Year 4 English · AC9E4LY03

How text features help a text achieve its purpose

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Learning intention and success criteria

Today we are learning to...

identify features of imaginative, informative and persuasive texts and explain how those features help the writer achieve a purpose.

Students can

  • identify purpose
  • name a feature or structure
  • point to evidence
  • explain what the feature does for the reader

Teacher language

Feature → evidence → effect → purpose.

Keep returning students to this chain rather than accepting feature spotting alone.

1. Retrieval warm-up

Inform, persuade or entertain?

Display each sentence and ask students to justify their choice with one clue.

  1. “Join the lunchtime chess club and learn a new strategy each week.” Persuade.
  2. “The echidna uses a long sticky tongue to collect ants.” Inform.
  3. “The teacup rattled as a tiny voice whispered from inside it.” Entertain / imaginative.
Check for understanding: Ask, “What makes your answer stronger than simply naming the topic?” Expected idea: the writer’s language and what it is trying to make the reader know, feel or do.
2. Explicit teaching: purpose and characteristic features

Purpose first

Imaginative

Characters, setting, events, dialogue, imagery, figurative language, suspense and mood build an invented experience.

Informative

Facts, definitions, headings, diagrams, maps, captions, tables and clear structures help readers learn or navigate information.

Persuasive

A position, reasons, evidence, direct address and calls to action are chosen to influence an audience.

Teacher prompt: “Do not ask only, ‘What feature can you see?’ Ask, ‘Why would this writer choose that feature for this purpose?’”

3. Teach five common text structures

How ideas are organised

Sequence

Events or steps in order. Clues: first, next, then, finally.

Cause–effect

Why something happens and what results. Clues: because, so, therefore, as a result.

Problem–solution

A difficulty followed by one or more responses. Sometimes the first response is unsuccessful.

Compare–contrast

Similarities and differences. Clues: both, similarly, while, unlike, however.

Description

Details grouped around one topic, such as appearance, habitat or behaviour.

Important: Signal words are clues, not automatic answers. Students must check how most ideas in the passage are connected.
4. Model the thinking aloud

Model A: problem–solution with an unsuccessful first attempt

Text: “The path flooded after rain. The council put out warning cones, but the water returned after every storm. Workers later added a drain, and the puddle stopped forming.”

Think aloud: “The problem is repeated flooding. Cones warn people but do not remove the puddle, so that is only a temporary response. The drain changes the result and stops the puddle. The dominant structure is problem–solution.”

Teacher question: Why is “warning cones” not the final solution?

Model B: cause chain

Text: “Native shrubs attracted insects. Insect-eating birds followed, so fewer caterpillars remained on the vegetables.”

Map it: shrubs → more insects → more birds → fewer caterpillars.

Teacher question: Which event is the final effect, and which evidence proves it?

5. Teach navigation and visual features

What each feature does

Headings / subheadings

Group information and help readers locate sections.

Bold / italics

Draw attention to key terms or emphasis.

Captions

Identify or explain what a visual shows.

Maps / diagrams

Show position, movement, parts or processes.

Tables / graphs

Organise information so comparisons or patterns are easy to see.

Misconception check: “A text has a picture, so it must be informative.” Ask students to explain why this is false. Expected: pictures can be used in any text type; their function depends on context.
6. Guided practice

Use feature → evidence → effect → purpose

Text: “Choose a litter-free lunch on Wednesday. Reusable containers reduce wrappers in our bins. Last week our class filled two whole bins with single-use packaging.” A bar chart shows wrapper counts for each weekday.

  1. What is the purpose? Persuade students to use reusable containers.
  2. What is one persuasive feature? Direct call to action.
  3. What is one piece of evidence? Two bins of packaging.
  4. How could the graph help? It gives visible evidence that supports the reason.

Partner prompt: Explain why the graph is not merely decoration.

7. Independent check

Unseen text

“Both electric buses and diesel buses can carry many passengers. Electric buses run on batteries, while diesel buses use fuel. A table lists each bus type, energy source and local exhaust.”

Ask students to answer independently:

  1. What structure is dominant?
  2. Give one similarity and one difference.
  3. Why is the table useful?
  4. Explain how the table supports the informative purpose.

Answers: compare–contrast; both carry passengers; energy source differs; the table aligns the same categories so readers can compare quickly.

8. Common misconceptions and responses

Correct these quickly

  • “There is a picture, so it is informative.” → Ask what the image actually does.
  • “I saw ‘because’, so the structure is cause–effect.” → Check the dominant relationship across the passage.
  • “Persuasive is a structure.” → Persuasive is a purpose; structures organise ideas.
  • “The map is a feature.” → Push further: what information does the map add, and why is that useful?
  • “This text is about animals, so it is informative.” → Topic does not determine purpose.
Curriculum alignment

AC9E4LY03

Identify the characteristic features used in imaginative, informative and persuasive texts to meet the purpose of the text.

  • E1: language used to create imaginary worlds.
  • E2: headings, italics, bold and organisational features that support navigation and understanding.
  • E3: images and layout that complement, add to or shape understanding.