Real Writing Year 4 - Unit 21
Model text: The Tropics, by Joshua Seigal
Curriculum links: Geography (climate zones, biomes and vegetation belts)
Unit overview
This two-week writing unit for Year 4 is built around an original model text by Joshua Seigal; an imaginative poem describing The Tropics. The example text is available as a PDF in three versions (plain, illustrated and annotated); annotated and non-annotated PowerPoint presentations are also included.
Through a series of scaffolded activities, pupils will explore the poet’s use of pronouns, and their use of humour and informal vocabulary. They will also investigate vowel suffixes -al, -ic and -ity. In the final writing task, pupils are asked to create their own poem describing The Tropics, following the structure of the model text. This unit could be used within a geography topic about The tropics, rainforests, climate zones or biomes.
Key curriculum skills
Two fully-resourced lessons are included for the following LKS2 English objectives, which can form part of the unit or be taught discretely:
1. Vocabulary: To use further suffixes: vowel suffixes -al, -ic and -ity
Pupils will: decide which vowel suffix can be added to given root words; write sentences containing some words with suffixes taught
2. Grammar: To use pronouns for clarity and to avoid repetition
Pupils will: edit sentences, adding pronouns where needed; sort pronouns to show whether they are possessive or personal; use pronouns when writing a description of a rainforest
Revisited skills
- Apostrophes to show singular possession
- Apostrophes for contracted words
- Noun phrases
- Present progressive verb form
Additional year 4 curriculum teaching points
- Organising paragraphs (or stanzas) around a theme
- Using adverbials
- Discussing writing similar to which they are planning (poetry)
Year 4 words: featured vocabulary
Spelling words: earth, uncertainty
Tier 2 words: frolic, luscious, mozzies, replete, swarm
Tier 3 words: equator, foliage, humidity, season, Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn, tropics