Whole Earth Curriculum WEC
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Lesson 13 — An Explanation with a Reason

Learners write a simple explanation — a topic plus a reason — about something they know how to do, learning that explaining means telling what and why.

D04 P3: Intellectual & Cognitive Awareness D04.S3 45 minutes Draft
Objectives

Objectives

  • D04.S3.02.02 Write a simple informative or opinion piece that states a topic or opinion and gives a reason.

Essential question

How do I explain how or why something works, with a reason?

Key vocabulary
explaintopicreasonbecausehow
Materials

Standard materials

  • Something the learner knows how to do · 1 A small skill to explain — tying a knot, washing a pot, planting a seed
  • An explanation frame · 1 Lines for the topic and the reason, in the home language

Low-tech / no-cost

  • A real object or action to explain Explain something done with the hands, right in front of you
  • The explanation said aloud Say the topic and the reason out loud before writing

Enriched / lab & device

  • An explanation poster template · 1 A page with room for the topic, the reason, and a diagram
  • A recording of the spoken explanation · 1 Record the explanation as a portfolio artifact
Works in different contexts
  • large-group Build one class explanation together on the board, the group supplying the reason, before learners write their own
  • self-directed A learner picks something they know, writes the topic and one reason, then reads it back and checks the reason explains the topic
  • multi-age Older learners explain a skill to younger ones first, then both write — older with a fuller reason, younger with one short reason
  • level-grouped Groups explain at their own level — a spoken topic and reason, a filled frame, or a short explanation with a diagram
  • outdoor-only Explain something outdoors — how to find water, how a plant drinks rain — with a reason you can see in the world around you
A child explains how to plant a seed, with a page showing the topic on one line and the reason below, and a small diagram of a seed under soil with water and sun, teaching that an explanation states a topic and gives a reason
A child explains how to plant a seed, with a page showing the topic on one line and the reason below, and a small diagram of a seed under soil with water and sun, teaching that an explanation states a topic and gives a reason

Lesson 13 — An Explanation with a Reason

Summary

Learners write a simple explanation: a topic (something they know how to do or how something works) and a reason (why it works that way). Explaining is the other side of the opinion coin — the informative side.

Objectives

  • Write a simple informative piece that states a topic and gives a reason. (D04.S3.02.02)

Connection

You already know how to do many things: wash a pot, feed an animal, find your way home, make a friend smile. To explain is to share that knowing — to tell what it is or how it works, and why. A recipe, a field guide, a neighbor’s advice: these are all explanations. When you can explain a thing with a reason, your knowledge can travel to someone else, in your language, in your script.

Materials

  • Something the learner knows how to do (or how something works)
  • An explanation frame (topic + reason)

Preparation

  • Prepare the explanation frame (a line for the topic, a line for the reason).
  • Gather a few real objects or actions learners can explain.

Facilitator note

This lesson is written to the learner (“you”) so it works in a classroom and for a self-directed learner. This lesson pairs with yesterday’s opinion: an opinion says “I think… because…,” while an explanation says “this is how/what… because…” — both state a topic and give a reason, so both serve the same standard (D04.S3.02.02). Model one full explanation before learners write, then guide and release. The topic should be something the learner genuinely knows — no research needed at this level, just honest know-how. The reason must explain the topic, not decorate it. Work in the home language. A learner may speak, sign, dictate, draw a diagram, or write — the explaining is the learning.

Procedure

  1. Gather (5 min). Think of one thing you know how to do well. Today you will explain it to someone else.
  2. Meet explanation (5 min). To explain is to tell two things: the topic (what it is or how it works) and the reason (why it works that way). “This is how… because…”
  3. Watch a model (5 min). Listen to one full explanation: a topic and a reason that explains it.
  4. Say it first (10 min). Choose your topic — something you know. Say your explanation aloud: “This is how… because…” Say it in your home language.
  5. Write it (15 min). Write your topic on one line and your reason below. Add a small diagram if it helps. Read it back and check: does the reason explain the topic?
  6. Close (5 min). You turned your knowing into words someone else can use. That is the gift of explanation — it lets knowledge travel.

Differentiation

  • Support: Explain a single, very familiar action (washing hands); dictate to a scribe if writing is hard today.
  • Support (non-speaking): Show the action or point to a diagram and give the reason by sign, picture, or device — the explanation is the learning.
  • Extension: Add a second reason, or a “then” step that tells what happens next.

Assessment

  • Formative (observation/portfolio): Can the learner state a topic and give a reason that truly explains it, in their home language?

Home connection

Explain to someone at home how you do one small thing — with the reason — and ask them to try it your way.

Resources