Real Writing Year 1 - Unit 9
Model text: Fireworks, by Joshua Seigal
Curriculum links: Celebrations (bonfire night)
Writing Unit overview
This writing unit for Year 1 is built around an original model text by Joshua Seigal - a descriptive poem about fireworks. 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 learn about onomatopoeia and how it can be used to describe the sounds of fireworks. Pupils will write their own poem about fireworks describing what they can see and hear.
Key curriculum skills
Three fully-resourced lessons are included for the following Year 1 English objectives, which can form part of the unit or be taught discretely:
1. Vocabulary: to add the suffix -ing to verbs where no change is needed in spelling of root words
Pupils will: learn how the suffix -ing can be added to verbs.
2. Grammar: to use verbs that describe sounds
Pupils will: learn how verbs can be used to describe the sounds that fireworks make. They will learn that onomatopoeia is when words sound like the noise they describe and will collect examples of these to use in their own writing.
3. Punctuation: to use exclamation marks to show surprise
Pupils will: learn how exclamation marks can be used to show surprise. They will learn how to form an exclamation mark and begin to recognise when they could be used.
Additional teaching points to teach or revisit:
- saying out loud what they are going to write about
- combining words to make sentences
- beginning to punctuate sentences with capital letters and full stops
- using capital letter for the personal pronoun I
- reading aloud their own writing
Year 1 vocabulary
Common exception words: the love
Tier 2 words: crash, flash, swirl, marvellous, whirl, explode
Tier 3 words: firework, sparkler