Year 6 - English
Retelling a Windrush story
The Empire Windrush: diary 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 use research around the Empire Windrush and an account of a fictional passenger to write a diary entry from a Windrush passenger's perspective. They use a conversational tone and informal devices, including exclamatives and verbless sentences, to meet the writing purpose.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to tell the story of one fictional person's experience on the Empire Windrush and on arrival in Britain.
Key Notes
- Caribbean immigrants were drawn to the UK by the promise of better pay and living conditions.
- The Windrush arrivals were given some support by the British government, but they faced discrimination.
- It could be hard to find housing and many could only find jobs at a lower level than they were qualified for.
- The weather and appearance of Britain was also a shock to some of the Windrush immigrants.
- Nevertheless, many stayed in Britain and their descendants live here to this day.
Vocabulary To Learn
- immigrant: someone who has come to a country different to their country of origin to live permanently
- Windrush Generation: the name given to people who emigrated from the West Indies to the UK in the decades after World War II, starting with the arrival of the Empire Windrush in 1948
- text map: a visual representation of a series of events, where pictures represent events; it can be used to orally rehearse events to embed them in our memory
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Pupils may believe they are expected to say their text map the same each time they repeat it.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.
Caribbean immigrants were drawn to the UK by the promise of better pay and living conditions. The Windrush arrivals were given some support by the British government, but they faced discrimination.
2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'immigrant'
someone who has come to a country different to their country of origin to live permanently.
3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.
Mistake: Pupils may believe they are expected to say their text map the same each time they repeat it. Correction: The purpose of the text map is to remember the events; ideally, pupils would have repeated opportunities to rehearse the text map, trying out different language each time. You will find pupils readily copy language you used in your own retelling.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Exploring the Empire Windrush and the experiences of its passengers Study Guide
- Generating ideas for the diary entries of a Windrush passenger Study Guide
- Planning the diary entries of an imagined Windrush passenger Study Guide
- Writing the diary entry of a Windrush passenger after their arrival in the UK Study Guide
- Writing the diary entry of a Windrush passenger before their arrival in the UK Study Guide
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