A couple of diary entries that could be used to identify features of diary entries or as a what a good one looks like. They are written from Michael’s point of view from the book Kensuke’s Kingdom. You could also use the diaries as part of an ‘around the world’ topic. There are 2 diary entries: the first was written as a whole class writing activity; the second was written as a good example that the children could then use to highlight good aspects and things to improve on. I’ve used these with a Year 4 and 5 class. I have also uploaded a editable version so that you can adapt/change if you wish to do so. If you found this resource useful or if you have any questions please email me at: mrg2246 (at) outlook.com

Blank storyboard for you to use with anything you wish! Save the time making one and use this one! Both word documents and pdfs available. The pdf will easily print onto A3 to give children more writing space. I used this to make a TV advert - something the children really enjoyed.

A handy sheet for children to use when planning to write a Newspaper Report themed to the story of Beowulf by Micheal Morpurgo. Editable file and pdf included for easy printing. I printed this in A3 for the children to write onto and use in class, and then photocopied this down to A4 for their books or to go with the assessed writing. Includes: Headline Who, What, Where, When, Why Fronted adverbials / sentence starters Quotes Extra information about the story (Main Body) Conclusion Originally used with a Year 4 class but easily adaptable to other age groups. 3 versions; Blank sheet Completed sheet for modelling Scaffolded sheet with the why box pre-filled All 3 versions are editable with the publisher files included so you can adapt the sheets for your class.

Initially designed for home learning, this SPAG guide covers the Year 6/KS2 SPAG objectives. This was designed for use during lockdown for children to refer to whilst writing at home but has since been adapted for use in the classroom as a learning journal type of resource (hence the 2 versions of this below, both included). The guide is similar to the Year 4 version but also includes the objectives for Year 5 and 6. There are 2 variations: Homelearning/revision/parent guide based A useful tool for children to use whilst writing at home, including links to bitesize and songs where appropriate. Classbased - essentially the same as the home version except I have removed the links to online resources. I used these in learning journals or stuck in the back of literacy books for children to refer to, so I felt it looked neater if the links were removed. Year 4/5 mixed class version: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-12637388 Year 4 version: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12297946

A simple starter where children are finding and identifying adverbs. The paragraph is based around the story of Beowulf by Michael Morpurgo. I have used this as a starter activity, revision and as part of a main lesson in Year 4, 5 and 6.

This two-way differentiated activity is aimed at Year 4 or 5. Children will add speech marks and punctuation to the sentences when the reporting phrase is at the beginning, in the middle of and at the end of the sentence. The activity is themed around the story of Beowulf by Michael Morpurgo and I have used this several times as part of a spag lesson. As an extension task, the children are invited to use their own knowledge of Beowulf to write their own speech. This could be used as part of a newspaper article or creative writing unit. The activity is differentiated 2 ways, with the LA children completing this with support from an adult. First Person Accounts from the characters of the Beowulf story are available here: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-13119765

A lesson on identifying features of a setting description. This lesson is Lesson 1 in my 2-week unit where children are writing their own setting description. This was taught as a standalone unit. Aimed at a Year 4/5 class. In this lesson, children are reading a setting description of the Taj Mahal and then using coloured pencils/highlighters to annotate the passage and find the grammatical features within the text). The text contains alliteration, expanded noun phrases, similies, adverbs, prepositions and relative clauses. Learning Objective: To be able to understand the features of a good setting description. There is no lesson plan included, only the activities and presentation. This is so that you can adapt the lesson and plan using your own schools format. The example setting description for the Taj Mahal (and used in this lesson bundle) is available for free download here: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12460446

A lesson and activity on identifying and using parenthesis, themed to a diary writing unit based around the book Kensuke’s Kingdom. Ideal to fit as part of a book unit or as a revision session. Ideal for a Year 5 or Year 6 class. The whole class use the same activity sheet with differentiation inside the paragraph and based on finding and using parenthesis, with just brackets, and then moving onto using commas and dashes. I found the higher ability children found most of the parenthesis in the paragraph within the given time. Children need 2 coloured pencils for the activity - one colour to highlight any parenthesis they think they have found (before learning about it) and another to highlight parenthesis after learning about it (and during whole class feedback). There is also links to a song and the BBC Supermovers clip to ensure an active lesson. Powerpoint and word document included so you can edit for your use case.

Lesson 6, 7 and 8 in the Setting Description writing unit. This sequence follows on from the Taj Mahal setting description as children will learning about a Norwegian Fjord and writing a setting description for this independently. This fitted well with the Year 4 topic, Around the World. The Norwegian Fjord aspect of this unit was added on so that children could complete and independent write. Lesson 6: To be able to describe a Norwegian Fjord. Children are introduced to the fjord and the setting and then describing each part of the fjord (e.g. villages, water, houses, mountains) and using a thesaurus to find synonyms. Lesson 7: Gathering vocabulary for an independent write. Children recap the setting and then as a class, then pairs and finally individually, they will create a word bank of similes/adjectives/prepositions to use in their independent writing. I filled in the 10th slide on this as the class gave me their ideas. Lesson 8: I used this as the time for children to complete their writing. There are little resources for this apart from a simple header page and recap presentation with success criteria. Children use their word banks to help them. All lessons are differentiated 3 ways and include the editable docx/pptx worksheets and presentations, so that you can easily adapt it to suit your needs.

An imperative word worksheet for use in KS2, as part of an instructional writing unit. Differentiated 3 ways and editable. I used it as part of a lesson but could be used as a revision task, homework or intervention.

This is a prepositions lesson/activity themed around the story of Beowulf. I used this spag activity as part of a larger writing unit, where children were retelling the story of Beowulf. Ideal for Year 3/4. Differentiation: the higher achievers were expected to write more sentences including prepositions and extend them using conjunctions and other grammatical devices we had been learning about.

Lesson 3 in the writing unit where children are learning to write a setting description. This lesson focuses on using exciting adjectives and vocabulary to describe the setting. Children are also challenged to use a simile if they have learned about this previously. Aimed at a Year 4/5 class. Activity is differentiated 4 ways, for LA, MA and HA Y4 children and then Y5 children. Lesson contains; Recap features of a good setting description Using the adjective ‘big’ as a boring example and up-levelling this as class using synoyms and looking these up in a thesaurus Recap of our setting - The Taj Mahal Brainstorm in small groups to create synonyms, using thesaurses to help Whole class writing using the brainstormed words to create a descriptive and exciting sentence Peer-assessment of the class written sentence Independent work, children are using the differentiated worksheets to improve the provided sentences and then write their own.

Aimed at Year 5 - this lesson is to teach children the grammatical features of a diary entry and then includes an activity where children are locating these features within a text. Included in this pack is; Notebook presentation explaining the features A list of features for children to refer back to if needed after the lesson Differentiated key templates - children to use colours to complete the key and then identify the features on the text via highlighting/underlining etc Please note I have not provided the example diary entry as this would normally be specific to the current topic or theme of the class/unit.

I made this KS2 Spag guide for the children and parents in my Year 4 class. I designed it for home learning but could also be useful back in the classroom. There are 2 variations: Homelearning/revision/parent guide based A useful tool for children to use whilst writing at home, including links to bitesize and songs where appropriate. Classbased - essentially the same as the home version except I have removed the links to online resources. I used these in learning journals or stuck in the back of literacy books for children to refer to, so I felt it looked neater if the links were removed. KS2 version / bundle: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-12637388 Year 6 version: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-12637392

I made this KS2 spag guide for the children and parents in my Year 5 class. I designed it for home learning but could also be useful back in the classroom. There are 2 variations: Homelearning/revision/parent guide based A useful tool for children to use whilst writing at home, including links to bitesize and songs where appropriate. Classbased - essentially the same as the home version except I have removed the links to online resources. I used these in learning journals or stuck in the back of literacy books for children to refer to, so I felt it looked neater if the links were removed. Please see my shop for the KS2 bundle, Year 4 and Year 6 versions.

A SPAG guide for Year 4, 5 and 6 children. Initially made and used during lockdown for home learning and could also be used in the classroom for children to refer to. Includes 3 guides, one for each year group, with each year group having a class based and home based versions. Also includes the Year 6 version and a classbased version without the online links as I thought this looked neater if used within children’s books etc. The guides are also sold seperately; Year 6 version: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12637392 Year 4 version: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-13083932 Year 5 version: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-13084127

A short English activity focusing on evaluating the children’s trip to the National Space Centre in Leicester. The children are asked to complete the following; Write down 2 things that you learned at the space centre: What was your favourite thing to see and why? Write a short diary entry to describe the day – focus on your experience at The Space Centre and not on the coach. Used with a Year 5 class following a school trip. Both the docx and pdf for easy editing, as well as a version that can be completed on the sheet and an A5 explainer for completing in books.

A model setting description of the Taj Mahal in India. I used this with a Year 4/5 class as part of the topic Around the World in 80 days. Fully editable word document so you can customise for your own class. The writing unit that links with this description is available here: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12641568