This Year 5 Real Writing unit centres on an original model text by author Anita Loughrey. Pupils explore how crime and punishment have changed in Britain over the centuries.
Across two weeks, the children learn report structure and features, then research an alternative aspect of social change and write their own information text.
The text is provided in PDF (plain, illustrated and annotated) and PowerPoint formats. The unit follows a carefully mapped framework matched to Year 5 writing objectives.
Curriculum links
- English objectives: reading for information, sequencing events, using paragraphs, applying relative clauses, grammar (brackets for parenthesis), vocabulary development (prefixes dis-, mis-, re-), pronouns for cohesion.
- History connections: Roman Britain, Medieval Britain, or broader aspects of social change.
- Cross-curricular links: geography, PSHE (community, rules, consequences).
Vocabulary
- Tier 2 words: community, harsh, honourable, abandon, misdemeanour, boundary, humiliation, deter, preventative, dishonest, reoffend
- Tier 3 words: punish, punishment, crime, Senate, legionary, jury, exile, combat, Magna Carta, peasants, treason, incarceration, banishment, conscript, convict
- Year 5 spellings: definite(ly), appreciate
Resources included
- Model text in PDF (plain, illustrated, annotated)
- Annotated and non-annotated PowerPoint presentations
- Lesson plans for two to three weeks
- Vocabulary cards and match activity sheets
- How to write an information text poster
- Writing instruction sheet, margin planner, research sheet
- Punishment images and heading cards for sequencing
- Writing skills check for proofreading and editing
Activities and teaching sequence
Phase 1 – Familiarisation
- Read the model text together. Discuss purpose, tense and formality.
- Highlight vocabulary and infer meanings from context.
- Sequence historical punishments using images and heading cards.
- Research alternative aspects of social change and produce fact files.
Phase 2 – Teaching and rehearsing
- Explore prefixes dis-, mis-, re- in context and in sentences.
- Teach use of brackets to indicate parenthesis.
- Revisit pronouns and relative clauses for cohesion.
- Investigate report features and find examples in the model text.
- Plan writing using research sheets and margin planners.
Phase 3 – Application
- Write reports over several sessions, incorporating researched information.
- Proofread and edit using the writing skills check, focusing on grammar, punctuation and vocabulary improvements.
Outcomes
By the end of this unit, pupils will:
- Produce an informative report in a formal tone.
- Use paragraphs, pronouns and relative clauses to structure writing.
- Apply prefixes correctly to enhance vocabulary.
- Include brackets for parenthesis and maintain cohesion.
- Research and present findings on a chosen aspect of social change.
- Edit and proofread work independently to improve clarity and accuracy.