This Year 3 writing unit from our Real Writing collection uses an original model text by published children’s author Jo Franklin. Pupils will explore a non-chronological report describing biomes from around the world.
The model text comes in PDF format (plain, illustrated, and annotated), supported by both annotated and non-annotated PowerPoint presentations. Each unit follows a carefully mapped framework and provides two to three weeks of detailed lesson planning, giving you the tools to deliver engaging, structured lessons.
Curriculum links
This unit targets key Year 3 writing objectives while offering cross-curricular links to geography, particularly climate zones, biomes and vegetation belts.
Pupils will practise subordination, consistent use of past and present tense and the use of commas for lists. They'll:
- extend sentences with a wider range of conjunctions
- use conjunctions, adverbials and prepositions to express time, place and cause
- improve cohesion with pronouns, conjunctions and adverbs
Pupils will also develop paragraphs organised around a theme and include organisational features such as headings and subheadings.
Vocabulary focus
Spelling words: describe, particular, therefore, different, natural, often
Tier 2 words: animals, humid, igniting, isolated
Tier 3 words: tropical, rainforest, biome, vegetation, climate, landscape, hemisphere, temperate, tundra, savanna
Resources
- Model text PDF (plain, illustrated, annotated)
- PowerPoint presentations (annotated and non-annotated)
- Teacher notes with full teaching sequence
- Activity sheets for vocabulary, grammar, and composition
- Report text margin planner
- ‘How to write a non-chronological report’ poster
- Writing skills checklist
Teaching activities
Using videos or images of biomes, prompt pupils to discuss how animals adapt to their habitats. Pupils will read the model text, examining tense, paragraph structure and organisational features such as subheadings and glossaries.
They'll highlight grammar and punctuation features, including coordinating and subordinating conjunctions, adverbs and commas for lists.
Vocabulary activities focus on exploring the prefix bio-, identifying word families and applying technical terminology. Pupils will undertake creative writing tasks such as postcards from the perspective of an animal in an unfamiliar biome, using key vocabulary.
They'll also practise crafting clear topic sentences and organising information into coherent paragraphs.
In later sessions, pupils will investigate report features, plan their own reports using the margin planner and draft a detailed report about a chosen biome.
Outcomes
By the end of the unit, pupils will:
- Analyse and identify features of a non-chronological report
- Use biome-related Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary accurately
- Write clear, structured paragraphs with strong topic sentences
- Apply grammar and punctuation skills independently
- Plan, draft and edit a detailed report on a chosen biome
- Present their report with organisational features such as headings, subheadings and diagrams
This unit equips pupils with the skills to write confidently about biomes while strengthening vocabulary, grammar and cross-curricular knowledge in a practical, engaging way.