This Year 4 Real Writing unit is based around a report on Sutton Hoo by children’s author Loretta Schauer.
Pupils develop technical vocabulary, use dictionaries and thesauruses, and practise organising paragraphs around a theme. The unit concludes with pupils writing their own report about Sutton Hoo or another aspect of Anglo-Saxon life.
Planned over two to three weeks, lessons follow a carefully mapped sequence to build knowledge, vocabulary and writing skills.
Curriculum links
English objectives include:
- Using dictionaries and thesauruses to explore words
- Organising paragraphs around a theme
- Using adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions and commas accurately
- Using fronted adverbials and organisational devices
- Creating expanded noun phrases with adjectives and prepositional phrases
Cross-curricular links: history (Anglo-Saxon culture and archaeology), geography (mapping historical sites), art (Anglo-Saxon artefacts).
Vocabulary
- Tier 2 words: ceremonial, haul, ornate, precious
- Tier 3 words: archaeological, artefact, evidence, excavate
- Common exception words: century, certain, imagine, knowledge, early
Resources
- Model text PDFs (plain, illustrated, annotated)
- PowerPoint presentations (annotated and non-annotated)
- Vocabulary cards (tier 2, tier 3, statutory spelling)
- Fact cards about Sutton Hoo and Anglo-Saxon life
- How to write a report poster
- Report margin planner
- Activity sheets and lesson slides
- Writing skills check
Activities
- Hook: Show a short, curated video of Sutton Hoo excavations to spark discussion.
- Read and discuss model text: Explore text type, tense, and sentence-level features. Pupils highlight adjectives, prepositions, noun phrases, and conjunctions.
- Vocabulary focus: Introduce tier 2, tier 3 and statutory spelling words. Pupils infer meanings from context and complete matching activities.
- Comprehension: Recall key facts, infer significance of finds, and discuss Anglo-Saxon life.
- Writing opportunities: Pupils write letters imagining they are Basil Brown or compose their own report using fact cards, video, and model text as reference.
- Grammar and composition: Focus on fronted adverbials, paragraph organisation, and expanded noun phrases. Pupils plan using the report margin planner and write across multiple sessions.
- Editing and presentation: Pupils proofread, edit for grammar, punctuation and vocabulary, and read work aloud to peers with appropriate intonation.
Outcomes
By the end of the unit, pupils will be able to:
- Write a structured report on Sutton Hoo or Anglo-Saxon life
- Use subject-specific vocabulary accurately
- Organise ideas into coherent paragraphs
- Apply a range of grammar and punctuation skills consistently
- Present written work orally with confidence