This Year 6 writing unit from our Real Writing collection will immerse your class in an engaging information report written by published children’s author Anita Loughrey.
Teach pupils how to explore, question and write confidently about carbon footprints while working through a clearly mapped framework. The download contains two to three weeks of structured lesson planning, teaching slides and activity sheets to help pupils understand both the writer’s craft and the environmental theme that underpins the text.
Pupils will read and discuss the model report, compare layout devices and examine how writers use subject–verb agreement, cohesive devices and ambitious vocabulary to communicate with clarity and purpose.
Curriculum links
Address key Year 6 English objectives throughout the unit. Pupils will revisit grammar, punctuation and composition in every session, and you'll build strong links to geography and science by exploring climate change, sustainability and renewable energy. You'll cover:
- subject–verb agreement
- cohesive devices within and across paragraphs
- the use of layout devices
- a wider range of punctuation, including colons, ellipses and commas for parenthesis
- fronted adverbials
Vocabulary
Tier 3 vocabulary: carbon, emission, carbon dioxide, methane, sustainability, climate, conserve, renewable
Common exception words: disastrous, individual, community, conscience
Resources
- Three versions of the model text (plain, illustrated and annotated)
- Annotated and non-annotated PowerPoint slides
- Teaching notes and activity sheets
- Image sets for the initial hook
- Vocabulary cards
- Research sheets, margin planners and a writing skills checklist
Key teaching activities
To begin, pupils will examine images of environmental issues and debate what they show. Then read the model text together, identifying features of effective reports and annotating examples of layout devices.
Guide pupils through focused vocabulary work using vocabulary word cards so they infer meaning from context. Pupils will create a poster that explains the ‘5 Rs’, using clear layout devices and succinct explanations.
During the teaching and rehearsal phase, pupils will practise grammar, cohesive devices and punctuation in context. They'll research how your school could reduce its carbon footprint and collect factual information through observation, questionnaires and discussion.
Pupils will then plan their own reports using structured planning frames before writing extended information texts over several sessions.
Outcomes
By the end of the unit, pupils will:
- produce a well-structured information report
- apply precise subject–verb agreement
- use cohesive devices to link ideas clearly
- select appropriate punctuation
- organise their writing with purposeful layout devices
- demonstrate secure understanding of environmental vocabulary and concepts