Teach this engaging Year 3 writing unit from our Real Writing collection to give your pupils a clear understanding of persuasive report writing. A published children’s author, Jo Franklin, wrote the model text, which promotes the Neolithic settlement of Skara Brae as an exciting destination for curious visitors.
Cross-curricular connections lie at the heart of the unit. The historical context links directly to changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age, offering meaningful opportunities to explore historical enquiry, early settlements and archaeological evidence.
You can access the text in three PDF formats (plain, illustrated and annotated), along with annotated and non-annotated PowerPoint slides to support whole-class modelling.
Lead pupils through a carefully mapped framework that spans two to three weeks. Every lesson sequence builds knowledge and confidence step by step, from exploring a historical site to crafting a polished promotional leaflet or magazine article.
What the unit covers
In this unit, pupils will read, discuss and dissect a persuasive report before creating their own. They'll investigate Skara Brae through photographs, videos and class discussion, noting features such as dry-stone walls, narrow passages and the layout of prehistoric dwellings.
Guide them as they explore tense, person, list structures and a wide range of conjunctions, adverbials and prepositions. Pupils will practise organising information, grouping ideas and constructing coherent paragraphs around a theme.
Vocabulary
This unit helps pupils build a rich bank of vocabulary linked to persuasive writing and historical study. You'll introduce and revisit:
- Tier 2 words: lifestyle, community, destination, dwelling, indicate, unique
- Tier 3 words: settlement, prehistoric, Neolithic, era, archaeology, archaeologist, inhabitant
- Year 3/4 common exception words: history, island, knowledge, possibly, perhaps, probably
Curriculum links
This unit supports Year 3 English objectives for vocabulary, grammar and composition. Pupils will learn to identify word families, extend sentences with a wider range of conjunctions and organise paragraphs effectively.
You'll revisit skills such as subordination, the correct use of past and present tense and the use of commas for lists. You'll also highlight organisational features such as headings and subheadings to improve cohesion.
Key activities
Across the sequence, you'll guide pupils through:
- A hook activity using images or video of Skara Brae
- Shared reading of the model text
- Vocabulary investigations using provided word cards
- Grammar practice focused on conjunctions and sentence extension
- Paragraph-building tasks using historical fact cards
- Feature spotting with persuasive texts
- Structured planning using a promotional text margin planner
- Drafting, proofreading and editing over several sessions
Pupils will also complete short writing opportunities, such as posting an imagined holiday review of Skara Brae.
Resources included
- Model text in three PDF versions
- Annotated and non-annotated teaching slides
- Vocabulary cards and matching activities
- Historical fact cards
- Planning templates
- Writer’s Craft task sheet
- How to write a persuasive report poster
- Activity sheets for grammar and composition
Expected outcomes for pupils
By the end of the unit, pupils will:
- Use a rich bank of Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary confidently
- Organise paragraphs clearly around a theme
- Construct extended sentences using conjunctions that express time, place and cause
- Apply Year 3 skills such as subordination, correct tense use and commas for lists
- Understand and identify features of persuasive writing
- Produce a final promotional leaflet or magazine article that persuades readers to visit Skara Brae or another historical destination
This structured and engaging unit empowers pupils to write with clarity, purpose and enthusiasm while strengthening their wider historical understanding.