Lancashire Professional Development Service helps educational settings like schools and academies to realise the full potential of their children and young people, by providing professional training, bespoke consultancies and inspiring resources. All of our curriculum resources are designed by highly experienced teaching and learning consultants.
Lancashire Professional Development Service helps educational settings like schools and academies to realise the full potential of their children and young people, by providing professional training, bespoke consultancies and inspiring resources. All of our curriculum resources are designed by highly experienced teaching and learning consultants.
Themed around magic, mystery and much more, both the narrative and non-fiction units within this publication, interweave reading and writing skills from Year 5 and Year 6.
Children will be taken on a magical journey whilst reading Ross MacKenzie’s award-winning The Nowhere Emporium. Regular short and long writing opportunities are embedded throughout the sequence - with opportunities for further challenge and independent writing also signposted – whilst the final written outcome is an extended narrative based around the plot of The Nowhere Emporium.
This is followed by a non-fiction unit, flexibly themed around magic or the circus – it’s your choice! Following research, children will work towards producing a hybrid information text in the form of a magazine page. This includes a mini biography, a discussion text and a non-chronological report. The children could be finding out about the history of magic, researching a famous magician or discussing whether animals should be allowed to perform in a circus. Lots of interesting facts to find and discussions to have!
A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond
Year 2 and Year 3 reading and writing skills are interwoven throughout both narrative and non-fiction units in this publication, all themed around one of our favourite bears from children’s literature – Paddington!
The first unit explores Michael Bond’s classic text, alongside the use of more recent film material. Regular short and long writing opportunities are embedded throughout the sequence as the children work towards an extended narrative of their own Paddington adventure.
This is followed by a non-fiction unit, in which children will explore a range of non- fiction sources, websites and clips, before writing their own tourist guide to either London or your local area. Be prepared for your classroom to be transformed to a tourist destination, complete with regular tours!
Year 2 Spring 2 English Planning Unit : The Farm Shop
This half term block, based around The Farm Shop, consists of three English units:
Stories with familiar settings
Persuasion
Poetry - riddles
Cross curricular links
Although the units will stand alone, they can be planned to run alongside science and design and technology. Stories with familiar settings can be themed around the farm, linking to science work on plants, growth and nutrition. It can also be linked to the designing of an eatwell plate in design and technology. The Riddles unit can
further support this work on food, based around farm shop produce. It is suggested that work from the Persuasion unit is linked to a variety of real-life farms, farm shops and other family days out in your local area.
Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation
Skills have been specifically identified for each unit from Key Learning in Writing. The full set of units include all skills for the year group. However, if these units and/or skills are rearranged from the planned order, modifications to the identified grammar skills may be necessary. When planning, consider if the suggested skills are the most appropriate for the class or if different skills are needed based on assessments of children’s outcomes. This may involve the revisiting of skills from previous year groups. Refer to Key Learning in Writing for the year group to ensure full coverage over the year.
Our English Planning Units have all recently been updated to include:
new ideas and approaches for planning through the teaching sequence phases with more detailed guidance on reading and gathering content phases;
updated suggestions of texts, direct links to specific film clips and resources within every unit;
a tighter focus on grammar skills via warm-up sessions and integration within units;
increased emphasis on vocabulary for reading and writing;
further short and longer writing opportunities built into each unit; and
updated outcome suggestions for scaffolded writing whilst highlighting the need for independent writing for assessment purposes.
Year 3 Spring 2 English Planning Unit : The Iron Man
This half term block, based around a theme of The Iron Man, consists of two English units:
Novel as a theme
Recount: diaries
Cross curricular links
Although the units will stand alone, they can be planned to run alongside science, music and design technology. The class novel can be linked to the creation of the children’s own character using mechanical systems – levers and linkages. This character can feature in children’s own stories. Linked to Design Technology, Computing and Music, children could create a film trailer using a suitable application such as iMovie.
Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation
Skills have been specifically identified for each unit from Key Learning in Writing. The full set of units include all skills for the year group. However, if these units and/or skills are rearranged from the planned order, modifications to the identified grammar skills may be necessary. When planning, consider if the suggested skills are the most appropriate for the class or if different skills are needed based on assessments of children’s outcomes. This may involve the revisiting of skills from previous year groups. Refer to Key Learning in Writing for the year group to ensure full coverage over the year.
Our English Planning Units have all recently been updated to include:
new ideas and approaches for planning through the teaching sequence phases with more detailed guidance on reading and gathering content phases;
updated suggestions of texts, direct links to specific film clips and resources within every unit;
a tighter focus on grammar skills via warm-up sessions and integration within units;
increased emphasis on vocabulary for reading and writing;
further short and longer writing opportunities built into each unit; and
updated outcome suggestions for scaffolded writing whilst highlighting the need for independent writing for assessment purposes.
Year 2 Autumn 2 English Planning Unit : Fighting Fit
This half term block, based around a theme of Fighting Fit, consists of two English units:
Traditional tales with a twist
Instructions
Cross curricular links
Although the units will stand alone, they can be planned to run alongside Science work on what humans need to survive, human growth and exercise. Traditional tales with a twist have been planned to address the Year 2 2014 National Curriculum requirement to become increasingly familiar with a wider range of traditional tales.
Instructions have been explicitly linked to playground games designed to encourage physical exercise.
Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation
Skills have been specifically identified for each unit from Key Learning in Writing. The full set of units include all skills for the year group. However, if these units and/or skills are rearranged from the planned order, modifications to the identified grammar skills may be necessary. When planning, consider if the suggested skills are the most appropriate for the class or if different skills are needed based on assessments of children’s outcomes. This may involve the revisiting of skills from previous year groups. Refer to Key Learning in Writing for the year group to ensure full coverage over the year.
Our English Planning Units have all recently been updated to include:
new ideas and approaches for planning through the teaching sequence phases with more detailed guidance on reading and gathering content phases;
updated suggestions of texts, direct links to specific film clips and resources within every unit;
a tighter focus on grammar skills via warm-up sessions and integration within units;
increased emphasis on vocabulary for reading and writing;
further short and longer writing opportunities built into each unit; and
updated outcome suggestions for scaffolded writing whilst highlighting the need for independent writing for assessment purposes.
Year 5 Autumn 1 English Planning Unit : A Kingdom United
This half term block, based around a theme of A Kingdom United, consists of two English units:
Legends
Persuasion
Cross curricular links
Although the units will stand alone, they can be planned to run alongside Geography and History work on UK cities, counties and key features and Britain’s settlement by Anglo-Saxons and Scots. The unit on legends has been chosen to fulfil the National Curriculum requirement that children in upper Key Stage 2 will increase their
familiarity with a wide range of books, including myths, legends and traditional stories.
Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation
Skills have been specifically identified for each unit from Key Learning in Writing. The full set of units include all skills for the year group. However, if these units and/or skills are rearranged from the planned order, modifications to the identified grammar skills may be necessary. When planning, consider if the suggested skills are the most appropriate for the class or if different skills are needed based on assessments of children’s outcomes. This may involve the revisiting of skills from previous year groups. Refer to Key Learning in Writing for the year group to ensure full coverage over the year.
Our English Planning Units have all recently been updated to include:
new ideas and approaches for planning through the teaching sequence phases with more detailed guidance on reading and gathering content phases;
updated suggestions of texts, direct links to specific film clips and resources within every unit;
a tighter focus on grammar skills via warm-up sessions and integration within units;
increased emphasis on vocabulary for reading and writing;
further short and longer writing opportunities built into each unit; and
updated outcome suggestions for scaffolded writing whilst highlighting the need for independent writing for assessment purposes.
Skills, knowledge, Concepts – what children can do, know and understand.
This document has been updated to support the EYFS Statutory Framework in light of the forthcoming changes to the Early Learning Goals in 2021-2022. The document now includes the Educational Programmes and Early Learning Goals.
The purpose of this publication is to support practitioners in EYFS (nursery and reception) with planning a curriculum to meet the learning needs of the children in their school or setting. The document identifies an overview of the key learning (skills, knowledge and concepts) across all seven areas of learning and development to support learning within the EYFS phase to prepare children for their next stage of education.
Schools can reflect on the key learning outlined in this document and identify those which are appropriate for the needs of their children and, if necessary add additional skills, knowledge and concepts specific to the context of the school or a particular cohort.
As the Early Learning Goals are used to assess a child’s attainment at the end of EYFS, this document will support practitioners in planning and providing a curriculum which goes beyond that which is assessed.
The Red Rose Letters and Sounds Learning and Progression Steps for Reading in Reception Group Grids are designed to support progression, planning and assessment for the teaching of reading in the Reception year.
They outline the Red Rose Letters and Sounds phonic progression for word reading, including grapheme, phoneme corrsepondences, tricky words and high frequency words, alongside comprehension development.
The comprehension statements have been derived from the Early Years Foundation Stage Stautory Framework, and are designed to support teachers to plan appropriate learning opportunities for the whole class, groups, and individual children, in order to meet end of year expectations in reading.
The document is organised into half termly easy to use group grids which support planning for reading, and formative and summative assessment of Reading using Red Rose Letters and Sounds Progression, across Reception towards the Early Learning Goals.
Fast Forward Spelling has been developed to prepare pupils for the higher expectations in the current National Curriculum and to support them to achieve successfully in both papers of the Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling test at the end of Year 6. This intervention has been designed to address any gaps in learning.
Fast Forward Spelling is a twelve week programme with daily sessions planned for each week.
It focuses on:
Spelling rules and conventions
Teaching approaches
Independent practice.
The Loch Ness Monster
Reading and writing skills for Year 3 and Year 4 are interwoven throughout these two units of work lasting 3-4 weeks for narrative and 2-3 weeks for non-fiction, all based around the theme of the Loch Ness Monster.
The first unit focuses on exploring and researching the infamous legend using film clips, websites, texts and news sources, before children write their own non-fiction article for a children’s magazine.
Following this, a narrative unit is provided which includes developing a new Loch Ness monster character based on a plot pattern inspired by the classic cartoon, The Family-Ness! Enjoy singing along to the theme tune with your class!
Applying skills from both Year 1 and Year 2, this publication is based around the theme of wolves and integrates both narrative and non-fiction in a 5-6 week sequence.
Children will share in the delights of The Way Home for Wolf by Rachel Bright and Jim Field, before taking on the role of researchers to find out more about wolves and other animals.
Using their newly found facts, children will produce an information leaflet to inform an audience. The unit concludes with a return to fiction, where children will create an innovation based on the original story.
Year 6 Spring 2 English Planning Unit : Super Sleuth
This half term block, based around a theme of Super Sleuth, consists of two English units:
Detective/crime fiction
Explanations
Cross curricular links
Although the units will stand alone, they can be planned to run alongside scientific enquiry. Links can be utilised via exploring chromatography and fingerprinting as part of themed work in which the children become ‘experts’ as crime scene investigators. The iterative process in design technology could be explored to create a prototype of a new game e.g. based on ‘Cluedo’.
Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation
Skills have been specifically identified for each unit from Key Learning in Writing. The full set of units include all skills for the year group. However, if these units and/or skills are rearranged from the planned order, modifications to the identified grammar skills may be necessary. When planning, consider if the suggested skills are the most appropriate for the class or if different skills are needed based on assessments of children’s outcomes. This may involve the revisiting of skills from previous year groups. Refer to Key Learning in Writing for the year group to ensure full coverage over the year.
Our English Planning Units have all recently been updated to include:
new ideas and approaches for planning through the teaching sequence phases with more detailed guidance on reading and gathering content phases;
updated suggestions of texts, direct links to specific film clips and resources within every unit;
a tighter focus on grammar skills via warm-up sessions and integration within units;
increased emphasis on vocabulary for reading and writing;
further short and longer writing opportunities built into each unit; and
updated outcome suggestions for scaffolded writing whilst highlighting the need for independent writing for assessment purposes.
Year 4 Autumn 1 English Planning Unit : Sparks Might Fly!
This half term block, based around a theme of Sparks Might Fly, consists of three English units:
Explanations
Stories with fantasy settings
Film and playscripts
Cross curricular links
Although the units will stand alone, they can be planned to run alongside Science work on electricity (series circuits, switches, conductors, insulators). Further links could be made to ICT and electrical systems (control and electrical components) through Design and Technology. The unit on film and playscripts has been chosen to fulfil the National Curriculum requirement that children in lower Key Stage 2 should be developing their understanding and enjoyment of stories, poetry, plays and nonfiction.
Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation
Skills have been specifically identified for each unit from Key Learning in Writing. The full set of units include all skills for the year group. However, if these units and/or skills are rearranged from the planned order, modifications to the identified grammar skills may be necessary. When planning, consider if the suggested skills are the most appropriate for the class or if different skills are needed based on assessments of children’s outcomes. This may involve the revisiting of skills from previous year groups. Refer to Key Learning in Writing for the year group to ensure full coverage over the year.
Our English Planning Units have all recently been updated to include:
new ideas and approaches for planning through the teaching sequence phases with more detailed guidance on reading and gathering content phases;
updated suggestions of texts, direct links to specific film clips and resources within every unit;
a tighter focus on grammar skills via warm-up sessions and integration within units;
increased emphasis on vocabulary for reading and writing;
further short and longer writing opportunities built into each unit; and
updated outcome suggestions for scaffolded writing whilst highlighting the need for independent writing for assessment purposes.
Year 4 Autumn 2 English Planning Unit : The Great Plague
This half term block, based around a theme of The Great Plague, consists of three English units:
Fairy tales
Classic poetry
Recount: newspapers
Cross curricular links
Although the units will stand alone, they can be planned to run alongside History work on The Great Plague of 1665 (A theme in British history beyond 1066). The unit on fairy tales has been chosen to fulfil the National Curriculum requirement that children in lower Key Stage 2 should be increasing their familiarity with a wide range of books, including fairy stories. The classic poetry unit is part of the National Curriculum recommendation for children to prepare poems and playscripts to read aloud and perform.
Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation
Skills have been specifically identified for each unit from Key Learning in Writing. The full set of units include all skills for the year group. However, if these units and/or skills are rearranged from the planned order, modifications to the identified grammar skills may be necessary. When planning, consider if the suggested skills are the most appropriate for the class or if different skills are needed based on assessments of children’s outcomes. This may involve the revisiting of skills from previous year groups. Refer to Key Learning in Writing for the year group to ensure full coverage over the year.
Our English Planning Units have all recently been updated to include:
new ideas and approaches for planning through the teaching sequence phases with more detailed guidance on reading and gathering content phases;
updated suggestions of texts, direct links to specific film clips and resources within every unit;
a tighter focus on grammar skills via warm-up sessions and integration within units;
increased emphasis on vocabulary for reading and writing;
further short and longer writing opportunities built into each unit; and
updated outcome suggestions for scaffolded writing whilst highlighting the need for independent writing for assessment purposes.
Year 1 Spring 1 English Planning Unit : Growth and Green Fingers
This half term block, based around a theme of Growth and Green Fingers, consists of three English units:
Classic stories
Instructions
Traditional rhymes
Cross curricular links
Although the units will stand alone, they can be planned to run alongside Science units based on researching and growing plants. Instructions could be based around how to grow plants or seeds.
Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation
Skills have been specifically identified for each unit from Key Learning in Writing. The full set of units include all skills for the year group. However, if these units and/or skills are rearranged from the planned order, modifications to the identified grammar skills may be necessary. When planning, consider if the suggested skills are the most appropriate for the class or if different skills are needed based on assessments of children’s outcomes. This may involve the revisiting of skills from previous year groups. Refer to Key Learning in Writing for the year group to ensure full coverage over the year.
Our English Planning Units have all recently been updated to include:
new ideas and approaches for planning through the teaching sequence phases with more detailed guidance on reading and gathering content phases;
updated suggestions of texts, direct links to specific film clips and resources within every unit;
a tighter focus on grammar skills via warm-up sessions and integration within units;
increased emphasis on vocabulary for reading and writing;
further short and longer writing opportunities built into each unit; and
updated outcome suggestions for scaffolded writing whilst highlighting the need for independent writing for assessment purposes.
Intent, Implementation and Impact of your curriculum!
These documents will support subject leaders and senior leaders in reflecting on the provision for the different subjects within your school curriculum and how these meet the specific needs of your children. This reflects the emphasis on the whole curriculum in the Ofsted inspection framework from September 2019.
The aim of the Examining Teaching and Learning in… documents is to provide subject leaders with a precise evaluation of the provision for their subject. Once conducted, the information can then be used as a basis for:
the subject improvement plan;
a discussion during an Ofsted inspection;
a position statement report to the governing body; and
general discussions about the subject with senior leaders and teachers in school.
The questions and prompts within the resources have been carefully designed to ensure consistency in a school’s approach to evaluation by the subject leader whilst also focusing on the individual characteristics of each subject area. They can be independently used by schools or be provided as part of a subject specific ‘Health Check’ provided by one of the Lancashire Teaching and Learning Consultants.
Year 4 Summer 1 English Planning Unit : Water, Water Everywhere
This half term block, based around a theme of Water, Water Everywhere, consists of three English units:
Stories with a Theme
Poems with a Structure
Information Booklets
Cross curricular links
Although the units will stand alone, they can be planned to run alongside work on rivers and the water cycle in geography and science. The children’s learning about rivers and the water cycle might be in the context of a local river study (fieldwork) and/or key aspects of a local river e.g. River Lostock. This work could then feed into
their welcome brochure in English. Alternatively, the children’s leaflets could include facts about rivers that run through Cornwall. In addition, their poetry could feature elements of the water cycle.
Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation
Skills have been specifically identified for each unit from Key Learning in Writing. The full set of units include all skills for the year group. However, if these units and/or skills are rearranged from the planned order, modifications to the identified grammar skills may be necessary. When planning, consider if the suggested skills are the most appropriate for the class or if different skills are needed based on assessments of children’s outcomes. This may involve the revisiting of skills from previous year groups. Refer to Key Learning in Writing for the year group to ensure full coverage over the year.
Our English Planning Units have all recently been updated to include:
new ideas and approaches for planning through the teaching sequence phases with more detailed guidance on reading and gathering content phases;
updated suggestions of texts, direct links to specific film clips and resources within every unit;
a tighter focus on grammar skills via warm-up sessions and integration within units;
increased emphasis on vocabulary for reading and writing;
further short and longer writing opportunities built into each unit; and
updated outcome suggestions for scaffolded writing whilst highlighting the need for independent writing for assessment purposes.
Year 6 Spring 1 English Planning Unit : Heroes and Villains
This half term block, based around a theme of Heroes and Villains consists of three English units:
Older Literature
Non-fiction hybrid
Poems with imagery
Cross curricular links
Although the units will stand alone, they can be planned to run alongside science and design technology, linking to the theme of health and food. Opportunities for cross-curricular writing of a non-fiction hybrid text unit could be based on research of Health Heroes such as:
James Lind (1716-1794): Carried out experiments to discover the cause of scurvy.
Elsie Widdowson (1906-2000): A British chemist who was a pioneer of the scientific study of nutrition and one of the creators of the state-recommended diet during the Second World War.
Lord Boyd Orr (1880-1971): A Scottish nutritional physiologist who devoted nearly four decades to the field of nutrition. For his efforts to promote lasting peace by wiping out hunger, he was awarded the 1949 Nobel Peace Prize.
Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)
Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation
Skills have been specifically identified for each unit from Key Learning in Writing. The full set of units include all skills for the year group. However, if these units and/or skills are rearranged from the planned order, modifications to the identified grammar skills may be necessary. When planning, consider if the suggested skills are the most appropriate for the class or if different skills are needed based on assessments of children’s outcomes. This may involve the revisiting of skills from previous year groups. Refer to Key Learning in Writing for the year group to ensure full coverage over the year.
Our English Planning Units have all recently been updated to include:
new ideas and approaches for planning through the teaching sequence phases with more detailed guidance on reading and gathering content phases;
updated suggestions of texts, direct links to specific film clips and resources within every unit;
a tighter focus on grammar skills via warm-up sessions and integration within units;
increased emphasis on vocabulary for reading and writing;
further short and longer writing opportunities built into each unit; and
updated outcome suggestions for scaffolded writing whilst highlighting the need for independent writing for assessment purposes.
History Unit Planning Guidance.
Year 2 Summer Term - Buckets and Spades.
Events beyond living memory or places in their locality – the seaside then and now.
In this theme, children learn about holidays in the past compared with holidays now. They will consider events and places within their own living memory compared with events and places beyond their own memory. They may also consider other significant historical events in their own locality.
Embedding historical enquiry, chronology and communication within a sequence of learning Skills have been specifically identified for this unit from Key Learning in history.
This updated, expanded unit contains new ideas and approaches for planning history through a sequence of lesson ideas with more detailed guidance on historical enquiry, chronology, knowledge, understanding, vocabulary and communicating findings.
Comprehensive lists of suggested texts and direct links to specific film clips and
resources are contained within the unit.
This unit will help provide teachers with a wealth of creative strategies that reinforce, enhance and transform learning within an effective teaching sequence.
Cross curricular links
Although this unit will stand alone, it can be planned to run alongside a Science unit based on materials where children investigate suitable properties for making buckets, hats and helmets, trampolines and sandcastles, and it could provide a focus for writing explanation texts to explore why and how materials are suitable, or not. In English, poems could be linked to the history context of seaside holidays in the past where children include details about objects or ideas such as ice cream, the promenade or souvenirs. In Art and Design, children could work independently or in groups to create small or large scale collages, using materials collected and chosen to suit the theme. Many contemporary artists use the seaside to inspire their works of art including Abigail Mill, Jayne Huskisson and Serena Hall.
Year 4 Spring 2 English Planning Unit : Passport to Europe
This half term block, based around a theme of Passport to Europe, consists of two English units:
Novel as a theme
Non-chronological reports
Cross curricular links
Although the units will stand alone, they can be planned to run alongside geography, design technology and music. A context for writing a non-chronological report could be a region in a European country, including information around a classical European composer. For novel as a theme, any appropriate text could be selected. Design technology could be linked via creating a passport holder or a money container for two or more currencies.
Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation
Skills have been specifically identified for each unit from Key Learning in Writing. The full set of units include all skills for the year group. However, if these units and/or skills are rearranged from the planned order, modifications to the identified grammar skills may be necessary. When planning, consider if the suggested skills are the most appropriate for the class or if different skills are needed based on assessments of children’s outcomes. This may involve the revisiting of skills from previous year groups. Refer to Key Learning in Writing for the year group to ensure full coverage over the year.
Our English Planning Units have all recently been updated to include:
new ideas and approaches for planning through the teaching sequence phases with more detailed guidance on reading and gathering content phases;
updated suggestions of texts, direct links to specific film clips and resources within every unit;
a tighter focus on grammar skills via warm-up sessions and integration within units;
increased emphasis on vocabulary for reading and writing;
further short and longer writing opportunities built into each unit; and
updated outcome suggestions for scaffolded writing whilst highlighting the need for independent writing for assessment purposes.