Taught by writing a real care guide
Approx. 50 minutes · KS2 · Also usable as two shorter sessions
Before you start
A non-chronological report is writing that tells you about something, organised by topic rather than in time order.
A story goes in time order: first, then, next, finally. A report does not. You can read the section about food before the section about where the animal lives, and it still makes sense.
Our care guides are non-chronological reports. By the end of this lesson you will have written one.
Nothing here is timed, and nothing you write is marked.
What you'll learn to do
- Say what a non-chronological report is and how it is organised.
- Use subheadings to group information.
- Write in the right style — formal, factual, present tense.
- Use technical vocabulary and explain it.
- Write your own report.
Part 1 — How a report is built
Every good report has the same parts.
| Part | What it does |
|---|---|
| Title | Says what the report is about |
| Introduction | A short opening that tells the reader what the thing is |
| Sections with subheadings | Each one covers a different topic |
| Facts and detail | Real information, not opinion |
| Ending | A short closing thought, or something interesting |
Subheadings are the important part. They let a reader find what they need without reading the whole thing. Somebody worried about feeding their hedgehog should be able to find the feeding section in two seconds.
Look at a real one
Here are the subheadings from a hedgehog care guide:
- What is an African pygmy hedgehog?
- Where they live
- What they eat
- Keeping them warm
- Handling
- Health and when to call a vet
Notice: no story. No time order. Each one is a separate topic.
Check yourself
Which of these belongs in a non-chronological report? Explain your choice.
A) "First we got the cage ready. Then we brought Gary home. After that he hid for two days."
B) "Hedgehogs are nocturnal. This means they sleep in the day and are awake at night."
Answer
B. It gives a fact about hedgehogs in general, and it does not depend on when it happened.
A is in time order — first, then, after that — so it is a recount, not a report.
Part 2 — How a report sounds
Reports have their own style. Three rules.
1. Present tense. Not "hedgehogs ate insects." "Hedgehogs eat insects." You are describing how things are, not what happened.
2. Formal, not chatty. Not "hedgehogs are super cute and you'll love them!" "Hedgehogs are small nocturnal mammals." Save your opinion for a different kind of writing.
3. General, not personal. Not "my hedgehog Gary likes mealworms." "Hedgehogs eat insects, including mealworms." A report is about all of them, not one of them.
Check yourself
Rewrite this sentence so it belongs in a report: "My chameleon Elvis went really dark yesterday because he was a bit chilly."
Model answer
"Chameleons become darker in colour when they are cold. Darker skin absorbs more heat."
What changed: the past tense became present, "my chameleon Elvis" became "chameleons," the chatty "a bit chilly" became "cold," and a reason was added — reports explain, not just describe.
Part 3 — Technical vocabulary
Reports use proper words for things. But a good report also explains them, because the reader may not know.
The pattern is: use the word, then explain it.
- "Hedgehogs are nocturnal. This means they are awake at night and sleep during the day."
- "Chameleons are arboreal, which means they live in trees."
- "A young hedgehog is called a hoglet."
Why not just use easy words?
Because the proper word is more precise, and because the reader now knows it. A report that says "hedgehogs are awake at night" is fine. One that says "hedgehogs are nocturnal, which means they are awake at night" is better — the reader gets the fact and the word.
Check yourself
Write a sentence using the word "ectothermic," which means an animal cannot make its own body heat and warms up from outside.
Model answer
"Reptiles are ectothermic. This means they cannot make their own body heat and must warm themselves using heat from their surroundings."
Part 4 — Write your own
Choose an animal you know something about. It can be one of ours, or a pet, or a wild animal.
Plan first
Fill in these subheadings before you write anything:
- What is it? — one or two sentences
- Where does it live? — habitat, wild or in a home
- What does it eat?
- What does it need to stay healthy?
- One interesting fact
Then write
- One paragraph under each subheading.
- Present tense throughout.
- At least two technical words, each one explained.
- No "I" and no "my."
Before you finish, check
- ☐ Have I used subheadings?
- ☐ Is every verb in the present tense?
- ☐ Have I taken out "I," "my" and "you"?
- ☐ Have I explained my technical words?
- ☐ Could someone find the feeding section quickly?
Part 5 — Questions
1. What does "non-chronological" mean? (1 mark)
Answer
Not in time order. The information is organised by topic instead.2. Give two features of a non-chronological report. (2 marks)
Answer
Any two of: subheadings; present tense; formal language; factual information; an introduction; technical vocabulary.3. Rewrite this for a report: "We fed our tortoise loads of dandelions and he loved them!" (2 marks)
Answer
"Tortoises eat leafy plants, including dandelions." (1 for present tense and no personal pronouns, 1 for a general and formal statement.)4. Why are subheadings useful in a report? (2 marks)
Answer
They group information by topic (1), so a reader can find the part they need without reading the whole report (1).5. Write one sentence using a technical word and explaining it. (2 marks)
What to look for
A technical word used correctly (1) and a clear explanation in the same or the next sentence (1).If you want to go further
- Read one of our care guides and list its subheadings. Would you add any?
- Write a report on an animal nobody in your class has chosen.
- Related lessons: Instructions & Explanation Texts · Fact and Opinion · KS3 English — Writing to Inform & Persuade.
Notes for the adult
Curriculum: KS2 English — writing non-chronological reports; organisational devices including headings and subheadings; formal and impersonal register; and appropriate technical vocabulary.
Why writing a real care guide works. The child has a genuine reader in mind — someone who needs to know how to look after an animal — which fixes register and content selection better than any amount of instruction about audience.
The hardest rule to hold is the impersonal one. Children slip back into "my" and "I" repeatedly, and that is normal. The checklist at the end of Part 4 is there for exactly this, and it works better as a self-check than as correction afterwards.
For a reluctant writer, the five planning subheadings can be answered in single sentences aloud and scribed. Five sentences under five subheadings is a complete report and can be celebrated as one.
Access: read-aloud, dyslexia-friendly font, enlarged text, high contrast and calm mode. The final checklist is a tick-list rather than prose, and prints on its own.
No timing, no scoring. No word count is required.
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