Year 5 - English
Planning and writing the section about Harriet Tubman's early life
Harriet Tubman: biographical writing
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
In this unit, pupils write a biography based on Harriet Tubman, centred around her significance as a historical figure, her early life and her civil rights activism. Pupils conduct research about the subject and organise their research into clear paragraphs, using a range of cohesive devices.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to use your research and understanding of Harriet Tubman's early life to plan and write a section of a biography.
Key Notes
- In the sections, writers share detailed, specific information about an aspect of the person's life with the reader.
- Section paragraphs include a topic sentence, specific information and a linking sentence.
- When planning, we should record ideas in concise, bullet-pointed notes.
- When writing, we should use a plan and success criteria to guide us.
- Text cohesion is achieved through use of subject-specific vocabulary, fronted adverbials and relative complex sentences.
Vocabulary To Learn
- specific information: clear, exact and particular information
- subject-specific vocabulary: words and phrases associated with a topic
- relative complex sentence: a sentence formed of a main clause and a relative subordinate clause
- fronted adverbial: a sentence starter followed by a comma
- text cohesion: how a text flows to maintain the reader's interest and achieve purpose
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Pupils may refer to Tubman's activism and later life experiences in this section.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.
In the sections, writers share detailed, specific information about an aspect of the person's life with the reader. Section paragraphs include a topic sentence, specific information and a linking sentence.
2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'specific information'
clear, exact and particular information.
3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.
Mistake: Pupils may refer to Tubman's activism and later life experiences in this section. Correction: Explicit re-exposure to the information learned about Tubman's early life occurs in Learning Cycle 1 to keep pupils focused on this aspect of her life.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Identifying the features of a biography Study Guide
- Peer editing the early life section of a biography about Harriet Tubman Study Guide
- Planning and writing the conclusion of a biography about Harriet Tubman Study Guide
- Planning and writing the introduction of a biography about Harriet Tubman Study Guide
- Planning the section about Harriet Tubman's activism Study Guide
- Researching Harriet Tubman in preparation for writing a biography Study Guide
- Writing the section about Harriet Tubman's activism Study Guide
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