Litbridge Middle Grade — Course at a Glance (Years 5–6)
An 8-week, curriculum-aligned creative narrative unit (with 6-week compact option).
Who & When
- Year band: Years 5–6
- Duration: 8 weeks / 8 × 60-min lessons
- Timetabling: within English alongside reading & language work
Uses Litbridge’s printable worksheets; online activities are optional supports.
Big Ideas (Narrative)
- Stories are driven by character goals and meaningful obstacles.
- Control the reader’s experience with structure, cohesion, and style.
- Strong drafting cycles: plan → draft → revise → edit → publish.
Outcomes (Curriculum Language)
Students will:
- plan, draft and publish a crafted narrative for a purpose and audience
- use cohesive devices (topic sentences, connectives, pronoun reference)
- select language features (vivid verbs, precise nouns, imagery)
- revise for structure and paragraphing; edit for sentences, punctuation and spelling
Maps to AC: English — Audience & Purpose; Text Structure; Language Features; Creating Texts; Editing (Y5–6).
Weekly Flow (8-Week Version)
- W1: Narrative purpose & audience; model text annotations
- W2: Character goals & contradictions
- W3: Setting & mood; sensory detail drills
- W4: Plot beats; story plan
- W5: Show vs tell; dialogue/action balance
- W6: Draft 1 — opening & complication; cohesion devices
- W7: Revision (structure/paragraphing) + Editing (verbs, punctuation)
- W8: Draft 2, polish & publish; reflection
6-Week Compact: Merge W2+3; combine W6 drafting with W7 revision; keep publish & reflection.
Lesson Pattern (each 60 min)
- Warm-up (5)
- Teach & Model (15) — worked example
- Guided Practice (20) — worksheet or planning step
- Independent (15) — drafting / editing
- Reflect (5) — exit ticket
Assessment & Evidence
- Diagnostic (W1): 200–300 word quick write
- Formative (W6): Draft 1 checkpoint (ideas, structure, cohesion)
- Summative (W8): final narrative rubric — Ideas/Control, Structure, Cohesion, Sentence Structure, Vocabulary, Spelling, Punctuation
Student reflection sheet at start/end of unit.
Differentiation (built-in)
- Scaffolds: paragraph frames, sentence starters, word banks
- Extensions: style challenges, viewpoint shift, narrative pacing choices
- Access: print-friendly pages; oral rehearsal options
Materials
- Teacher slides (mini-lessons, worked examples)
- Student booklet (planning sheets, drafting, editing pages)
- Model texts (short annotated narratives)
- Rubrics & checklists (diagnostic, checkpoint, summative)