Real Writing Year 1 - Unit 13
Model text: The Magic Pebble, by Lucy Strange
Curriculum links: Portal stories, any topic
Unit overview
This writing unit for Year 1 is built around an original text by Lucy Strange - a portal story. 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 begin to learn the features of a simple portal story, also known as a home-away-home story, and will explore the world the character enters using the magical object. They will write their own version of the story, changing the magical world the character visits. This unit could be used to develop pupils’ familiarity of key story types or the new magical world that the character visits could link with any topics taught (for example they may travel to a land full of dinosaurs, to visit pirates or to the seaside).
Key curriculum skills
Three fully-resourced lessons are included for the following Year 1 English objectives, which can form part of the unit or be taught discretely:
1. Vocabulary: To spell words with the sounds /f/, /l/, /s/, /z/ and /k/, spelt ff, ll, ss, zz, ck
Pupils will: practise blending and segmenting words that contain the graphemes ff, ll, ss, zz and ck, learning the rule for when these spelling should be applied.
2. Grammar: To compose sentences orally, using adjectives
Pupils will: learn how adjectives can be used to describe nouns. They will explore adjectives that could be used to describe the magic pebble that transports Freddie on his adventure.
3. Punctuation: To use a capital letter for the pronoun I
Pupils will: practise forming the letter I before identifying where the capital I is needed for personal pronouns. They will write simple sentences about an imagined magical adventure.
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Additional teaching points to teach or revisit:
- saying out loud what they are going to write about
- using capital letters and full stops to punctuate sentences
- leaving spaces between words
- using question marks and exclamation marks
- using and to join sentences
- reading aloud their own writing
Year 1 words: featured vocabulary
Common exception words: once a was there he love his she you the I to of they said
Tier 2 words: adventure, journey, magic, magical, polish.
Tier 3 words: N/A