Flashbacks (4 Weeks) unit based on Oranges in No Man's Land by Elizabeth Laird

This is a 4 week unit of planning that produces a flashback recount from the time during the Lebanese civil war by a young girl called Ayesha. She has to brave the war zone to travel across enemy lines to find help for her sick granny by searching for medicine from a doctor. The story is fantastic and the writing produced as a result of it is even better. This text is best suited to Y4 and above as there are aspects of war such as loss (her mother dies after a shell hits their house) but the richness of the text has really engaged all my class and especially the boys.

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.

Stage 1- Stimulate and generate- Learning outcomes
• To write a flashback.
• To find the meaning of words.
• To retrieve and record information from text.
• To take notes to summarise details.
• To retrieve and record information from text.
• To write a diary extract as a character from a story.
• To retrieve and record information from text.

Stage 2 - Capture, Sift and Sort- Learning outcomes
• To find the key features of a flashback.
• To write expanded noun phrases.
• To write similes using abstract nouns.
• To find near synonyms of verbs.
• To write in the past tense.
• To write a descriptive setting.
• To modify adjectives with adverbs.
• To use a fronted adverbial to explain how, when or where something took place.

Stage 3 - Create refine evaluate- Learning outcomes
• To plan and organise my ideas to effectively support my writing.
• To convey viewpoint by writing in role.
• To revise, edit evaluate and improve my writing.
• To convey viewpoint by writing in role.

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 before you write it and then edit it to improve the piece. This can include self, peer or teacher led reviewing.