This Year 2 writing unit from our Real Writing collection is built around an original story by Alfie Bloom and Knights and Bikes author Gabrielle Kent, inspired by The Elephant from The Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saëns.
Across three weeks of detailed lesson planning, pupils explore how music can inspire storytelling, vocabulary development and descriptive writing. Each lesson builds confidence through clearly modelled examples, guided activities and independent writing opportunities.
Pupils read the model text, The Day the Elephants Led the Parade, before writing their own version, choosing a different animal described by the music. Throughout the unit, they:
- Learn how to spell words ending in –al (making the /l/ sound)
- Explore synonyms, similes and expanded noun phrases
- Develop their understanding of sentence construction, punctuation, and story structure
- Write, edit and perform their own descriptive story inspired by music
Every lesson follows a carefully mapped framework, with clear links to the Year 2 English curriculum and opportunities to connect with music, art and science topics on animals.
Activities and teaching sequence
Phase 1: Familiarisation
- Listen and respond: Begin with a recording of The Carnival of the Animals without revealing the animals. Pupils predict what the music represents and discuss tone and movement.
- Read and explore: Share The Day the Elephants Led the Parade and discuss how the story reflects the rhythm and feeling of the music.
- Vocabulary discovery: Introduce Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary using word and image cards. Pupils match definitions, practise using words in sentences and identify examples in the model text.
- Story structure: Sequence key events using story cards, draw a story map, and orally retell the tale using time adverbials.
- Descriptive writing: Pupils write a short description of the parade from the perspective of an onlooker, using senses and similes.
Phase 2: Teaching and rehearsing
- Spelling focus: Teach spelling patterns for –al endings.
- Building vocabulary: Generate descriptive ideas using new words and synonyms.
- Grammar focus: Compose sentences with similes, using examples from the text.
- Common exception words: Practise reading and spelling CEWs within the story.
- Joining ideas: Explore how conjunctions connect ideas in writing.
Phase 3: Application
- Music inspiration: Pupils choose a different animal from The Carnival of the Animals and plan a new story inspired by the music.
- Planning and drafting: Create a new story map and write a descriptive narrative featuring expanded noun phrases and similes.
- Editing and performance: Reread, check and perform their finished piece, focusing on clear sequencing and descriptive detail.
Curriculum links
- English: Vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, composition and transcription objectives for Year 2.
- Music: Listening and responding to musical works; exploring rhythm, tempo and pitch to inspire writing.
- Science: Learning about animals and their characteristics.
- Art: Illustrating story scenes and character movement.
Vocabulary
Year 2 common exception words: wild, after, again, every, great, last, people, beautiful, children, grass, parents, climb
Tier 2 words: carnival, enclosure, float, fountain, herd, lumbering, march, parade, patiently, trumpeted
Tier 3 words: composer, orchestra
Resources included
- Model text: The Day the Elephants Led the Parade (plain, illustrated and annotated PDFs)
- PowerPoint slides (annotated and non-annotated)
- Teaching notes and weekly lesson plans
- Word, image and definition cards for vocabulary teaching
- Sequencing and story map templates
- Common exception word cards
- Writer’s checklist and challenge prompts
- ‘Carnival of the Animals’ music link and composer poster
Outcomes
By the end of the unit, pupils will:
- Write a descriptive story inspired by a piece of music
- Use expanded noun phrases and similes effectively
- Apply Year 2 spelling and punctuation skills with growing accuracy
- Demonstrate confidence in rereading, editing and performing their work
- Show understanding of how music can influence mood, imagery and storytelling