Real Writing Year 4, Unit 7
Who is Matthew Bourne?
Curriculum links: P.E (dance)
Unit overview
This writing unit for Year 4 is built around an original model text by Loretta Schauer - a recount of the career of Matthew Bourne. The example text is available as a PDF in three versions (plain, illustrated and annotated); annotated and non-annotated PowerPoint presentations are also included.
In this two-week unit, pupils will read an information text about the celebrated dancer and choreographer, Matthew Bourne. They will have an opportunity to learn technical vocabulary related to dance and theatre. This unit gives pupils the chance to practise writing for a purpose and has cross-curricular links to P.E - and culminates in them researching and writing their own biographical recount about Matthew Bourne.
Key curriculum skills
Two fully resourced lesson plans are included for Year 4 English objectives:
Vocabulary: To use further prefixes and suffixes
Pupils will: understand what is meant by etymology and morphology; look at how adding prefixes and suffixes to root words can build word families; sort words into families; use words from the sorting activity in sentences.
Grammar: To use the present perfect form of verbs
Pupils will: revisit tenses; understand what is meant by the present perfect tense, how it is formed and when it is used; sort sentences into those that use the present perfect tense and those that do not; rewrite paragraphs in the present perfect and simple past tense.
Revisited skills
- using a range of conjunction
- commas to separate items within a list
- the use of questions
Additional year 4 curriculum teaching points
- using fronted adverbials
- modifying nouns to create expanded noun phrases
- organising information into paragraphs
- using headings and subheadings
- using nouns and pronouns to build cohesion
Year 4 words: featured vocabulary
Tier two words: autograph, stereotype
Tier three words: audience, ballet, choreographer, contemporary, director, musicals, performer, production, theatre
Year 3 spellings: different, famous, history, popular, strength, various