My Friend Walter - Morpurgo - Report Writing - KS2

Crown Jewels Chapter 7 - My Friend Walter - Michael Morpurgo

In the event of a national crisis, the Orb from the Crown Jewels has been stolen, and the task given to the children is to write a report about the Crown Jewels. They have been appointed as new researchers and writers for Newsround, and their job is to compare the similarities and differences of the Crown Jewels in a way that is easy to understand for a younger audience, like infants.

This lesson was designed for a Year 4 class with a high percentage of SEND children in a mainstream setting. These children were working below the expected standard for Year 4, but the lesson has challenges to engage higher-attaining pupils and can be adapted for an older or younger year group. Also, I used this for a lesson observation for senior leadership position, and I was successfully shortlisted.

The lesson includes a PowerPoint presentation called “My Friend Walter Chapter 7 Report” that is fully animated with transitions, and three sheets for differentiated tasks.

For higher-attaining pupils, there is a picture of the Crown Jewels as a reference, and the expectation is to write directly into books and compare two objects.

For middle-attaining pupils, there is a worksheet with two columns: Similarities and Differences.

For lower-attaining pupils, there is a worksheet with a writing frame, two columns for Similarities and Differences, and a word bank with key vocabulary.

The main focus of the lesson is to write a report about the Crown Jewels, so it can be easily adapted without reference to the rest of the story. However, if you would like to use the text from the story, in chapter 7, we find out about the mischievous old ghost (Sir Walter) who sets about restoring the family’s fortune, while Bess has to try to keep the presence of a ghost in the house a secret. Sir Walter comes up with a scheme to steal the orb from the Crown Jewels to help raise money for the farm.

An example of a finished report is also included along with the lesson plan.

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