Year 4 English Unit - Daedalus & Icarus

Bring Greek myths to life with this Year 4 writing unit based on Daedalus and Icarus. Across 6 lessons, pupils build skills in ‘show, don’t tell’, vocabulary, and dialogue, before producing a polished independent retelling of the myth.

This is a complete Year 4 English writing unit based on the Greek myth Daedalus and Icarus. I taught it with my Year 4 class, and it builds step-by-step towards an extended independent writing outcome.

Lesson sequence:
Day 1: Explore the WAGOLL, story map and key vocabulary
Day 2: Generating ‘show, don’t tell’ ideas for character emotions
Day 3: Writing a paragraph using ‘show, don’t tell’ techniques
Day 4 (optional): Generate dialogue ideas
Day 5: Use speech with reporting clause at the beginning
Day 6: Independent writing with checklist for self-assessment

What’s included:
-Editable PowerPoint slides with visuals and prompts
-A model WAGOLL that exemplifies all skills taught
-Scaffolded worksheets
-Vocabulary support slides with images to aid SEN/EAL learners
-Editable checklists to support independent writing

Perfect for any class studying Greek myths or Ancient Greece in history/geography.

If you enjoy teaching this myth, take a look at my Year 4 Minotaur Writing Unit (4 Lessons), which develops character description through similes, metaphors, and dialogue.

I’d love to hear how this resource worked in your classroom! Please consider leaving a quick review. It really helps other teachers find it, and I value your feedback to improve future resources.