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.

A short lesson/activity based around instructions and relative clauses on How to Make Toast. The children are asked to add more information and description to the basic instructions, using fronted adverbials of time, relative clauses and relative pronouns. Taught in Year 4/5 - the children loved making actual toast (and eating it too!). A silly teacher demonstration of making toast taking their instructions literally goes down a treat Differentiated 4 ways and easy edit word documents so you can adjust for your own class. Could be used as a full lesson or revision activity! Learning Objective: To be able to use a relative clause beginning with; this, that or where.

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.

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.

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

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 lesson aimed at Year 4 where children are learning about identifying the features of a story opening, themed to the story of Beowulf. Used as part of the first writing unit for Y4 in September. Children should already have learned about a noun, adjective, expanded noun phrase and prepositions to be able to identify these within the text. Differentiated by support in class and HA children to receive a blank grid on their worksheet/locate their own features and then improve the sentences/vocab as a challenge. Includes pptx and worksheets/example story as docx and pdf formats.

Used within a Year 4 writing unit, where children were retelling the story of Beowulf. This is an example story opening for the children’s Beowulf recount, used to show children a model and the grammatical features that were expected. Full lesson where children are identifying features of the story opening available here: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-13119752

Success Criteria for writing a recount for Year 2 and Year 3 children - used with children retelling the story of Paddington but this could be used for any story! Differentiated 3 ways; Year 3 HA Year 3 MA Year 2 HA/Year 3 LA

In this activity, children are creating their own Newspaper headlines from the events described in the grid, using Who, What, Where, When, Why and How. Originally used as part of a Beowulf themed Newspaper writing unit and has since been used in Year 4 and 5. Children were to create several headlines using the information in the grid or their own, using the grid for ideas or to start. Editable grid so can easily be adapted to your children’s interests or current class topic, or extra rows can be added or text removed etc.

Children would act as detectives to find and highlight the examples of parenthesis in the short story. I typically used this with Year 5, but could also be used within Year 6 as a SATs revision activity. I use this as part of a spag lesson. Children would act as detectives to find and highlight the examples of parenthesis at the start of the lesson. Then I would explain what parenthesis is and ask for examples from the story. The children would then have another look and highlight any new examples in a different colour. The text could also be used as a morning task, starter or revision activity. I also use BBC Supermovers in conjunction with this activity. I have uploaded a word document and pdf so you can easily edit and adapt if the text if you wish to. Powerpoint also included.

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 sheet for children to use when writing their Newspaper Reports. There is space for the headline, photo, caption and main body. Version with and without lines if children are using a line guide etc. Editable version (publisher) and pdf files for easy printing to A3.

A simple success criteria for children writing a newspaper report in Year 4. Two columns on the sheet, for self and teacher assessment. Also included the publisher files so that a column can easily be added for peer-assessment.

A handy sheet for children to use when planning to write a Newspaper Report. 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. Completed example based on Little Red Riding Hood included for children to see how to complete the planning sheet. Example is also editable in case you wish to adapt the sheet for you class. If your class is using the story of Beowulf, please see this resource for a themed example and scaffolded plan: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-13120284

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.

A short and simple activity where children need to identify if the statement is either a fact or opinion. Used with a Year 4 and 5 class as a starter during a Newspaper Report writing unit. Also includes an extension task where children are creating their own sentences for their partner to then identify if their statements are facts or opinions. Editable word document included.

Used as part of a Year 4 writing unit, where children are writing a Newspaper Report about the fight between Beowulf and Grendel, where Grendel is defeated The sheet contains the first person accounts written in the point of view from those involved with the fight - as if they had been interviewed by a reported. Children can then lift quotes from this to use during their newspaper report. Editable word document included. Characters covered: Beowulf - speaking after the fight with Grendel King Hrothgar - speaking in The Mead Hall the next day People of Heorot - speaking in The Mead Hall Leofric - Beowulf’s warrior - speaking at the scene of the fight

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.