Year 5 Wild Cats: non-chronological report worksheet

“Features of a report” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 5 English unit “Wild Cats: non-chronological report”, for children aged 9 to 10, and takes about 21 minutes.

Print it on A4. The child's pages come first; the answers, and what each wrong answer tells you, are on the grown-up page that follows. Weeks 15 to 18 of the year, 12 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

Features of a report

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 5 · English · about 21 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can identify the features of a non-chronological report and explain why its tone is formal.

A Look back3 min

1.
Which word fits in the empty box of this story chain?
middleparagraphadjective
2.
“The tiger ran across the grass.” Which tense is this sentence in?
presentpastfuture
3.
In 'The striped tiger was running fast', which word is a noun? Circle one.
tigerrunningstriped

B Watch me, then you4 min

Here is a short extract from a report on wildcats: “Where do wildcats live? Wildcats live in forests and moorland. However, they are now rare in many areas.” Look for the features as you read.

A wildcat in a Scottish pine forest at dusk, flat illustration

Watch me

The subheading “Where do wildcats live?” tells the reader what this section is about.

“However,” is a fronted adverbial of contrast, and it comes at the front, so a comma follows it.

Precise words like “moorland” and “rare”, with no chatty words, keep the tone formal.

Now you

1.
Wildcats are hard to spot. ___ they leave clear tracks in the mud. Which fronted adverbial shows a contrast?
Furthermore,However,As a result,

C Your turn7 min

Sort, choose, match and rewrite. Think about who will read the report and what tone suits them.

1.
Write each sentence in the right column of the table.
Wildcats hunt mainly after dark.Their coats hide them in woodland.Wildcats are sooo cute lol!!Honestly, these cats are the best ever!
Formal Informal
2.
Which card is a subheading for a section? Circle one.
How do wildcats raise their kittens?Wildcats are sooo cool!Guess what I saw at the park.
3.
Join each word to its meaning.
purposeaudiencelayoutsubject-specific vocabulary
precise words about the topichow the text is organised on the pagethe people who read the textthe aim of the text
4.
Rewrite this sentence in a formal tone: “Wildcats are sooo cool lol.”

Say it out loud: What do the formal sentences have in common? What makes the informal ones sound like talking to a friend?

D Spot the mistake3 min

A closed encyclopedia and a mug on a wooden desk by a window

Ellie says: “A non-chronological report can be chatty, as long as the facts are true.”

1.
Explain why Ellie is wrong and write the correct rule.

E Think deeper4 min

1.
Write two questions you could ask to plan sections about wildcats. Each question should suit one subheading.

How did it feel?

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

Features of a report · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. middle

2. past

3. tiger

B

1. However, If your child picks “Furthermore,”, ask whether the second sentence adds a point or contrasts with the first. Use “However,” for a contrast.

C

1. Formal: Wildcats hunt mainly after dark., Their coats hide them in woodland. · Informal: Wildcats are sooo cute lol!!, Honestly, these cats are the best ever! If your child puts “Honestly, these cats are the best ever!” under Formal, ask which words sound like talking to a friend. Those words belong under Informal.

2. How do wildcats raise their kittens? If your child circles “Guess what I saw at the park.”, ask whether that card tells the reader anything about wildcats. A subheading names the topic of its section.

3. purpose → the aim of the text; audience → the people who read the text; layout → how the text is organised on the page; subject-specific vocabulary → precise words about the topic

4. Look for: A formal sentence about wildcats with no slang or text talk, for example 'Wildcats are skilled hunters.'

D

1. Look for: Says the report must be formal, so readers trust the information, not chatty. If your child says the facts alone matter, ask what makes a reader trust a text. Tone is part of that trust, so the report must stay formal.

E

1. Look for: Two questions, each ending with a question mark, that could be subheadings about wildcats.

Words to use

Say“Which features tell you this is a report and not a story? How would a reader feel about a chatty report?”

Instead of“Don't worry about the tone, the facts are what matter.”

After the sheet

Read a page of a library book about an animal together. Find one subheading and one fronted adverbial. Then write a chatty text message about the same animal and talk about the difference.

Tick what your child got right in StudyDen. Anything missed comes back in a later Look back box, so there's no need to redo the sheet.

The rest of this unit

11 more sheets come with a StudyDen plan, in teaching order:

Sorting tiger facts(with a plan)
Planning a tiger introduction(with a plan)
Opening a tiger report(with a plan)
Planning the diet section(with a plan)
Relevant clauses about food(with a plan)
Editing in three passes(with a plan)
Planning the adaptations section(with a plan)
Writing about tiger adaptations(with a plan)
Planning a strong conclusion(with a plan)
Ending a tiger report(with a plan)
Presenting with confidence(with a plan)

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