Teach this Year 6 Real Writing unit with confidence, knowing that every model text in the series comes from a published children’s author. In this unit, pupils will study A Jaguar in the Chicken Coop by Jon Mayhew, a first-person narrative set deep in the Amazon rainforest.
The story follows a classic defeating-the-monster structure and provides a rich context for work on character, setting and atmosphere.
You'll receive the model text in three PDF versions (plain, illustrated and annotated), alongside annotated and non-annotated PowerPoint slides. The whole sequence follows a carefully mapped framework and gives you two to three weeks of detailed lesson planning that supports both English and wider curriculum learning.
What pupils will learn
You'll guide pupils through close reading of the narrative, helping them uncover how the author uses semi-colons to join closely linked independent clauses and how deliberate synonym choices strengthen theme and imagery.
Pupils will explore other Year 6 writing skills such as how synonyms and antonyms shape meaning, particularly in descriptions of animal movement and character reactions.
They'll also investigate how dialogue reveals character and moves the action forward, how adverbials control pace and how noun phrases and past perfect verbs clarify sequence and detail.
Cross-curricular links enrich learning throughout the sequence. Pupils will use geography skills as they explore Amazon habitats, study rainforest ecosystems and research locations such as Manaus and São Paulo.
Science links deepen their understanding of habitat, vegetation, canopy layers and food chains. These experiences strengthen the authenticity of their own rainforest narratives.
Vocabulary used in the unit
Tier 2 words: co-operation
Tier 3 words: canopy, vegetation, habitat, ecosystem
Common exception words: disastrous, familiar, foreign, variety, suggest
Resources included
- Model text in three formats
- Annotated and non-annotated PowerPoint slides
- Vocabulary cards and matching activities
- Rainforest and jaguar image cards
- Story structure poster
- Character cards
- Teaching slides and activity sheets
- Margin planner
- Writer’s craft guidance sheet
Key teaching activities
Begin with a hook that immerses pupils in the rainforest. Use jaguar clips and image cards to spark curiosity, then guide pupils to create fact files about the animal and its habitat.
Read the model text together, discuss character viewpoints and explore how dialogue shapes personality. Use vocabulary cards for Tier 2 and Tier 3 words to build understanding through inference and matching tasks.
Guide pupils to annotate the text using the ‘defeating the monster’ structure poster. Pupils will also compare characters, complete short writing tasks such as character profiles or rainforest descriptions using semi-colons, and take part in role play to rehearse ideas for a newspaper recount.
In the final phase, pupils will plan and draft their own rainforest narrative using the margin planner and a writing-skills checklist. Encourage them to edit regularly and read their work aloud to refine clarity and impact.
Pupil outcomes
By the end of the unit, pupils will write a well-structured narrative set in the Amazon rainforest. They'll use semi-colons accurately, select precise synonyms and antonyms and craft vivid noun phrases that reflect strong knowledge of habitat and setting.
They'll apply grammar securely, shape dialogue to convey character and advance the plot and read their work aloud with clarity and confidence.