Year 5/6, English, Non-fiction, Recounts Unit (Beowulf)

This non-fiction unit for Years 5 and 6 revisits the key features of recount texts. Analysing recounts drawn from a range of media, children identify common features and differences. They then go on to produce a plan, carry out interviews, collate and evaluate the information they have gathered and write an article or report. To give context to this work, it would be useful to arrange a visit from a local news reporter or a trip to a news office, if possible. The examples in these lessons are taken from ‘Beowulf’ and follow on from Fiction Unit 3. This unit could be used at any stage in Year 5. Lesson length This unit could take about three to four weeks. We have organised the unit’s content into seven lessons, each of which should take about an hour. Each lesson also has a set of extension activities for different abilities, as well as Hotspot! (Higher Order Thinking/Higher level questioning ) challenges.

Lesson 1 Read all about it!• To identify the different features of a newspaper

1. Beowulf ’s clash with Grendel – an impersonal recount • To write a recount of an event.

3 An interview with Wiglaf. • To recognise the key features of an interview use a range of open and closed questions to gather information from an eye-witness

4.‘We interrupt this programme for a newsflash…’ • To take useful notes and to ask open questions. • To explore individual’s motives through role play

5 Carefully chosen words.• To write a range of different kinds of sentences.

6 Here is the news • To organise and edit work and make improvements

7 The importance of good editing
• To reflect critically on their own and other’s writing and to improve it.

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