A fifteen-lesson writing unit, leading students towards writing their own explanation text based on a fictional product: a watering robot! Students spend time at the start of the unit designing their own plant watering robot/machine (there is also an option to write about the ladybird robot in the example texts provided). This allows them to focus on how to write an explanation text, without becoming bogged down in exactly how a specific product works, they can tell us! This would make a great unit to be taught alongside a Science unit on plants or living things and their habitats, or as a way to revisit Scientific knowledge. This unit begins with ten lessons exploring the text type and sentence level work. The final five lessons allow them to write their explanation text. The unit uses three differentiated example text types about a ladybird-shaped plant watering robot to supports students’ understanding. Where appropriate, each lesson is differentiated and carefully planned to suit different students’ needs. Lesson order: • Hook lesson: introducing the ladybird robot and its purpose. Students design their own watering robot/machine. • Questions, students answer questions in more detail about their watering robot/machine to have enough detail for their explanation text. • Creating diagrams with technical language, students draw and label diagrams of their robots/machines using technical language. • Identify features of explanation texts, students explore the key features of explanation texts and find examples in the texts provided. • Writing appropriate noun phrases, students will explore appropriate description for an explanation text and practise writing descriptions of their robot/machine. • Using prepositions to clearly describe different parts of the robot. • Writing with fronted adverbials, focussing on fronted adverbials to express time and cause. • Writing with conjunctions, students will use a range of subordinating and coordinating conjunctions to add information or to explain. • Understand and using bullet points, students will explore how they are used and practise writing a list or adding extra information with bullet points. • Introducing headings and sub-headings, students will use these to plan their explanation texts in preparation for writing. • Writing the introduction and second paragraph (explaining what the machine does in more detail), looking at examples and creating a shared write as a class. • Writing the third paragraph (explaining how the machine works). • Writing the conclusion. • Students can practise editing using our ‘explanation text to edit’ before editing their own work. • Publishing texts, including adding detailed diagrams. Lesson activities are downloaded as PDF files

A fifteen lesson writing unit, leading students towards writing their own newspaper article based on a fictional event: people have lost their shadows This would make a great unit to be taught alongside a Science unit on light and shadows, or as a way to revisit Scientific knowledge. The lessons beginning with exploring the text type, followed by sentence level work and ending with writing their newspaper report. The unit uses differentiated example text types throughout to support students understanding. Where appropriate, each lesson is differentiated and carefully planned to suit different students needs. Lesson order: Hook lesson: introducing the newspaper story, people have lost their shadows. Students take part in a fun treasure hunt activity to piece together the story. Identifying and sorting features of a newspaper report, using differentiated example texts. Sorting facts and opinions, understanding their use in a newspaper report. Writing headlines. Writing captions, including using prepositions. Generating appropriate vocabulary for our newspaper report. Generating fronted adverbials to be used in our newspaper report. Understanding and using conjunctions, this fun activity involves students rolling a dice to see which conjunction makes sense in a sentence and which fits best. Writing in the past tense. Writing quotes, punctuating direct speech for quotes in a newspaper report. This lesson also includes a hot seating activity for the whole class to engage in. Writing the report: writing the introduction. Writing the report: writing the main body. Writing the report: writing the conclusion. Writing the report: editing. Writing the report: publishing. Lesson activities are downloaded as PDF files

An engaging fifteen lesson writing unit, leading students towards writing their own newspaper article based on a fictional event: a school has lost its gravity! This would make a great unit to be taught alongside a Science unit on forces, or as a way to revisit Scientific knowledge. The first ten lessons explore text type, followed by sentence and word level work. The unit uses differentiated example text types throughout to support students understanding. Lesson Order Hook lesson: a school has lost its gravity! Analysing newspaper articles. Formal vocabulary used in newspapers. Relative clauses used in newspapers. Parenthesis used in newspapers. Rhetorical questions to start and link paragraphs. Technical language (explaining gravity). Appropriate descriptive language used in newspapers. Writing a conclusion, focussing on how the structure is different to other parts of the report. Writing the report: writing the introduction. Writing the report: writing paragraphs 2 and 3. Writing the report: writing paragraph 4 and conclusion. Writing the report: editing, with a report for students to practise editing. Writing the report: publishing. Lesson activities are downloaded as PDF files

The perfect way to start off your morning of learning. Monday morning tasks start with activities relating to feelings to get the week off to a good start. Each sheet has English and Maths activities aimed at Year 3, beginning the term with consolidating their learning from Year 2 and continuing with what they will learn during the Autumn term. Maths activities progress in small steps as the week goes on. PPTs include challenge tasks for children who finish early and answers. Content: Number sequences Marking numbers on a number line Comparing and ordering numbers Place value Writing numbers in words and digits Addition and subtraction progressing from adding ones to adding and subtracting numbers in the hundreds using a range of representations 3, 4 and 8 x tables using a range of different representations. Using adjectives, verbs, adverbs and nouns in sentences. Synonyms and antonyms. Spelling of common exception words. Correcting spelling and grammar mistakes Descriptive writing.