Real Writing Year 2 - Unit 6
Model text: A Special School Day, by Jo Franklin
Curriculum links: Reading for pleasure
Writing Unit overview
This writing unit for Year 2 is built around an original text by Jo Franklin - a story in a familiar setting (World Book Day in a school). 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 order the events in the story and write their own following the same structure. Pupils will learn how to add the suffixes -ing and -ed to verbs and will learn how to write using the past progressive tense. They will write their own story set in school, writing about a special day, real or imagined. This unit gives pupils the opportunity to write a narrative based on personal experiences or those of others.
Key curriculum skills
Two 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 apply spelling rules when adding the suffixes -ing and -ed to words
Pupils will: learn how the suffix -ing can be added when no change is needed to the root word.
2. Grammar: to use the past progressive tense
Pupils will: learn about the past progressive tense and how it can show that actions are continuing. Pupils will rewrite sentences written in the simple past using the past progressive on the past tense worksheet. They will then write their own sentences about a day at school, using the past progressive tense.
Additional teaching points to teach or revisit:
- using commas to separate items within a list
- using subordinating and coordinating conjunctions
- capital letters for proper nouns
- using apostrophes to show contraction or for singular possession
- rereading writing to check that it makes sense
- proof-reading to check for errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation
- and reading aloud what they have written
Year 2 vocabulary
Year 2 common exception words: everybody old could children every child would after class Mr parents because
Tier 2 words: congratulated, duffle coat, extraordinary, familiar, unusual, usual
Tier 3 words: N/A