Real Writing Year 3 - Unit 11
Model text: Who was Queenie McKenzie
Curriculum Links: Art & Design (Great Artists)
Unit overview
This writing unit for Year 3 is built around an original model text by Loretta Schauer; a biographical recount, describing the life of the celebrated Australian artist Queenie McKenzie. 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 an opportunity to learn technical vocabulary related to the life and art of Aboriginal people. It will culminate in them writing their own version of a biography of Queenie McKenzie. This unit has cross-curricular links to art, specifically the lives of great artists, architects and designers in history.
Key curriculum skills
1. Vocabulary - To build a varied and rich vocabulary - synonyms
Pupils will: select suitable synonyms based on context and their knowledge of words and check with a thesaurus. Suggest their own synonyms and work these into sentences.
2. Composition - To group information into short paragraphs
Pupils will: arrange sentence cards into groups of related information and select the best topic sentences. Rewrite given sentences into a cohesive paragraph.
Revisited skills
- subordination
- the correct use of past and present tense
- apostrophes for singular possession
Additional Y3 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 paragraphs organised around a theme;
- inclusion of organisational features such as headings and subheadings
Year 3 words: featured vocabulary
Spelling words: earth, interest, woman/women, continue, natural, often, decide, favourite, knowledge, popular
Tier 2 words: heritage, activist
Tier 3 words: pigments, landscape, dreamtime, Aboriginal, indigenous