Three weeks of creative and fully resourced Year 2 Talk for Writing planning involving drama, reading skills (information retrieval and then inference), poetry, grammar skills, drawing, diary writing and story writing. Only a few of the lessons and outcomes are shown in the preview. Each lesson is fully resourced and differentiated - there is also a focus on greater depth opportunities. To get the most from this writing project, it would be useful if the class had access to a copy of ‘The Tear Thief’ by Carol Ann Duffy - a magical picture book. If you buy this unit, PLEASE USE THE ZIP FOLDER - everything you need is in there. Each session is organised into a separate folder. The other files are simply there as a preview to show some of the resources included. Over the three weeks, the following Y2 objectives are thoroughly covered: Grammar • I can say and write a sentences with a capital letter and a full stop • I can use different joining words (conjunctions) to join my ideas • I can use carefully chosen adjectives/expanded noun phrases • I can use an apostrophe to show ownership Reading • I can spot meaning breakdowns • I can visualise a character from a story • I can find information in a story • I can read like a detective (inference) Composition • I can retell a story in sentences • I can add a new part to a story I know • I can create a character • I understand how a story can be organised • In my own writing, I can use words and ideas from a story I have read • I can write a story (using the skills I have been learning) This unit could be easily adapted for use in other year groups.

This is a KS2 sentence intervention for the whole class based on the brilliant short film ‘The Present’! It is made up of 12 carefully planned and fully resourced sessions, complete with PowerPoint slides. Everything is editable and it’s all ready to use with no additional preparation. For one reason or another, many children arrive in Year 4, 5 or 6 with significant gaps in their understanding of basic sentence grammar. Often we are asking them to repeatedly take part in extended writing tasks when they can’t tell us what a sentence is or write accurately. Use these 12 lively sessions with your class and you will quickly see an impact on sentence accuracy. Soon, children will be engaging with grammar and you’ll here: “Is this a run-on?” or “Does this sentence make sense?” Music to any teacher’s ears! Allow about an hour for each workshop and adapt it to suit your own needs. Let’s give children the knowledge and skills to start talking about sentences. If you purchase this unit, please use the zip. Each lesson is resourced in its own sub-folder for ease of use. All planning (Word) and slides (PowerPoint) are included too. The images are just to enable previewing of the unit. Overview of the unit Workshop 1 (slides 1-3) Sentence assessment task Workshop 2 (slides 4-14) I can tell the difference between a sentence, a fragment and run-on I can change fragments and run-ons into sentences Workshop 3 (slides 15-19) I can tell the difference between a sentence, a fragment and run-on I can change fragments and run-ons into sentences Workshop 4 (slides 20-28) I can start a sentence with How? When? or Where? Workshop 5 (slides 29 – 39) I can use these conjunctions: ‘because’, ‘but’, ‘so’ Workshop 6 (slides 40-45) I can tell the difference between statements, questions and exclamations I can write statements, questions and exclamations Workshop 7 (slide 46 – 52) I can identify a run-on I can correct a run-on Workshop 8 I can punctuate direct speech (slide 53-59) Workshop 9 (slides 60-64) I can start a sentence with How? When? or Where? (2) Workshop 10 (slide 65-69) I can peer assess writing and set a target I can plan a story Workshop 11 (slides 70 – 74) I can use accurate sentences in my story writing Workshop 12 (slide 75-84) I can edit my work and improve it for my readers

This resource is 15 fully resourced sessions exploring the Anglo-Saxon legend Beowulf. Everything you need - models, PowerPoint slides, activities - is included in the ZIP file. The previews you can see show snippets of the first five sessions. It has been created for Year 5, but could be used in other KS2 classes. The unit draws on many versions of Beowulf. The model text harnesses the rich language used in Beowulf: dragonslayer by Rosemary Sutcliff. Each session has been carefully sequenced. The unit begins with immersion into the story through images and drama. There are also reading fluency and comprehension activities. Children in engage in short burst writing activities to learn and apply new skills. They also explore the key features of legends through a tool kit. Towards the end of the unit, children pick from a wide range of hot tasks, choosing the one that excites them most. Finally, children create their own legends, making use of planning grids and storyboards. This unit is ready to go. Creative teachers (and children!) will enjoy getting stuck-in to this one. Please also check out my other units, including ‘Theseus and the Minotaur’. with every lesson creatively planned in detail and many sessions resourced for SEN, EXP and GDS. https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/theseus-and-the-minotaur-3-weeks-of-detailed-planning-fully-resourced-and-differentiated-11914692

Massive 3 week writing unit, planned in detail and fully resourced and differentiated. It is pitched at Year 4, but would work equally well in Year 5 or 6 (please see the key skills covered below). For most sessions, there are resources to extend high attainers and resources to support SEN learners. This unit is ready to go! Three weeks of differentiated resources is a lot of files, so you can’t see it all in the preview. When you buy, please use the zip folder. The contents of the zip are organised into weeks and then into individual lessons (the other files are only there so that people can preview the unit!) . The zip will enable you to navigate your way through the plan and related resources with ease. All resources are PowerPoint and Word, so you will have no issues opening anything - and you can edit to suit your own needs - no PDFs! There are many, many resources included. Here are a few key examples: model text (short and long versions); a story map; drama activities; story boards; cold task/assessment task; reading comprehension activities; conjunctions activities; scavenger hunt; paragraphing activities; pronoun activities; noun phrase activities; fronted adverbial activities; tool kits; idea gathering resources; planning grids; peer assessment resources; and many more! The key objectives covered repeatedly throughout the unit are: Reading: • increasing their familiarity with a wide range of books, including myths and legends, and retelling some of these orally • asking questions to improve their understanding of a text • drawing inferences such as inferring characters’ feelings, thoughts and motives from their actions, and justifying inferences with evidence Vocab/grammar/punctuation • I can use a wide range of subordinating conjunctions (when, if, because, although) • I understand the term ‘adverbial’ and I can use fronted adverbials (with a comma) • I can choose a variety of nouns and pronouns (to avoid repetition) Composition • discussing writing similar to that which they are planning to write in order to understand and learn from its structure, vocabulary and grammar • organising paragraphs around a theme Evaluate and edit by: • assessing the effectiveness of their own and others’ writing and suggesting improvements These have been broken down and written in ‘child speak’ within the planning.

Here are seven sessions inspired by Louis Sachar’s ‘Holes’ (or the film of the same name) pitched at Year 5 or Year 6. First, children write an informal letter from Stanley to a member of his family back home. After that, they write a formal letter of complaint from Mrs. Yelnats to Warden Walker. There are also optional cold task and hots tasks (Pizza Problems!) if you need them. It’s all in Powerpoint and Word, so edit as you wish. Absolutely everything you need is in the zip folder. Models and planning are frames included along with many other supporting resources (word banks, text extracts and information pages). Get stuck in! Here is an overview of the six sessions: OPTIONAL COLD TASK Pizza problems! Write an informal email to a friend. Use the planning frame and the word bank if you need them. Reading fluency and tricky vocabulary Look at tricky words and rank them. Use synonyms and paraphrases to replace tricky words. Improve reading fluency through modelled and paired reading. • I can explore unfamiliar vocabulary in context • I can read a story fluently Plan an informal letter to Mom ** Read the start of Stanley’s letter and Mom’s reply. Discuss how Stanley is creative with the truth. Focus on planning structure – give each paragraph a theme. Share read an example letter before starting. • I plan an informal letter • I can use informal language and sentence structures Write a letter to Mom Explore the difference between formal and informal. Identify formal and informal language. Revisit contractions and dashes – they are common in informal writing. Write a letter home. • I can make contractions by dropping letters and using an apostrophe in their place • I can add chatty afterthoughts using dashes Plan a formal letter Explore formal language choice. Get into role as one of Stanley’s parents. Pick three key points to complain about. Read information relating to your three points and plan your letter. • I can use precise language (limited, inadequate, insufficient) and write in a formal style Write a formal letter Share read a formal letter paying close attention to grammar features. Spend time exploring word banks. Write formal letters, maintaining an appropriate register throughout. • I can write maintain a formal style throughout my writing • I can use a range of (upper KS2) punctuation OPTIONAL HOT TASK Pizza problems 2! Write a letter of complaint. Use the planning frame and the word bank if you need them.

This is a fully planned, fully resourced 3 week narrative unit. It has been designed to enable Year 6 writers to produce ARE and possibly greater depth writing. All docs have been created on Word and PowerPoint so you can adapt it as you wish. The unit is driven by chapter three of ‘The Explorer’. Children spend time getting to know ‘The Den’ before creating their own survival stories. If you have an opportunity to do some den building, this unit really comes to life. If this is not possible, you could design dens or create model dens. There are den building resources included. By the end of the unit, children will have produced some extended narrative writing after many short bursts of preparatory writing. But more than that, everyone will have a lot of fun too - the plan is packed with games and creative activities (‘Three words only’, ‘Would I lie to you?’, ‘Knights, riders and dancers’, ‘Survival Quiz’ and many more…). Everything is oraganised into lesson-by-lesson folders for ease of use. If you buy this unit, ignore the PNG files which have been used to preview parts of the unit. Instead, find the zip folder that contains all of the resources in full. Enjoy!

This is a 3 week KS2 writing unit based on an extract from ‘Varjak Paw’. Each of the 16 sessions has a clear and detailed lesson plan, presentation slides and differentiated activities (greater depth, on track and support) complete with resources. It’s all here! For a large chunk of this unit, children explore a wonderful extract from chapter 21: Varjak discovers a toy shop and meets a toy cat. Using this passage for inspiration, children create short bursts of writing whilst learning and applying new skills. These short bursts are eventually combined to create a diary entry. When you open the zip, you will find a folder for each session - everything is organised in a user-friendly way. As with all of my resources, all files have been created using PowerPoint and Word, so you can edit and adapt as you wish. I have aimed this unit at Year 4, but it could be used in any KS2 setting - I would happily do this project with Year 6 pupils. This unit has been very carefully sequenced and builds towards quality writing outcomes. It is packed with talk, reading, vocabulary, grammar and composition skills. Unit Overview Session 1 Prewriting activity – I can visualise a story setting Session 2 Cold task – What do you already know about diary writing? Session 3 I can notice and define adventurous words and phrases Session 4 I can reuse adventurous words and phrases Session 5 Reading activity: I can read like a detective Session 6 I can use prepositions to show where something is (in relation to something else) Session 7 I can use preposition phrases to organise a paragraph Session 8 I can describe how a character is feeling using their body language Session 9 I can punctuate direct speech correctly (sentence level) Session 10 I can punctuate direct speech correctly (text level) Session 11 I can use ‘but’ to change direction in an unexpected way Session 12 I can write sentences using adventurous vocabulary and prepositions Session 13 I can pick out the key features of diary writing Session 14 I can use the key features of diary writing Session 15 I can plan a diary entry independently Session 16 Independent diary writing. Children have the opportunity to demonstrate their new skills and knowledge.

Drama! Talk! Poetry map! Scavenger hunt! Reading skills! Team work! Creative writing! 13 resources included! This is a seven day poetry unit exploring Alfred Lord Tennyson’s ‘The Kraken’. It has been planned in a lot of detail and is fully resourced. There is clear guidance all the way through, so if you’re in a rush, you can pick it up and use it! There is also a one-symbol-per-line story map to help children learn the poem off-by-heart with help from picture cues. All of the tricky words are also defined. The unit begins with children performing and learning the poem through drama and then moves on to explore the imagery in the poem, including comprehension questions. Children then begin to use imagery of their own. They work collaboratively (using a’ jig-saw’ approach, explained in the plan), use language playfully and finally write their own poem. It is a very enjoyable unit, which inspired some superb writing in my class. It could work with Year 4, Year 5 or Year 6. Sessions cover these objectives: 1. I can recite one line of a poem from memory. (Drama) I can recite a whole poem from memory. I can find meaning within the puzzle of a poem. 2. I can understand wide range of imaginative and ambitious vocabulary. (Definitions scavenger hunt included) I use a wide range of imaginative and ambitious vocabulary accurately and precisely. 3. I understand the term imagery. (14 comprehension questions included) I can find examples of imagery in poem. I can suggest reasons why a poet has used certain imagery. 4. I know what the terms metaphor and simile mean. (Group work activities creating new Kraken imagery) I can use simile and metaphor (imagery) and magic! I can play with the order of words to add impact. 5. I can draft a poem and develop my ideas by ‘magpie-ing’ from other writers and drawing on poems that I am reading. (Supportive writing frame included) 6. I can evaluate, edit and improve my own writing. I hope your class love it and create some incredible poems.

Talk! Drama! Reading skills! Sentence skills! Making and drawing! Spelling skills! Writing a narrative! This is a creatively planned and fully resourced three week writing unit. It is aimed at year 1, or the beginning of year 2. The planning and activities have been carefully differentiated and there are plenty of opportunities for greater depth writing. If you buy this, please use the zip folder. It is organised into folders, lesson by lesson. There is also one sentence grammar activity themed with Jack and the Beanstalk. The following objectives are covered across the three week unit (many are covered more than once): Drama • I can explore a story through improvisation and role play. I can act out a story I know using voices for characters. Spelling • Suffixes that can be added to verbs) with a focus on -ed endings: I can add the –ed suffix to verbs. Sentence/Punctuation • How words can combine to make sentences: I can show what I already know about sentences. I can talk in sentences. I can spot sentences. • Introduction to capital letters, full stops demarcate sentences: I can add full stops to the end of a sentence. • Joining words and joining clauses using and: I can join my ideas together using ‘and’. • Capital letters for names: I can use capital letters for names. Composition • Sequencing sentences to form short narratives: I can put sentences in a sensible order. I can use the skills I have learned to write a story. • Similes: I can write a simile. **Reading: ** • Vocabulary: I can fix meaning breakdowns. • Inference: I can tell you about why a character does or says things. **Terminology: ** • letter, capital letter, word, sentence, punctuation, full stop

A three week KS2 writing unit with a powerful environmental theme. All lesson plans, PowerPoints and activitiy resources included - it’s ready to go. Pupils explore a one-sided argument about fossil fuels, and then create their own persuasive writing about food waste. Turn your class into eco-heroes! Teach children about persuasive devices, and encourage them to use these skills to make a positive change. I used this project in Y4, but it could be quickly adapted for any KS2 class - all resources are fully editable. If you buy this resource, ignore the preview images (these are just png screen shots) and open the zip folder. Inside this folder, you will find full versions of all plans, presentations and tasks, organised into lesson-by-lesson folders for ease of use. Please also see my new ‘climate change’ unit, Waste Monsters, aimed at upper KS2. https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12966461

This is now the original 40 grammar dice games (a 145 page word document containing 40 fun grammar games) and also 38 more grammar games. Unlike a lot of sellers, my work is a Word document, so you can edit-and-adapt to make it work in your classroom. All of these games have been tested in class and adjusted if needed. They have a real impact on learning. For each grammar skill there is: a child friendly explanation of the concept; printable rules and resources for a lively dice game; suggestions to challenge or support learners; suggestions for application of the skill in written work. For some grammar games there is also a lesson plan and a presentation. Some of the games included are: 1. Mission Control - Write commands, questions and statements 2. Mythical Six 3. Simple or Compound 4. Adverb Sea Monsters 5. How many proper nouns? - Use proper nouns in a sentence 6. Castle of Nouns - Classify different types of nouns 7. The Memory Test – contractions 8. Apostrophe abductions - Identify possessive apostrophes and contractions 9. Synonym racers (adjectives) - Use more adventurous adjectives 10. Unplanned Story - Use sentence variety 11. Whose side are you on? - Learn the language of argument 12. Whose side are you on? (advanced) - Use extended arguments in a balanced discussion 13. Sentence Extenders - Extend simple sentences in a variety of ways 14. Battle of the complex sentences - Create complex sentences 15. Simple, compound or complex - Create simple, compound or complex sentences 16. Explanation game - Use causal connectives 17. Fronted adverbials - Use a variety of fronted adverbials 18. Warrior swords - Vary the length of fronted adverbials 19. Score my speech - Punctuate direct speech accurately 20. Score my interrupted speech - Interrupt direct speech by dropping a reporting clause in 21. The relative clause team game - Drop a relative clause into a sentence 22. Will you or won’t you? - Use modal verbs in sentences 23. ‘Time’ or ‘Place’ - Classify prepositions into two groups 24. Add a prepositional phrase - Add a prepositional phrase to a main clause 25. Punctuation show-offs - Use dashes, brackets and semi-colons 26. Plural planets - Explore 6 rules for making plurals 27. Battle words - Use this for any spelling rule! 28. Determiners ‘Point or show quantity’ - Learn all about determiners 29. Determiners ‘Introduce the noun’ - Classify and use determiners 30. Unstressed vowel race - spell unstressed vowels 31. Follow the rule/break the rule - spell ‘ie’ and ‘ei’ words 32. Creepy crawly colon sentences - Colons to explain 33. Colons to introduce lists ...and more!!!

This is a fully resourced unit inspired by ‘The Iron Man’. Children change key parts of a known story into news reports. Every session has a detailed plan, a presentation and resources for writing tasks. This was planned for Y4, but it could be easily adapted to any KS2 class (everything is fully editable in Word and PowerPoint). There are some preview screen shots to give you a feel for the unit, but the whole unit is included in the attached zip folder. Each lesson is organised into subfolders for ease of use. Enjoy! Here is a brief overview of the 15 sessions: Pre-unit Assessment - Cold task – ‘Lion loose in school grounds’ • I can show what I already know about newspaper reports Asking questions – reading comprehension • I can ask questions about the text I am reading Interviewer and eye witness part 1: Hogarth • I can use drama explore events from different points of view Interviewer and eye witness part 2: Hogarth’s father • I can reuse words from the text Interviewer and eye witness part 3 and 4: farmer and police officer • I can use drama explore events from different points of view Paragraph structure • I can group and order information Headlines and summaries I can tell, sell and summarise Adverbials of time (fronted adverbials) • I can use adverbs to say when an event happened Adverbials of time (again!) • I can use adverbs to say when an event happened Switching between different voices (objective journalistic comment and informal first person quotes) • I can change between third person (journalist) to first person (eye-witness) Extend a paragraph with further related information • I can add information to a paragraph (sticking to the theme) Co-create a toolkit and pick out key features from news reports • I can identify the features of a news report Combine writing from sessions 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 to create a full news report. • I can edit, improve and publish my work Generate ideas for hot task through drama and plan a news report • I can plan a news report Extended writing - Apply learning from across the unit • I can write a newspaper report (based on a known narrative)

Six poetry lessons for upper KS2 with a focus on performance and creative writing. All plans and resources included - everything you need is here. All work is produced using Word and Powerpoint, so edit as you wish. Most of all… enjoy. This is a fun unit! Please use the contents within the zip folder, and not the PNG files, which are previews of the unit. Overview of unit Session 1 Explore tricky vocabulary I can explore the meaning of words Session 2 Read, discuss, perform I can bring a poem to life using my voice **Session 3 Explore, map, recite ** I can visualise a poem and recite it from memory Session 4 Comprehension I can explain the meaning of words in context I can find information in poetry I can justify inferences with evidence Session 5 Create poetry I can write a free verse poem using a familiar theme and structure Session 6 Peer edit for impact + perform I can choose verbs and nouns phrases to create imagery I can perform my own composition fluently

A fully resourced 3 week (15 lesson) writing unit. I created it for Y4, but it would work equally well in Y5 or Y6. All lesson plans, slides and tasks are included - it’s ready to go. Only the first week is shown in the preview. If you buy the unit, it is oraganised into sub-folders, lesson-by lesson. Narrative: Tam’s story (3 weeks) Stimulus: ‘Varjak Paw’ by SF Said Purpose and Audience: Write a new part of the story (Tam’s story) in the style of SF Said. Key knowledge and skills: • compose a new part for a known narrative • plan and write paragraphs around a theme • use imaginative and rich vocabulary drawn from reading During ‘Varjak Paw’ there are times when key characters leave the story before returning again. What they have been doing is never made explicit, but using a mixture of inference and imagination we can create what may have happened – we can write new narratives inspired by the novel. The bulk of this unit focuses on Tam. The comfortable brown cat goes looking for food and is missing for a large chunk of the story. It is presumed that she has fallen foul to ‘the Vanishings’. Eventually, she is discovered locked in a cage. What happened to her while she was missing? Let’s narrate her story in third person and find out.

This is a one week (5 lesson) poetry unit inspired by a Simon Armitage poem. The unit is based on my popular free resource ‘First day back poetry’. I have spent some time developing that activity into five fully resources lessons. I hope your class enjoy it as much as mine did! Everything you need is here. All resources are fully editable (PowerPoint and Word). If you buy this unit, please please open the zip folder, containing lesson-by-lesson sub folders within. The PNG files are just to preview the unit. Lesson 1 Reading fluency, vocabulary and comprehension • I can read poem showing understanding through pace, tone and volume • I can discuss a poem and discover its meaning Activity 1 Model expressive reading of a line and then a verse. Activity 2 Partner reading. Activity 3 Discuss the poem and try some comprehension questions Lesson 2 Exploring vocabulary • I can explore the meaning of words (in context) Activity 1 Reusing and defining Activity 2 Sketchnoting Lesson 3 Capturing ideas for poems of our own • I can compose lines for a free verse poem using my own life experiences Activity 1 Connect Activity 2 Enjoy listening to poetry Activity 3 Partner talk Independent task Can you make the ordinary sound amazing? Lesson 4 Arrange and edit for poetic techniques • I can edit my poem for poetic techniques Activity 1 Warm up Activity 2 Listen Activity 3 Arrange Activity 4 Edit for poetic technique Activity 5 Peer assess Lesson 5 Present and perform! • I can prepare a poem to be presented to an audience Activity 1 Read your poem Activity 2 Think of title for your poem Activity 3 Prepare your poem to be read aloud Activity 4 In groups of four, read your poems to each other

Reading comprehension! Drawing! Drama! High quality writing! Newspaper reports! These five fully resourced sessions aimed at Year 5 or Year 6 give children an opportunity to produce excellent non-fiction using a fiction context - no research required! Available in Word and PowerPoint so that you can edit and adjust to suit your needs. Through these 5 sessions, children will explore 3 news reports about heroes; generate their own toolkits; strip a fiction text (Beowulf) back to its bare bones; create captions and draw scenes from the story; take part in drama activities and finally write news reports using a consistent style and appropriate register. I have recently added useful editing questions for children to ask each other - I would suggest a final session for editing and improving. It is helpful (though not essential) if the children have previously explored the story of Beowulf. If they have not heard the story before, allow a little extra time to get familiar with the text (included). These sessions could make up a one week unit or be run over one day, as a writing workshop. Enjoy!

Fully resourced 3 week unit for this text also available in my store! I wrote this model text for year 3/4 children learning about the Stone Age (Bronze Age and Iron Age models are also included in your download). Important year 3/4 conjunctions, prepositions and adverbs are shown in red. The model has been written so that the children can easily use it to help them structure their own reports on the Bronze Age or the Iron Age. There is one image and it is from PIXABAY. I have also included some teacher notes about the text. If you are a talk for writing school, I have included the ‘story map’ for the first 4 paragraphs - that’s the amount we ‘talk’ off-by-heart. I have included Bronze Age and Iron Age versions of the Stone Age model. This is to show how the model can easily adapted to new subjects, and to give ideas for outcomes that the children could research and write. Finally, there are two activities related to the Iron Age version of the model that may be handy. One involves adding prepositions to information sentences. The other involves organising information in a sensible way (sub headings, captions etc).

Many teachers love the Talk for Writing approach but do not find it easy to organise all of Pie’s brilliant ideas into a unit of work. It is a challenge! I have been following the TfW approach for many years, and I have spoken at a few of Pie’s national conferences. Over the years, I have organised Pie’s ideas into a three week planning grid. The planning frame attached is not supposed to be prescriptive; it is designed to ‘hold your hand’ while you put a unit together. It is invaluable for teachers new to this approach, but even old-timers like me find the prompts helpful. This planner has been taken on in many schools and you may adapt it for your own use. This work is designed to support teachers using the TfW approach.

Key Stage 2 nounsA fun game for 2 players exploring proper, common, concrete, abstract and collective nouns. I designed it to support children preparing for the Y6 grammar test. It could be useful for anyone exploring different types of nouns. Enlarge the game board and playing cards up to A3 for less fiddly fun. Enjoy! If you would like more like this please download my other games. They come with presentations and lesson plans.If you use this, please leave a review - it's good teacher karma!My e-book of 20 grammar games is also available for a fiver! It'll boost grammar skills without inducing boredom.

If you are reading Goodnight Mr. Tom here are three very short drama acativities for childrent o try in pairs. They could be used just to help children engage with the story.I asked children to use these three short pieces of drama to support them in writing a diary entry and the produced some wonderful writing.Hope they are of use to someone out there in teacherland.If you use it, please review it!