*New* Meerkat Mail – Postcard Writing Unit (8 Sessions)

Inclusive English planning for KS1 Mainstream or SEND learners with purposeful real-world communication

This comprehensive Scheme of Work is based on Meerkat Mail by Emily Gravett — a warm and humorous text about family, belonging and exploring new places. Through sensory storytelling, inference tasks, sequencing and modelled writing, pupils learn about the features and purpose of postcards before creating their own personalised message as the final written outcome.

The unit is designed for learners working across Pre-Formal, Semi-Formal, Formal and Formal+ pathways, ensuring full access to communication development, comprehension and functional writing. Symbol-supported scaffolds, Attention Autism and visual modelling are embedded to enable success for emerging communicators. The narrative structure lends itself to real-life communication opportunities and PSHE links around family and staying connected.

What’s included

• Eight planned sessions delivered over four weeks
• Reading and writing focus each week
• Pathway-specific adaptations throughout
• Clear learning objectives and differentiated success criteria
• SMART/visual resources referenced in planning
• Sequencing activities and story mapping tasks
• Vocabulary building through images and illustrations
• Modelling of postcard features and sentence structure
• Opportunities to write for a real audience (postcards to home or a chosen recipient)
• Assessment links supporting SOLAR/EHCP evidence capture

**Curriculum and skill development

• Understanding story structure through key events and travel narrative**
• Inference and prediction using high-quality illustrations
• Developing expressive communication and sentence formation
• Identifying features of a postcard: greeting, message, signature, address
• Building independence and generalisation through personal experiences
• Reading and writing for real purpose
• PSHE learning around family, belonging and transitions**

Intended outcomes

• By the end of the unit, pupils will have:
• Engaged with a familiar text and discussed character feelings and choices
• Sequenced main events and locations in the story
• Identified and shared key information about themselves
• Written or contributed to a personal postcard with a clear message
• Demonstrated measurable progress in communication, literacy and engagement