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Reading and Writing 6-8 / Week 08 / Friday
5/6
Week 08 · Explanatory Writing

Friday

Nova's Signal Review
// Explain something clearly, section by section
⏱ about 20 min

Friday: Nova's Signal Review

Nova hovers above the Signal Desk while Rocket reads the whole explainer aloud for the first time.

Topic sentence. The two sides. The rules. Care. Conclusion.

When he finishes, nobody speaks for a moment. Then Raven taps the table. "What do you notice about your third section?"

Rocket rereads it. "No transition. Two bricks."

"And the conclusion?"

"It says the ramp is awesome." He winces. "Opinion. Not in the notes."

Nova brightens. "Two fixes, and you found both yourself," she says. "That is what a review is for."

Look back

This week you learned the five parts of an explanatory text. They are a topic sentence, sections, relevant facts from the given text, transitions and a conclusion.

Today you review the whole piece. Read it slowly, out loud if you can, and check one part at a time.

REVIEW 1: THE PARTS
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Which part tells the reader what the piece is about?
Which part links one idea to the next?
Which part gathers the sections and says why they matter?
Where did every fact in this week's explainer come from?
REVIEW 2: FIX THE DRAFT
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
A sentence says: The ramp is the best place in the neighborhood. What is wrong?
Two sentences in a row say: Neighbors built it from wood. The crew painted it. What would help?
A conclusion says: The ramp also has a storm drain. What is wrong?
Week reviewTrue or false?
An explanatory text teaches rather than argues.?
A section can have one fact and nothing else and still be clear.?
Every fact in the ramp explainer can be pointed to in Raven's notes.?
For example introduces a detail.?
The conclusion is a good place for a new opinion.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEThese five habits are the whole week: teach, group, point to the fact, link, and gather.
THE FIVE PARTS OF THE RAMP EXPLAINER, IN ORDER
  • ?Topic sentence
  • ?Section: The two sides
  • ?Section: The rules
  • ?Section: Care
  • ?Conclusion
WHY THIS EXERCISEThe order you planned on Tuesday is the order the reader meets the ideas.
A REVIEW, IN ORDER
  • Which review step comes first?
  • Tap the cards in order.
1First
2Next
3Then
4Last
Which transition word signals a contrast between the low side and the tall side? Type the two-word phrase or the one word.
WHY THIS EXERCISENaming the kind of link between two facts is the whole job of a transition.
Checklist
My topic sentence names the ramp and hints at three parts.
Each of my three sections has a heading, a small topic sentence and at least two details from the notes.
I used at least three different transitions.
My conclusion gathers the sections and adds no new fact or opinion.
Try it
Read your whole explainer aloud. Each time you hear two bricks with no mortar, mark the gap.
Count your transitions on your fingers.

Reviewed and repaired. Tomorrow is Press Day, and your explainer goes into the issue.

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