Hidden Figures | Year 5 English Unit | 15 Complete Lessons + Resources + Mark Scheme

A 3-week, fully resourced primary literacy unit based on Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly. KS2 Non-fiction. National-Curriculum-aligned grammar, WT/ARE/GD differentiation, and ready to teach.

What’s inside (35 files)

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 (WT/ARE/GD), 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

A biography of one of the Hidden Figures mathematicians followed by a persuasive speech arguing for equal rights in science and society.

Grammar features (Year 5 NC-aligned)

• Passive voice for historical record (e.g. ‘Katherine Johnson was hired in 1953’).
• Relative clauses for biographical detail (e.g. ‘Dorothy Vaughan, who led a team of computers, taught herself FORTRAN’).

Themes explored

Race, gender and discrimination in mid-20th century America, The space race and scientific achievement, The contribution of overlooked people to history.

Key vocabulary

Mathematician, segregation, discrimination, trajectory, calculation, perseverance, pioneering, posthumous.

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 5 (KS2).
• 15 sessions over 3 weeks (≈45–60 minutes per lesson).

Tags

KS2, Year 5, English, non-fiction, Margot Lee Shetterly, reading and writing, complete unit, differentiated, NC-aligned, lesson plans, resources, hidden figures