• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (What kind of text is it? Fable, myth, biography, instructions…; Poems: rhyme, rhythm and repeated lines). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. Which kind of text is this? A text that reports real events that have just happened. (poem / fantasy / fable / news report) → news reportPrompt: Is it true (non-fiction) or made up (fiction)?
2. Leaves are falling, red and brown, Twirling, swirling, floating down. I will catch one in my hand Before it lands upon the land. Which word rhymes with 'brown'? (leaves / falling / red / down) → downPrompt: Rhyming words have the same sound at the end: cat, hat.
3. Long ago, people told how the Moon was once as bright as the Sun. The Sun grew jealous, so the Moon agreed to shine only at night, softly, so both could share the sky. What kind of text is this? (realistic fiction / news report / myth / instructions) → mythPrompt: Is it true or made up?

• Read the first lines of a short text aloud and ask what students predict will happen and why.
• Share the objective: Poem, play or prose? Spot the features. Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: The beach was turning gold as the sun went down. Captain Rosa ordered her crew to pull the boat higher up the sand. Finn, gasping, complained that it was too heavy, so they counted to three and heaved together. Is this a poem, a play or prose?
• Step 1: Poems, plays and prose are set out in different ways.
• Step 2: It is a paragraph of sentences, with the speech reported by a narrator.
• Step 3: So the answer is: prose
• Answer: prose
• Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

• Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
• Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

1. The beach was turning gold as the sun went down. Captain Rosa ordered her crew to pull the boat higher up the sand. Finn, gasping, complained that it was too heavy, so they counted to three and heaved together. Is this a poem, a play or prose? (poem / play / prose) → prosePrompt: Look at how it is set out on the page.
2. Choose the right word. Ordinary writing in sentences and paragraphs is called… (stage directions / verse / prose / rhyme) → prosePrompt: Think about what each kind of text looks like.

• Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
• Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

• Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

1. Robot, robot, tidy my room, sweep up the socks with your whirring broom. Robot, robot, don't eat my sweets! Robot, robot, wash the sheets! Is this a poem, a play or prose? (poem / play / prose) → poemPrompt: Look at how it is set out on the page.
2. Choose the right word. A play is usually divided into… (stanzas and lines / chapters and captions / acts and scenes / verses and rhymes) → acts and scenesPrompt: Think about what each kind of text looks like.

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-4.