Turn your classroom into a potion laboratory with this engaging Year 2 writing pack. Pupils will develop their understanding of different sentence types, focusing on commands, while having fun inventing magical mixtures.
You can use this pack for Halloween, as part of a topic day or spread across several English lessons. It also works well as a creative home learning project.
The centrepiece is the WAGOLL model text A Wishing Potion. This imaginative set of instructions uses tier 2 and tier 3 vocabulary and imperative verbs such as place, sprinkle and break.
Pupils will explore how the text combines ingredients like fish scales, cobwebs and rainwater to create a potion that grants wishes. They'll read, discuss and analyse the instructions, then plan and write their own potion recipes using command sentences.
Instruction writing activities
The teacher notes take you through three clear stages. In the first, pupils read A Wishing Potion and answer questions about its content, before completing the My Wish worksheet to record what they would wish for.
Next, they investigate command sentences by practising imperative verbs orally and identifying examples in the model text. They also use vocabulary cards to build a bank of “bossy verbs” for their own writing.
In the final stage, pupils pick from idea cards and ingredient cards to create and write their own potions. They rehearse their sentences out loud, draft their instructions and then write them neatly on themed writing paper.
The pack includes:
- A Wishing Potion model text (WAGOLL)
- My Wish worksheet
- Vocabulary cards with imperative verbs
- Magical potion idea cards
- Magical potion ingredient cards
- Themed writing paper
- Teacher notes with step-by-step activities and extension ideas
Curriculum links
This resource helps pupils to:
- explore and clarify word meanings, connecting new vocabulary to what they already know
- plan and rehearse their writing orally before putting pen to paper
- use different sentence forms, with a focus on writing clear command sentences
With imaginative prompts, practical support and a magical theme, this pack makes sentence writing memorable and fun.
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