Year Group 6 Fiction Yr 6 N 1 Unit Fiction Genres No.

of Weeks 4-5 Core Text: The Snow

Leopard
Curricular Target: Write a range of sentence types, including expressing subtle distinctions of meaning, including hypothesis, speculation and
supposition, by constructing sentences in varied ways.

We will also be focussing on handwriting

Speaking and Listening (S 1 – 4) Text Level – reading (S 7 / 8) Text Level – writing (S 9 / 10)

• Use the techniques of dialogic talk to • Understand underlying themes, causes • Use different narrative techniques to
explore ideas, topics or issues and points of view engage and entertain the reader

• Understand and use a variety of ways to • Understand how writers use • Select words and language drawing on
criticise constructively and respond to different structures to create coherence their knowledge of literary features and
criticism and impact formal and informal writing

• Improvise using a range of drama • Use varied structures to shape and

strategies and conventions to explore organise text coherently
themes such as hopes, fears and desires
• Use paragraphs to achieve pace and
• Consider the overall impact of a live or emphasis
recorded performance, identifying
dramatic ways of conveying characters’
ideas and building tension.

Sentence Level (S 11)

• Express subtle distinctions of meaning, including hypothesis, speculation and supposition, by constructing sentences in varied ways
• Use punctuation to clarify meaning in complex sentences

Word Level (S 6)
• Use a range of appropriate strategies to edit, proofread and correct spelling in their own work, on paper and on screen

Presentation (S 12)
• Use different styles of handwriting for different purposes with a range of media, developing a consistent and personal legible style
Key Outcome To plan, draft, and improve an engaging mythical story (with The Snow Leopard as a template) using appropriate language and
organisational features. (Innovate – change the animal/setting)
Learning overview: I can…
• Talk about my ideas and thoughts confidently in
front of the class
Familiarisation/Immersion in text/Analysis • Use what I know about drama to explore the
themes in the Snow Leopard and to improvise
Book Talk: Personal response to the text. After watching video of text, ch. complete (make something up on the spot)
Aiden Chamber’s response grid (likes/dislikes/themes/patterns/puzzles). Come to a • Discover the different themes and points of view
collective agreement of the meaning. Encourage ch. to extend their responses and in The Snow Leopard
• Discover how Jackie Morris uses different
give a critique.
structures to help her story flow and to create
impact.
Drama: Explore the themes and characters through freeze frame and hotseating. • Use Jackie Morris’s structures to help my own
(soldiers/villagers, child left on own, snow leopard feeling old, child watching snow story flow and to create impact.
leopard leap up into the stars, soldiers’ dreams) • Use words and language that I have learned
about from The Snow Leopard in my own writing
Dance: In P.E. children re-tell the story through dance • Use a similar structure to The Snow Leopard in
my own writing to make my story flow and make
sense.
Writer Talk: What type of text is The Snow Leopard? Who might want to read it? • Use paragraphs to change the pace and impact
(purpose and context) How did a certain part of the text make you feel and how did of my story
the writer achieve this? • Explore ways of making our performance of The
Snow Leopard extra special to Class 1 – how
can I make the characters come alive and how
Warming up the Word: Vocabulary generation (create lists of great words!).
can I build tension or excitement?
“Usual words in unusual combinations” – use the lists created by the ch. Give 3 • Find ways of helping my friends improve their
nouns for them to choose from when thinking of their sentences. This activity could work without upsetting them and of listening to
be expanded into sentence level work. people’s ideas about how I can improve my work
Poetry activity – take phrases from the text to describe a particular feature/theme or without taking it personally
character (eg “The Snow Leopard’s Song)
Develop imagination and imaging: Ch. re-imagine a part of the book so that they can Sentence Level:
‘see’ it clearly and hold an image in their head so they can ‘look’ at it carefully.
• Write sentences in different ways (eg by
“Tell me more about…” Ch. develop characters/themes
changing the order of the sentence) to make
what I mean clear
Sentence Level work: Extending simple sentences. (Adding adverbial, • Use punctuation so that the reader can easily
alliteration/assonance, strengthening the verb, expanding nouns, similes/metaphors) understand the sentence
“magpie” words and phrases from the text for working wall.
Create sentences using noun and word grid and then play with changing the order. Word Level:
Teach, practise and apply purposeful, related sentence level objectives (from the
text) • Read through my work and improve it by adding
or changing words or and correcting any
spelling mistakes
How is this text organised? Explore organisational features
What is special about the text? (Language features etc) Presentation

Learning and remembering the text: • Keep my handwriting neat , tidy and easy to
read
“Hear it, map it, step it, say it”. Model the technique with a shorter version of the
story. Then allow Ch. make visual maps, storyboards, flowcharts, drawings to model
the story themselves. (For the puppet show the ch. can learn the text and narrate the
story as a chorus, in pairs or in groups)

Summarise the purpose, organisation and language features of The Snow Leopard in
order to generate a success criteria for writing.

Capturing Ideas:

Generate ideas to write about: Geography link – Ch. research an animal native to
the country they will be studying in geography, and research its habitat. Look for
photographs, video footage of the animal to create a clear ‘picture’ in their minds for
later use. Decide on the form of protection the animal will take (the Snow Leopard’s
was the form of a song).

Expanding ideas – to ‘say’ or ‘daydream’ what might happen. “Tell me more

about…” and “what if …” Ch. develop characters/themes. “Talk for one minute
about …” (this activity will give children an opportunity to talk about their chosen
animal or habitat, practising Jackie Morris’s poetic language features)

Working through ideas to get a clear picture: Use of talk and drama. Generate
short pieces of writing (diary of child, thoughts of creature). Ch. learn and remember
their own story. Create storyboards of key events, and word/phrase lists of key
vocabulary

Oral Rehearsal and refinement: Ch. practise telling their story, drawing on ideas
from the working wall to improve and refine it.

Planning writing: Ch. apply knowledge of structures and language features when
planning their stories. Eg Take one of the success criteria and try it out orally,
recording best ideas.
Shared Writing/scaffolding independent writing:

Model writing behaviours – oral rehearsal, cumulative rereading to cue next

sentence to check for flow and continuity and to see if it sounds right. Model opening
to mythical story, using a mix of demonstration and joint construction. (Decide on
which guided writing groups would benefit from help with which parts)

Model spelling strategies suitable at the point of writing

Model sentence structure: linked to curriculum targets. Ensure ch. see me moving
clauses and adverbial phrases to change the effect on the reader. Allow ch.
opportunities to discuss where commas are needed to show clause boundaries.

Review and Evaluate writing against success criteria.

Key Learning Outcome : To plan, draft, and improve an engaging short story (with The Snow Leopard as a template) using
appropriate language and organisational features.

(Children will capture ideas for their story in groups but will write their final piece independently)
All children must be able to say… Most children should be able to say… Some children could say…
I can move clauses and adverbial phrases I can include phrases, clauses, and I can write a range of sentence types and can
around in a sentence to vary the effect on the adverbials in my writing, to make the use the conjunction “if” and verbs like “would”,
reader. meaning clearer for my reader, marking “could”, “might”, “may” to vary my writing.
clause boundaries with a comma.