Year 3- Light

The design of this 2-week unit allows Yr3 pupils to engage in writing for a non-fiction purpose. The writing outcome is a non-chronological report. The purpose of a non-chronological report is written to inform the reader. It follows no specific time order. The audience is a person who is interested in the subject. The language is formal, third person, often present tense, with elements of future tense (e.g. will; is going to) in the conclusion; and it utilises subject-specific vocabulary (e.g. opaque; transparent; transmit; absorb etc.). The layout follows the following structure: opening; main body; closing. Grammar and punctuation skills are interwoven into the planning, predominately in the ‘prior learning’ , ‘teach’ or ‘guided work’ sections. If certain grammar or punctuation skills have not yet been fully taught (e.g. subordinate or coordinating conjunctions) then it is recommended to either teach the skill explicitly outside of this unit, or to adapt the planning to cover a particular grammar skill that has recently been taught. Across our Yr3 units, pupils are introduced to conjunctive adverbs (e.g. however; in addition, etc.). A connective adverb links the sentence to a previous one, therefore creates cohesion throughout a text, not just cohesion within a sentence (which is the role of a conjunction). Conjunctive adverbs are not a specific requirement for Year 3 to use, however, they are a language feature often used in non-fiction writing, and if modelled clearly pupils can begin to understand how to use them. It is encouraged to use a comma after the conjunctive adverb. Additionally, in this unit, the pupils will apply their knowledge of sentence types. In total, there are four sentence types: statements (give information), questions (ask the reader something), commands (tell the reader to do something) and exclamations (conveys a strong emotion). In this unit, pupils will use statements, questions and commands. In addition to this, pupils will have stand-alone lesson in simple, compound and complex sentences. Pupils will learn that a simple sentence has one main clause including a subject-verb-object arrangement. Pupil will learn that a compound sentence is two or more main clauses that have been combined with a coordinating conjunction (e.g. for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so). Next, pupils will learn that a clause has a subject-verb arrangement, and within a complex sentence there must be a main clause and subordinate clause. Pupils will see how some simple sentences have short phrases at the beginning, but this does not make them a complex sentence (e.g. Last Sunday, Karim went to the park.). Pupils will learn that a complex sentence can have a subordinating conjunction (e.g. when, while, as, because etc.). In KS1, subordinating and coordinating conjunctions were referred to as ‘joining words’ so this more advanced terminological change should be explicitly explained to the pupils. During this unit, pupils are encouraged to revise their writing (e.g. enhancing language, enhancing sentences and paragraphs). Revising writing involves making substantive changes to a written text, whereas editing focuses on the mechanical errors in writing (e.g. capital letters, full stops, commas etc.). Overall, from experience, even the most reluctant writers are enticed to write about the science of light.

 

Year 4- London Visit

In this unit, pupils will be writing, and publishing, a persuasive letter over three weeks, which is going to be based on either: a) persuading your headteacher to allow a trip to London; or b) persuading another school to come and visit London. The first section of the letter will highlight London’s historic and geographic sites including, Houses of Parliament; Tower of London and Palm, House at Kew Gardens. The second section will highlight London’s vibrant cultural and artistic scene, pupils can write about the National Gallery, Tate Britain and the Victoria and Albert Museum. You may wish to change the London locations depending on the needs and prior knowledge within your class. Grammar and punctuation skills are interwoven into the planning, predominately in the ‘prior learning’, ‘teach’ or ‘guided work’ sections. If certain grammar or punctuation skills have not yet been fully taught (e.g. commas for parenthesis) then it is recommended to either teach the skill explicitly outside of this unit, or to adapt the planning to cover a particular grammar skill that has recently been taught. Across our Yr4 units, pupils are to use conjunctive adverbs (e.g. however; in addition, etc.). A conjunctive adverb links the sentence to a previous one, therefore creates cohesion throughout a text, not just cohesion within a sentence (which is the role of a conjunction). Conjunctive adverbs are a language feature often used in non-fiction writing, and if modelled clearly pupils can begin to understand how to use them. It is encouraged to use a comma after the conjunctive adverb. In addition, there is an emphasis on using commas for parenthesis. In this planning, the information in the parenthesis is written in phrase form, therefore it is important that teachers do not refer to this type of sentence as a complex sentence as it is not, and it is in fact a simple sentence. You may need to stress to pupils that a clause has to contain a subject and a verb. This would be a simple sentence: London, a historic location, is the capital city of England. This would be a complex sentence: London, which boast a vast and rich history, is the capital city of England. During this unit, pupils study the poem ‘Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802’ by William Wordsworth (see resource 7). The first eight lines praise the beauty of London in the early morning light, as the poet stands on Westminster Bridge admiring the surrounding buildings. Because the workaday world hasn’t started yet and the wheels of industry are still, the air is ‘smokeless’ at the moment: clear and clean. London is described as a ‘mighty heart’ in the final line, which reminds us of its centrality as the seat of government, empire, and trade, but also presents this centrality by way of a natural metaphor: just as the heart slows while one is asleep, only to speed up when one wakes, so London seems to lie still, plunged into a calm state that is not unlike a pleasant sleep, but once London wakes from its slumber this gentle calm will be disrupted by man-made activity. Overall, with enough background knowledge, this unit will provide an opportunity for pupils to write about London and all its incredible landmarks and attractions.

 

Year 5- Battle of Trafalgar

Within this two-week unit, pupils will be writing a newspaper report on the events which occurred during the Battle of Trafalgar. As mentioned, if following PKC history, in Spring A, pupils would have gained a good understanding of the French Revolution and what led to the Battle of Trafalgar which occurred off the coast of Spain near Cape Trafalgar. However, if the pupils have not yet studied this PKC history unit, this English unit still gives ample opportunity for the pupils to gain the knowledge needed to be able to write confidently and accurately. Across several lessons, pupils are asked to order events in chronological order this will reduce their cognitive load and will allow pupils to focus on the skill of writing. Our assumption is that the pupils would have written newspaper reports historically in other year groups. Regarding progression in writing, we want our Year 5 pupils to begin developing their understanding of objective journalism and the impact “fake news” can have on distorting views in the real world. Therefore, as a reporter, it is important that the journalist phraseology used is accurate when stating either evidence or opinion, and also highlighting the source of information (e.g. trusted or witness account etc.), see resource 5 for further information. As with all our PKC English units, it is important that the purpose, audience, language and layout (PALL) is mentioned throughout the unit so that pupils grasp why they are writing and who the writing is for. The PALL in a newspaper report is: Purpose: to provide factual information about a recent or current event; Audience: citizens that buy the newspaper often with their country/ home town (in this context, the pupils are imagining that it is a fortnight after the events, this would be when the news had reached Britain, and that they are writing to the British public in 1805); Language: journalistic, unbiased; Layout: headline; opening; main body (chronological recount); main body (quotes); closing (considers past, present and future). Grammar is taught in context, and in this unit pupils will be using direct quotes. They will learn that in certain non-fiction writing outcomes the use of speech and quotes can be an important feature as it enables the writer to share important information about what the people involved in the events had to say. In a newspaper report two types of speech are used: direct speech and indirect (reported) speech. Direct speech is when the exact words that have been said by a person are used verbatim. Direct speech uses inverted commas. Indirect speech, also known as reported speech, is when the main point of what someone has said is shared without writing down exactly what was said. Indirect (reported) speech does not use inverted commas. Additionally, pupil will also be encouraged to use conjunctive adverbs (e.g. However, Despite This, As a result, In addition etc.). These are words that link ideas across sentences. They differ to conjunctions which link ideas within a sentence (e.g. and, but, because etc.). They will also be asked to use relative clauses, these are a of subordinate clause that adds information specifically about the noun (subject) of the sentence by using a relative pronoun such as who, that or which etc.). In the final lesson, pupils have opportunity to revise their writing. To revise writing means to make thoughtful changes that may change the entire structure. Editing is making mechanical changes such as checking for spellings, punctuation errors etc.

 

Year 6- The Railway Children

In this unit, children will look at the significance of the railway line and the key features of it. They will explore, in depth, the different character types in the story and how characterisation is built. They will read and watch both the book and the film to gather their information and evidence. Once the characters and the railway knowledge are established, the children will explore both the key features of a formal and informal letter. The final pieces will involve children planning, drafting, editing and proofreading their letter both individually and in pairs. As this is a rather short unit, the children will apply their cross-curricular knowledge of Victorian Britain, specifically the workhouses, in order to write a newspaper report on a murder. The children will learn about the key features of a newspaper report including, a headline, byline, introduction, caption, main body, conclusion, reported speech and direct speech. They will also explore a mock crime scene to gather information and inspiration for their writing.