Encourage your Year 6 pupils to explore different perspectives while producing independent writing that demonstrates their understanding of geography and trade.
This resource focuses on balanced arguments, asking pupils to consider whether shopping locally or globally is preferable. It provides practical tools to assess pupils against the Key Stage 2 writing Teacher Assessment Framework (TAF) for working towards, expected and greater depth standards.
The resource pack offers a structured approach to cross-curricular writing, combining geographical knowledge, discussion and independent research.
Pupils are guided with success criteria and checklists while teachers are supported with clear assessment guidance, in line with the recommendation that “pupils’ writing, on which teachers base their judgements, must be produced independently.”
This writing activity works well within a geography unit on global trade links or the distribution of natural resources. Pupils can debate and analyse differing viewpoints, applying subject knowledge to justify their arguments.
It also provides opportunities for cross-curricular learning, encouraging independent research skills and structured planning.
TAF statements covered
Working Towards Standard (WTS)
- Use paragraphs to organise ideas
- Use capital letters, full stops, question marks, commas for lists and apostrophes for contractions mostly correctly
Expected Standard (EXS)
- Write effectively for a range of purposes and audiences, showing awareness of the reader
- Use a range of devices to build cohesion (e.g., conjunctions, adverbials of time/place, pronouns, synonyms) within and across paragraphs
- Use the range of punctuation taught at KS2 mostly correctly
Greater Depth Standard (GDS)
- Write effectively for a range of purposes and audiences, selecting appropriate form and drawing independently on reading
- Use punctuation taught at KS2 correctly, and where necessary, with precision to enhance meaning and avoid ambiguity
Pack contents
- Personal writing skills checklist – encourages pupils to monitor their own progress
- Balanced argument writing checklist – features for pupils to edit independently
- Key phrases poster – sentence starters to support cohesion in arguments
- Year 6 punctuation poster – examples of punctuation expected at KS2
- Balanced argument guidance poster – outlines key features of a balanced argument
- Discussion cards – prompts for debating local vs global trade
- Information cards – facts about local and global shopping for research
- Planning sheet – helps pupils structure and organise ideas
- Themed writing paper – PDF sheet for drafting the final argument
- Teacher assessment sheets – for tracking evidence against TAF standards
Suggested teaching approach
Introduce the question “Should we shop locally or globally?” and explore different viewpoints using discussion and information cards. Pupils will plan their ideas using the planning sheet and checklists, then draft their balanced argument, applying formal language, cohesive devices and appropriate punctuation.
Finally, they'll review and edit their work independently or in pairs, while teachers assess against the Year 6 TAF statements.
Browse more Year 6 SATs TAF Evidence resources.