ABSTRACT
Information texts for children often include both report and explanation and, as I have mentioned earlier, explanation can be regarded as a type of report. However, because explanation is such an important and useful genre, I have given it separate treatment. Texts and materials in this category are particularly important in gaining understanding in mathematics, science and geography because they can illuminate how structure affects function and how processes work. We might, for example, have an annotated diagram showing how an animal’s skeleton and muscle groups affect the way it moves. A process might be shown through pictures and writing, indicating cause and effect, such as how a volcanic eruption occurs. Food chains, water cycles and machinery working are all processes that children need to learn about in the primary years. Print diagrams often use arrows to indicate how a plant or machine moves, but moving images have brought new power to explaining all manner of processes. So, for example, a CD-ROM can show with new dynamism how the digestive and blood systems work.
