Samba the Missing Capybara – Newspaper Report Writing Unit (5 Lessons)

Samba the Missing Capybara – Newspaper Report Writing Unit (5 Lessons)
Low preparation – ready to teach with PowerPoint, planning and worksheets included.

Engage your pupils with this exciting English unit inspired by the real-life story of Samba the capybara who escaped from Marwell Zoo.

In this sequence of lessons, pupils become news reporters investigating the mystery of the missing capybara while learning the key features of a newspaper report.

The unit guides pupils step-by-step through analysing newspaper reports, identifying key features, and writing their own article about Samba’s escape.

Included in this resource
Full 5-lesson planning document
PowerPoint presentation
Model newspaper report example
Newspaper report to label and analyse
Writing checklist for newspaper reports
Editing and improvement lesson

Lesson sequence
Hook lesson – The mystery of Samba
Features of a newspaper report
Investigating the 5 Ws
Writing a newspaper report
Editing and improving writing
Learning outcomes

Pupils will learn to:

identify the features of a newspaper report
retrieve key information using the 5 Ws
write their own newspaper article
edit and improve their work using a checklist

Perfect for KS2 and ideal for teaching journalistic writing, nonfiction structure and editing skills.