This Year 5 Real Writing unit uses author Jon Mayhew’s retelling of a Norse myth, How Odin Created the World.
Pupils explore the creation story, examine word origins, and develop dialogue skills. They investigate, plan, and write their own creation myths, linking to Ancient Egyptian, Mayan, or Religious Education topics.
The unit follows a carefully mapped framework and includes two to three weeks of detailed lesson planning matching Year 5 writing objectives.
Curriculum links
This unit primarily addresses English objectives but can support cross-curricular learning:
English objectives
- Explore etymology of words with Viking origin
- Use dialogue to convey character and advance action
- Organise ideas into paragraphs
- Punctuate direct speech
- Use fronted adverbials
- Sequence events clearly
- Use commas to clarify meaning
- Perform own compositions
Cross-curricular links
- History: Ancient Mayans, Ancient Egyptians
- Religious Education: Christian creation stories
Vcabulary
- Tier 2 words: create, dwell, void, decisively, warily, banish, inhabit
- Tier 3 words: Norse, mythology, pantheon, deity, saga, ritual, cosmology
- Common exception words: although, different, thought, through, enough, breath, peculiar
Resources included
- Model text PDF (plain, illustrated, annotated)
- Annotated and non-annotated PowerPoint presentations
- Vocabulary cards and match activity
- Creation myth planning sheet and margin planner
- Story sequencing cards and cartoon template
- Writing skills check sheet
- Pronunciation cards for Norse words
Activities and teaching sequence
Familiarisation
- Read and explore the model text: Discuss narrator perspective, tense, and vocabulary.
- Vocabulary investigation: Use word cards, infer meanings from context, complete matching activities.
- Perform sections of the story: Model reading with intonation and movement, pupils practise reading aloud.
- Sequence events: Recall main events, order story cards, create a cartoon to visualise the story.
Teaching and rehearsing
- Investigate story structure: Identify features of a creation myth and compare with the model text.
- Research other creation stories: Link to history or RE topics, introduce writer’s craft activities.
- Plan writing: Use creation myth margin planner to organise setting, characters, and sequence of events.
- Write the story: Apply writing skills over multiple sessions, including proofreading and editing.
Application
- Perform completed stories: Model reading techniques, pupils share their stories aloud using expressive reading skills.
Outcomes
By the end of the unit, pupils will be able to:
- Analyse and use Norse-inspired vocabulary accurately
- Write a structured creation myth with engaging dialogue
- Apply key Year 5 writing skills including paragraphs, direct speech, fronted adverbials and correct punctuation
- Sequence events logically within a narrative
- Confidently perform their writing, demonstrating intonation and expression