Here We Are | Year 2 English Unit | 15 Complete Lessons + Resources + Mark Scheme

A 3-week, fully resourced primary literacy unit based on Here We Are by Oliver Jeffers. KS1 Fiction. National-Curriculum-aligned grammar, WT/ARE/GD differentiation, and ready to teach.

What’s inside

This complete English unit gives you everything for three weeks of high-quality teaching, designed to match the standard of leading primary schemes (Literacy Tree, Write Stuff, Power of Reading).

• 15 lesson PowerPoints — illustrated cover slides, success criteria, vocabulary previews, modelled writing, “big questions” (Bloom’s-laddered), differentiation tiers, plenary, and reflection.
• 15 differentiated resource sheets — Working Towards, Age-Related Expectations, and Greater Depth, with sentence frames, word banks, and writing frames.
• Complete teacher unit plan — unit overview, key themes, model texts, full session-by-session plans, key questions, assessment focus, and vocabulary focus.
• Child-friendly mark scheme — “I can…” success criteria for the final writing piece, ready for self- and peer-assessment.
• 3 weekly exit tickets — 5 multiple-choice questions per week, with teacher answer keys.

Final writing outcome

An ‘Earth Guide’ for a baby — a friendly non-fiction guide that explains the planet to a brand-new person — paired with a short descriptive poem about the wonders of Earth. Pupils use statements, commands and questions, and commas in lists, to give kind advice and to celebrate the world.

Grammar features (Year 2 NC-aligned)

• Statement, command, question and exclamation sentences (Year 2 NC: using sentences with different forms).
• Subordination using ‘that’ and ‘if’ to give advice and add detail (Year 2 NC: subordination).

Themes explored

Humanity and belonging, kindness and care, the environment and our planet.

Key vocabulary

Planet, ocean, mountain, wonder, kindness, advice, creature, welcome.

Format & compatibility

• Editable PowerPoint (.pptx) and Word (.docx) files.
• UK English spelling.
• One printer-friendly A4 page per resource sheet.
• Compatible with Literacy Tree, Write Stuff, and Power of Reading planning approaches.

Year groups & key stage

• Year 2 (KS1).
• 15 sessions over 3 weeks (≈45–60 minutes per lesson).

Tags

KS1, Year 2, English, fiction, Oliver Jeffers, reading and writing, complete unit, differentiated, NC-aligned, lesson plans, resources, here we are