Unit 6

What Does It Mean to Be Canadian?

Lesson 4

Activity

Read like a Writer

Turn to page 137 in the book Literacy in Action 5B.


The last two lessons that you have looked at have been about reading reports. Reports have the following characteristics:

  • They provide facts about a certain topic.
  • They contain paragraphs that have a main idea and supporting details.
  • They have features such as titles, headings, pictures, captions, and charts to add extra information.

Effective Sentences

Click each coloured row for information about the activity.


Look at page 137 in Literacy in Action 5B. The bottom of the page lists some points about effective sentences in reports.

  • The sentences in reports are different lengths.
  • The sentences start in different ways.
  • The sentence parts are joined by linking words or conjunctions such as but, who, and although.
Look again at the report Symbols of Canada - Our National Anthem. There are many examples of effective sentences in this report.




Document: Symbols of Canada - Our National Anthem
Click here to download

Download PDF


  1. Download the document Symbols of Canada - Our National Anthem.
  2. IMPORTANT NOTE: When the download screen opens:
      • Click the "Open with" button.
      • Select "Adobe Reader".
      • Click "OK".
      • You will then be able to view the document Symbols of Canada - Our National Anthem.

  3. Print the document.


  • The first sentence in the section "The Search for an Anthem" ("After Canada became a country in 1867, some politicians decided that we should have a national song.") is quite long, but the second last sentence in that section ("Unfortunately, it wasn't exactly a smash hit!") is much shorter.
  • The sentences start in many different ways, such as "So..." "In 1908...," and "At last..."
  • Different conjunctions are used, such as but and and.

Now, look back to the report you read in Lesson 3: Symbols of Canada.

Use this Effective Sentences activity to find different examples of effective sentences in the report you read (The Maple Leaf Flag, Nunavut's Coat of Arms, or The Mounties).

Each category asks for two examples of sentences. Please write out the entire sentence for each example.


Download PDF


  1. Download one of the following documents:
      • Effective Sentences - Maple Leaf Flag
      • Effective Sentences - The Mounties
      • Effective Sentences - Nunavut's Coat of Arms 

    1. IMPORTANT NOTE: When the download screen opens:
        • Click the "Open with" button.
        • Select "Adobe Reader".
        • Click "OK".
        • You will then be able to view the document Effective Sentences.

    2. Print the document.



    Document: Effective Sentences - The Maple Leaf Flag
    Click here to download


    Document: Effective Sentences - The Mounties
    Click here to download


    Document: Effective Sentences - Nunavut's Coat of Arms
    Click here to download


    Save

    How to save a file:

    1. Scan the document to your computer.
    2. Have the file open and select Save As from the File menu.
    3. Name your Effective Sentences file in this format: jsmith_effectivesentences and save the file to your Documents folder.
    Compare your responses with those in the Key by clicking here.