Real Writing Year 2 - Unit 14
Model text: Florence Nightingale by Jo Franklin
Curriculum links: History

Writing Unit overview

This writing unit for Year 2 is built around an original text by Jo Franklin - a report about the life and achievements of Florence Nightingale. 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 report and will organise information using the subheadings in the text. Pupils will learn how the suffix -ness can be used to form nouns and will learn about nouns, identifying common and proper nouns. Pupils will also investigate irregular past tense nouns, ensuring that they consistently use the correct tense when writing. In the final writing task, pupils will write their own report about Florence Nightingale, using questions as subheadings. This unit gives pupils the opportunity to write for a range of purposes and could be used as part of work in history when studying significant individuals from the past and their achievements.

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 add the suffix -ness to words to form nouns

Pupils will: will add the suffix -ness to words to form nouns, learning spelling rules where needed. They will then use the nouns within their own sentences.

2. Grammar: to choose the correct tense when writing

Pupils will: explore present and past tense verbs, including irregular forms of verbs. They will match present and past tense verbs using word cards and complete sentences, making sure the correct verb is chosen. In the final task, pupils will proofread sentences on the present and past tense worksheet, correcting verbs to ensure a consistent tense is used.

3. Grammar: to identify common and proper 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.

Additional teaching points to teach or revisit:

• writing question sentences
• to use an apostrophe to show possession
• using coordinating and subordinating conjunctions
• to use expanded 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

Year 2 Common exception words: old past kind prove improve people because after parents
Tier 2 words: legacy, statistics
Tier 3 words: Crimean War, Florence Nightingale, hospital infection, injured, Lady with the Lamp, nurse, soldier