This Year 2 writing unit from our Real Writing collection centres on a story set in a familiar school environment, written by published children’s author Jo Franklin.
Across two to three weeks, pupils will read the model story, order the events, and write their own narrative following the same structure. They will learn to add the suffixes -ing and -ed to verbs and practise writing using the past progressive tense.
Pupils will produce their own story about a special day at school, whether real or imagined, drawing on personal experiences or those of others.
Each unit follows a carefully mapped framework and includes detailed lesson planning for two to three weeks, with fully resourced activities linked to the model text.
Curriculum links and key skills
English objectives
- Spelling: apply rules for -ing and -ed endings
- Grammar: use past progressive tense
- Punctuation: commas in lists, capital letters for proper nouns, apostrophes for contractions/singular possession
- Writing process: reread, proofread, read aloud
Cross-curricular links
- Opportunities to discuss school life, personal experiences, and story-based projects (lessons are fully resourced for discrete teaching or integration into the full unit)
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
Resources included
- Model text in three formats
- Annotated and non-annotated PowerPoint presentations
- Teacher notes and guidance
- Activity sheets: story mapping, sequencing, vocabulary, writing
- Writer’s checklist
- Common exception word (CEW) cards
- Story idea sheets for generating narratives
Activities and teaching sequence
Phase 1 – Familiarisation
- Discuss special events at school and what makes them memorable
- Read A Special School Day and explore characters, events, and setting
- Identify and discuss new Tier 2 vocabulary using word cards
- Draw and label character costumes using story information
- Complete story maps and sequencing activities
- Write descriptive paragraphs about the school setting
Phase 2 – Teaching and rehearsing
- Teach and practise spelling rules for -ing and -ed suffixes
- Explore past progressive tense with examples and worksheets
- Review and practise common exception words with CEW cards
- Identify and use coordinating and subordinating conjunctions
- Write sentences and short passages applying grammar, spelling, and punctuation skills
Phase 3 – Application
- Generate ideas for a personal or imagined story about a special school day
- Plan story structure using a story map
- Write a full narrative, applying:
- Descriptive vocabulary and adjectives
- Past progressive tense
- Conjunctions and punctuation
- Read work aloud, self-assess with writer’s checklist, and make corrections
Outcomes
By the end of this unit, pupils will be able to:
- Write a coherent story set in a familiar school environment
- Use -ing and -ed suffixes correctly in context
- Apply past progressive tense to describe ongoing actions
- Sequence events logically in writing
- Use commas, capital letters, and apostrophes accurately
- Apply new vocabulary in their writing
- Read their writing aloud and identify improvements