Real Writing Year 3 - Unit 7
Model text: The Beautiful Game, by Ross Montgomery
Curriculum links: Geography (South America)
Writing unit overview
This writing unit for Year 3 is built around an original model text by Ross Montgomery; a non-chronological report about football in South America). The example text is available as a PDF in three versions (plain, illustrated and annotated); annotated and non-annotated PowerPoint presentations are also included.
In this two-week unit, pupils will have the opportunity to explore idiomatic language and research history and culture associated with South American football. It will culminate in them writing their own report about a particular aspect of South American football, such
as competitions, stadia and specific teams, to be combined into a whole-class report. This unit could be used as part of a topic on the human and physical geography of South America.
Key curriculum skills
Two fully-resourced lessons are included for the following Y3 English objectives, which can form part of the unit or be taught discretely:
1. Vocabulary - Exploring idiomatic phrases
Pupils will: revisit terminology about types of words; establish what an idiom is and discuss the meanings of various examples; match idioms to meanings; write a piece of dialogue using idioms
2. Grammar - To use expanded noun phrases for description
Pupils will: revisit word classes; explore ways to create expanded noun phrases; build expanded noun phrases in three stages; write a recount using expanded noun phrases
Additional skills to teach or revisit
- Subordination
- the correct use of past and present tense
- the use of commas for lists
Additional Year 3 curriculum teaching points
- extending sentences with a wider range of conjunctions
- the use of conjunctions, adverbials and prepositions to express time, place and cause
- the use of pronouns conjunctions and adverbs to improve cohesion
- the inclusion of organisational features such as headings and subheadings
Year 3 vocabulary
Year 3/4 statutory spelling words: century, popular, extreme, describe, famous, different
Tier 2 words: genius, individual, regarded, championed
Idiomatic phrases: the beautiful game, blow away the competition, kill time
What is a non-chronological report?
A non-chronological report is a piece of text that isn’t written in time order. They tend to be non-fiction, and they give information on subjects or events.