Lesson video

Hello, my name's Mrs. Smart.

Welcome to today's English lesson.

In this lesson, we will be developing and generating, some subject-specific vocabulary ready to use in our non-chronological reports all about tigers.

Hopefully by the end of today's lesson, we will all be able to write and speak about animals just like David Attenborough.

So if you're ready, let's get started.

In this lesson, you will need an exercise book or some lined paper and a pen or a pencil for writing with.

If you haven't got any of those items with you right now, just pause the recording and go and get them.

Right, hopefully you are ready for today's learning.

So our agenda is as follows.

We are going to start with an introduction, thinking about what subject-specific vocabulary is and where we might see it.

We're then going to generate and use some subject-specific vocabulary and lastly we're going to end with your independent task where you get to show off everything you've learnt today.

What is subject-specific vocabulary? Subject-specific vocabulary is words and phrases that are linked to a specific subject or topic.

Often, they are unfamiliar words that you would not read in everyday texts, so probably words that you wouldn't see in stories.

More likely words that you would see in nonfiction information texts.

And they're often quite formal or scientific language.

Now here are three examples of nonfiction information texts where we would definitely see subject-specific vocabulary.

But each text is about a different subject so it would include different subject-specific vocabulary.

The first text is about the human body.

So that would include words linked to biology and the human body.

So words such as organs or bones, for example.

The second book is about tigers.

So the vocabulary in this book would be linked to animals.

Maybe mammals, maybe predators, for example.

And lastly, our third text is called 100 Facts Ancient Greece.

So the subject-specific vocabulary in this text would be linked to history and ancient Greece.

Now, a couple of lessons ago, we looked at some subject-specific vocabulary and an example of a non-chronological reports.

And this was the opening of a non-chronological report about grey wolves.

And you can see, I've highlighted the subject-specific vocabulary in pink, so it's really easy to see.

These are the words that are quite unfamiliar.

They're quite scientific and they are linked to the subject of grey wolves or animals in general.

So we can see we've got the word Canis lupus, that's a Latin word for grey wolves, or grey wolf.

We've got the word domestic, canines, species, packs, appearance, and habitat.

Not words that you come across very often, especially not in narrative or story-like texts.

We are going to be writing non-chronological reports all about tigers in this unit.

And I want you to imagine that your writing is going to feature in this text.

This is a book all about tigers written by National Geographic, who are one of the top organisations who write about animals and the environment.

So writing needs to be of a very high standard to feature in this book.

And you need to make sure that you are using that formal, scientific subject-specific vocabulary appropriately.

First of all, I want you to think about any words that you could choose to describe the tiger's appearance.

Make sure that you are using subject-specific, formal, scientific language rather than informal language.

So for example, we wouldn't use words like beautiful or pretty to describe the tiger's appearance.

I want you to imagine that you are a scientist writing a nonfiction information text or even that you are David Attenborough presenting about tigers in a wildlife documentary.

Think about the sort of language that they would use.

Pause the recording now and write down any words that you can think of.

Great, hopefully you have already thought of lots of brilliant words that you could use.

I'm not going to teach you three subject-specific words that you could use to describe the tiger's appearance in your report.

The first one is species.

I'm going to say it and you're going to repeat back.

Species.

Species.

Species is a noun.

The definition is a group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals.

So for example, tigers are a species of cat because they are a group of living organisms or living things that all share a similar characteristic.

They're similar individuals.

They look very similar, they behave very similarly.

Synonyms for this word or words that have the same or similar meaning are type, kind, and category.

And if we were to use it in a sentence, we might use it like this.

Tigers are the largest existing species of cat.

So out of all different species of cat, if you think of things like lions and cheetahs and pumas and panthers, all of those different types of species of cat, tigers all the largest.

The next word we're going to learn is the word camouflage.

Camouflage.

You might have heard this word in a science lesson.

We're going to learn it as a verb, to camouflage, but camouflage can also be a noun.

The definition is to hide of disguise the presence of a person, animal, or object.

So often, animals have very cleverly adapted skin or fur or feathers that make them blend in to their surrounding so they cannot be seen.

Synonyms for this word could be disguise, hide, or conceal.

And in a sentence, we could use it like this.

Tigers' vertical stripes enable them to camouflage in their surroundings.

So if you think of those very distinctive stripes that tigers have, they help them blend into their surroundings because they spend a lot of time in long grass or in jungles where there are lots of vertical plants.

That helps them to blend in and not be seen.

And lastly, we're going to learn the word adaptation.

Adaptation.

Adaptation.

And we're going to learn this as a noun but it can also be used as a verb, to adapt.

The definition is the process of change by which an organism becomes better suited to its environment.

So over many, many years, animals change features of their body so that they can survive and thrive in their habitat or environments.

Synonyms for this word are change, alter, and modify.

In a sentence, we could use it like this.

Tigers' sharp teeth and claws are an adaptation that helps them to catch and kill other animals.

If tigers didn't have sharp teeth and claws, they would find it very difficult to catch and kill their prey and they would have nothing to eat.

They would probably die.

So it's a really important adaptation that helps the tiger to survive in its environment.

Now I want you to try and apply at least one of these words in a sentence.

So choose one of the words we've just learnt, species, camouflage or adaptation, and put it in a sentence.

Try and challenge yourself so you're not choosing the easiest one.

Try and choose one that you find little bit tricky or that is very, might be unfamiliar to you.

Pause the recording and write it in a sentence now.

Right, we're now going to think about the tiger's diet or what the tiger eats.

Can you think of any subject-specific vocabulary that you could use to describe what the tiger eats or how it goes about catching its prey? I've given you a bit of a clue there.

Or what it tends to eat.

So pause the recording and write down your ideas now.

Right, I am now going to teach you three words linked to the tiger's diet.

Prey.

Prey.

But this isn't the sort of pray that you might do in a religious building.

This is prey with an E rather than an A.

And it is a noun.

The definition is an animal that is hunted and killed by another for food.

Synonyms could be victim or kill.

And in a sentence, we might use it like this.

The main component of a tiger's diet is large-bodied prey, such as deer, cows, and goats.

So we know that tigers kill animals for food and those animals that they kill are called their prey.

The next word is linked to prey and it is predator.

Predator.

Again, predator is a noun.

The definition is an animal that hunts and kills other animals for food.

Synonyms are hunter or attacker.

And we could use it like this.

Tigers are ferocious predators that hunt and kill a range of animals.

So I'm sure you all know that tigers are predators because they hunt other animals and they are actually something called apex predators, which means that they are at the top of their food chain.

The tiger has no predators itself.

So nothing is hunting the tiger.

So it's the apex predator, the very top of its food chain.

And lastly, we're going to learn the word carnivore.

Carnivore.

Carnivore is a noun and it means an animal that feeds on other animals.

A synonym would be meat-eater.

Tigers are carnivores because they only eat meat.

Now you might know some other words that are linked to what animals eat.

We have carnivores, that means animals that eat meat, but we also have herbivores, which are animals that eat plants and only eat plants.

And then there's also the term omnivore, which means an animal that eats plants and meat.

Right, I now want you to choose one of the words that we have just learnt, prey, predator, or carnivore, and try and use it in a sentence about the tiger.

Pause the recording now.

Great job, okay, the last aspect of the tiger that we are going to describe is its habitat, or its environment, where it lives.

Can you think of any subject-specific vocabulary that would describe the tiger's habitat? Excellent, I'm sure you thought of lots of very scientific words already.

The first word we're going to look at is actually the word habitat because I thought that's a little bit of an unusual scientific word that we might not know the meaning of.

Habitat.

Habitat.

Habitat is a noun.

It means the natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism.

Synonyms are home, surroundings, and environment.

Tigers are found in amazingly diverse habitats.

Now that means that they can be found in lots of different types of habitat.

Tigers can be found in lots of different countries in the world and they all have slightly different environments or habitats.

So tigers are actually very clever 'cause they can survive in lots of different types of habitats.

The next word is territory.

Territory.

Territory.

Territory is a noun.

The meaning is an area of land that an animal defends.

Synonyms could be area, region, or domain.

A male tiger may have a territory of up to 100 square kilometres.

So tigers are very solitary animals.

That means they spend most of their time on their own unless they're a mother who has cubs.

And they defend a territory.

So that means they stop other tigers coming in to the area of land where they live.

The next word is climate.

Climate.

Climate is a noun.

It means the weather conditions in an area over a period of time.

Synonyms could be weather or conditions.

Tigers are incredibly adaptable and can live in many different climates.

So like the fact that tigers can live in lots of different diverse habitats, they can also live in a range of diverse climates.

Lots of different types of weather and temperature they are able to live in.

Right, this is your last opportunity to apply some of the words that we have learned today.

So I would like you to write a sentence about the tiger using one of the following words.

Habitat, territory, or climate.

Again, try and challenge yourself.

Don't choose the word that you already know.

Try and choose a word that's a little bit unfamiliar or a little bit tricky.

Pause the recording and write your sentence now.

Well, you should now have at least three sentences written on your lined paper using three of the words that we have learned today.

Today we have learned nine words linked to the tiger's appearance, diet, and habitat and these are all subject-specific vocabulary.

And hopefully, you have also thought of some of your own words as well.

I would like you to apply all of your learning and show off everything that you have learned today and write a paragraph about the tiger using the vocabulary learnt in this lesson.

Doesn't need to be very, very long.

Just a few sentences using as many of these words as you can possibly manage to use.

So our agenda for today was an introduction looking at subject-specific vocabulary, thinking about where we might find it.

We then generated vocabulary so you thought of some of your own vocabulary linked to appearance, diet, and habitat, and I taught you some subject-specific vocabulary as well.

And now you are going to complete your independent task applying all of your learning by writing a paragraph about the tiger.

This should prepare you really well for writing your non-chronological report about tigers.

Congratulations.

You have completed your English lesson today.

If you would like to, please share your work with your parents or carer.

Well done with all of your hard work today.

You should be really proud of yourself.

See you in your next lesson.