Real Writing Year 2 - Unit 12
Model text: The King and the Royal Family by Dan Smith
Curriculum links: History
Writing unit overview
This writing unit for Year 2 is built around an original text by Dan Smith - a non-chronological report about the King and the Royal Family. 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 learn the features of a non-chronological report and will organise information using the subheadings in the text. Pupils will learn the spelling for words that end in ‘al’ making the /l/ sound at the end of words. Pupils will learn about nouns, identifying common and proper nouns, and also how commas are used to punctuate lists. In the final writing task, pupils will write their own non-chronological report about a member of royalty, using questions as subheadings. This unit gives pupils the opportunity to write for a range of purposes and could be used within a topic on royalty or as part of work in history when studying significant individuals from the past.
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 the /l/ sound spelt ‘al’ at the end of words
Pupils will: learn words with the sound /l/ spelt with ‘al’ at the end of words. They will read and spell words, applying spelling rules taught.
2. Grammar: to identify proper and common nouns
Pupils will: sort nouns, identifying those that are common nouns and proper nouns. They will revisit that capital letters are needed for proper nouns.
3. Punctuation: to use commas to separate items in a list
Pupils will: learn how commas are used to separate items in lists before using commas in their own writing.
Additional objectives to teach or revisit:
- writing question sentences
- to use an apostrophe to show possession
- writing in the present tense
- using coordinating conjunctions
- to use noun phrases
- rereading writing to check that it makes sense
- proof-reading to check for errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation
- reading aloud what they have written using capital letters for names (year 1)
Year 2 vocabulary
Common exception words: children, old, father, who, many, people, money, every
Tier 2 words: duties, banquet, fortune, hobby
Tier 3 words: queen, king, Head of State, United Kingdom, Commonwealth, Church of England, reign, monarch, Parliament, government, Prime Minister, laws, heir, throne
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.
What is a proper noun?
These name a specific person, place or organisation. They always begin with a capital letter.
- George visited the Lego Store in London.
What is a common noun?
These are generic names for people, places or organisations. Common nouns can also be concrete or abstract.
- A boy visited the shop in the town.
How is a comma used within a list?
Commas are used to provide clarity for the reader. They are used in a list to separate each item.
- My favourite foods are pizza, bananas and chocolate.
- We visited a castle, museum, theme park and beach while on holiday.
NB In Key Stage 2, pupils will learn how commas are used to separate phrases or clauses, and about commas to avoid ambiguity.