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Explaining can be thought of as an extension of telling. Teachers may explain the task itself, or they may explain a strategy, a learning activity, or the content of a text. For example, the teacher may explain:
Teachers also use explanations in the context of classroom management (for example, when they explain what is involved in an activity such as buddy reading, reciprocal teaching, or giving peer feedback) so that all the students can participate confidently.
A characteristic of explanations is that they are verbally explicit. Careful explanations enable students to develop their own understandings. Throughout the many interactions that occur during the school day, the teacher needs to be alert and ready to explain things, picking up cues from the students and adapting the use of this teaching strategy to supply what each learner needs. Sometimes a direct approach is best (“Let me explain this to you”), especially for students who are not yet familiar with the literacy-learning practices of New Zealand classrooms.
In the following example, the teacher provides an explanation that clarifies both text content (“how the rain falls”) and a text feature (use of the passive voice).
“This sentence, ‘The vast oceans are struck by the sun’s rays’, uses the passive voice. It is called ‘passive’ because it emphasises what happens as a result of an action rather than the action itself. It would be ‘active’ if it read ‘The sun’s rays strike the vast oceans.’ In this case, the emphasis would be on what the sun did rather than what happened to the ocean. We know from the title, How the Rain Falls, that the text is about the water, not the sun.”