This Year 5 Real Writing unit explores a British legend through author Jon Mayhew’s narrative, The Tragedy of Beddgelert.
The unit follows a carefully mapped framework. Over two to three weeks, pupils read the story, investigate its themes of loyalty and tragedy, and analyse figurative language. They explore how word choice, sentence length, and description create atmosphere and tension.
The children then plan and write their own legend, applying skills in vocabulary, grammar, and narrative structure.
Curriculum links
This unit addresses Year 5 English objectives, with links to history and geography:
- Vocabulary: Using dictionaries to check meanings and explore synonyms.
- Grammar: Using relative clauses beginning with who, which, where, when, whose, that.
- Writing skills: Fronted adverbials, consistent tense, linking ideas with adverbials, describing settings, creating atmosphere.
- Cross-curricular links: Geography—Snowdonia, Welsh valleys, forests; History—British legends and myths.
Vocabulary
- Tier 2: mounted, hides, loyalty, lodge, territory, shrill, milled, cursed, sodden, muzzle, revenge, snarl, tragic
- Tier 3: Wales, mountainous, Snowdonia, valley, forests, cairn
- Common exception words: desperate, recognise
Resources included
- Model text PDF: plain, illustrated, annotated
- Annotated and non-annotated PowerPoint presentations
- Teacher notes and lesson plans
- Activity sheets: vocabulary cards, comprehension questions, role-play prompts
- Image sheets for setting descriptions
- Legends poster and margin planner
- Writing skills checklists
Key teaching activities
- Reading and discussion: Pupils read the model text, identify main themes, and discuss moral lessons.
- Vocabulary exploration: Use word cards and dictionaries to infer meaning; complete vocabulary matching; identify synonyms.
- Comprehension questioning: Clarify understanding using guided questions about plot, characters, and themes.
- Role play: Pupils act as characters to explore feelings, language, and actions.
- Grammar focus: Identify and practise relative clauses within text examples.
- Creating atmosphere: Analyse sentence structure and figurative language; write descriptive scenes with varied sentence lengths.
- Investigating legends: Identify key features of British legends and extraordinary characters.
- Research and planning: Pupils research a chosen legend, plan using margin planners, and prepare for independent writing.
- Writing and editing: Pupils draft their own legend, apply narrative skills, and edit using checklists to improve grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary.
Outcomes
By the end of the unit, pupils will:
- Demonstrate understanding of themes such as loyalty, tragedy, and remorse.
- Use tier 2 and tier 3 vocabulary confidently within narratives.
- Apply relative clauses, fronted adverbials, and adverbial linking effectively.
- Write structured legends with clear settings, characters, problems, and resolutions.
- Apply proofreading and editing strategies to improve writing for clarity and style.