'Different types of text' tutor notes
The aim of the 'Different types of text' topic area is to help learners understand the different types of text which they are likely to come across in daily life. It is important that they are able to distinguish between writing that seeks to persuade, instruct, inform or describe.
We recommend that students look at the Formal and informal language section of the site, before tackling this module.
How does this tie in with the curriculum?
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England
Rt/E3.2 - recognise the different purposes of texts at this level
1. understand that different texts have different purposes, e.g. to inform, explain, instruct, entertain, describe, persuade
2. understand that texts of the same form can have different purposes, e.g. a letter
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Wales
As England
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Northern Ireland
As England
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Scotland
See www.aloscotland.com for details of the Scottish curriculum.
Please note that the BBC is not responsible for the content of other websites.
In this Skillswise module you'll find...
Different types of text - games
The game in this section is 'text types'. Learners explore the attributes of some examples of types of text by searching for and selecting the relevant features or words to answer the questions.
Please do tell us what you think of these games.
Different types of text - quiz
The learner can choose their level. Level A is the easiest and level C the hardest. The student can print out a certificate if they score 50% or more in the quiz. This will appear as a link on the results page - click on the link and the certificate will appear in a new window. Learners can write their name in once the certificate is printed.
Different types of text - factsheet
There is one factsheet in this section. It explains the various types of text which learners are likely to come across in daily life. It also gives examples of persuasive texts, followed by instructive, informative and descriptive texts.
Different types of text - worksheets
There is one printable worksheet with answersheet in this section. It presents the learner with example paragraphs and asks learners to decide whether the text is persuasive, instructive, informative or descriptive.
Technical help:
To get the most out of this topic area you need the following 'plug-ins':
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Flash 7
The game in this topic section uses Flash 7. This is free to download and should only take a few minutes. You can follow the BBC WebWise instructions to download it to your machine.
Find out more.
If you don't have Flash 7 the same learning points are covered in the quiz, worksheets and factsheets.
Please note: the flash game in this section is quite graphical. Please allow about 1 minute for the game to download. Download times will vary according to your connection speed and how busy the network is.
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Adobe PDF documents
Note that you will need the free Adobe Acrobat software on your machine to view PDF documents.
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FlashPapers
We have provided the worksheets and factsheets as both PDF files and FlashPaper files. For screenreader users you should choose the FlashPaper version as these are designed to be screenreader accessible. If you don't need a screenreader it doesn't matter which type you use.
If you want to print the factsheets we recommend you use the PDF version provided. However, if you do want to print a FlashPaper, you must use the print button within the FlashPaper window (top right). Your internet browser can't tell what size to print these kind of documents, so if you use the print option in the 'file' menu it may print out completely the wrong size.
If you are new to the web, why not take a look at WebWise. You can try the WebWise online course or be shown the basics by our Computer Tutor. It's free and it will take you through everything you need to know to use the web successfully in your teaching. Get WebWise.
If you would like to get more help using Skillswise, check out the Help pages.
Taking it further:
With Skillswise:
Don't forget to check out the Skillswise Lesson plans and Teaching inspirations areas for more ideas about teaching different types of text.
Visit the following learning resources on Skillswise aimed at Level 1 learners: types of text and fact and opinion.
On the web:
Here are a few suggestions of other places on the web that you might find useful resources that you can adapt for teaching different types of text.
Please note that the BBC is not responsible for the content of other websites.
Do you know of any great online resources for practising using different types of text? Tell us about them!
