanation is about.
   • Example: “Bees make honey, which is a sweet liquid that people love to eat.”
3. Description: Add a description to give more details about the topic. Describe what it looks like, what it does, or why it’s important.
   • Example: “Honey is golden and sticky. It has a sweet taste and is often used in tea or on toast.”
4. Steps/Process: Explain how the process works in order. Use sequence words like first, next, then, and finally.
   • Example: “First, bees fly from flower to flower collecting nectar. Then, they store the nectar in their hive. After that, they turn the nectar into honey.”
5. Conclusion: Write a closing sentence that sums up what your explanation was about.
   • Example: “This is how bees make honey and why they are so important to nature.”