Debate & Autobiography double unit (3 week) based on The Man Who Walked Between the Two Towers

This is a three week unit based on the book The Man Who Walked Between the Two Towers by Mordicai Gerstein. This retells the events leading up when Phillippe Petit walked on a tight rope between the twin towers in New York. It is a great book for modelling suspense and raising key issues such as the attack on the twin towers. This unit has two outcomes which are persuasive debate and autobiography writing. Pupils love this unit as they get so engaged by the dare devil Phillippe Petit.

I have listed the learning objectives for all of the lessons below. Also I have included all of the worksheets, PowerPoints, links and resources you will need to teach this unit straight away.

Stimulate & Generate LOs
• To use inference to generate questions and research for relevant information
• To write using expanded noun phrases
• To write to persuade in a subjunctive form
• To build suspense in a first person recount
• To explore the character’s feelings and emotions through drama

Cycle 1 - Capture, Sift & Sort
• To be able to identify features of a text type

Create, Refine & Evaluate
• To generate points to justify my opinion in a debate
• To use an appropriate form and modelled text to shape my writing
• To use agreed success criteria to evaluate and edit to improve my writing
• Reading LO To justify my opinion of what I have read through a debate

Cycle 2 - Capture, Sift & Sort
• To be able to identify features of a text type

Create, Refine & Evaluate
• To select and organise relevant points when planning for my writing
• To write to inform using an appropriate format
• To use agreed success criteria to evaluate my writing and edit to improve

Stimulate and generate = This usually starts with a hook to interest the class where the class realise who they are going to write for so they have a clear purpose and audience. Activities can include reading excellent model texts, drama or researching more about the author or the content of the book.

Capture, sift and sort = This is the part of the unit where pupils look at key features, practise skills they will need in order to complete the final piece or new learning for objectives they have not learnt yet.

Create, refine, evaluate = This is where you bring all you have learnt together and plan the final piece