UKS2 English Unit: The Last Wild

Worksheets included! (Watermark removed once purchased)

This fully resourced 19-lesson English unit is built around The Last Wild by Piers Torday. Designed for Upper Key Stage 2, this engaging sequence blends dystopian fiction, grammar mastery, formal report writing, character analysis and narrative craft into a cohesive and highly motivating unit.

Perfect for teachers looking to teach dystopia through a structured, skills-rich approach with strong cross-curricular links to environmental themes.

Why Teachers Love This Resource:

Engaging dystopian hook exploring utopian vs dystopian futures

Clear progression from reading analysis to independent story writing

Explicit SPaG teaching embedded within meaningful tasks

Strong focus on characterisation and atmosphere

Purposeful final outcome: pupils write Part One of their own dystopian story

What’s Included:

19 fully planned lessons with clear learning objectives

Prediction and questioning using modal verbs

Inference and setting analysis

Warning poster design using ambitious noun phrases

Character exploration using abstract nouns

Action retelling with relative clauses and dramatic dashes

Formal report writing using the passive voice

Diary writing using question tags to show uncertainty

Subjunctive mood in formal medical advisory letters

“Show not tell” emotional writing

Dialogue with embedded relative clauses

Step-by-step planning for a dystopian escape narrative

Structured narrative writing with paragraph control

Grammar & Writing Skills Covered (In Context):

Modal verbs

Question tags

Abstract nouns (-ness, -ment, -dom, -tion)

Relative clauses (including omission of pronouns)

Dashes for dramatic interruption

Passive voice for formal tone

Subjunctive mood

Colon to introduce lists

Cohesive paragraphing

Expanded noun phrases

Figurative language (similes, metaphors, personification, alliteration)

Strong verb choices and sentence variation

Final Outcomes:

By the end of the unit, pupils will:

Analyse and evaluate dystopian themes

Write a formal incident report using the passive voice

Craft emotive diary entries and advisory letters

Develop convincing characters through dialogue and description

Plan and write Part One of an original dystopian story, using advanced sentence structures and cohesive paragraphs

Themes Explored:

Environmental collapse

Human vs nature

Power and control

Freedom and survival

Trust and betrayal

Perfect For:

Year 5 & Year 6 English

Cross-curricular links with Geography and environmental studies

Greater Depth writing evidence

Teachers wanting a high-engagement, grammar-rich fiction unit

This resource is ready-to-teach, carefully sequenced, and designed to build confident, atmospheric and technically secure writers through the powerful lens of dystopian fiction.