Farm Friends Unit

Overview

Students are introduced to the Farm-Based Integrated Learning Unit and learn how different learning areas work together in one theme. They begin by meeting the unit’s big ideas: dinosaurs, living things, habitats, and building a better world, using read-alouds, talk, and a simple visual timetable.

Learning intentions

• Students will recognise that the farm theme includes dinosaurs and living things.
• Students will understand key details from a short shared text by listening and later joining in with retelling.
• Students will connect story and picture details by answering simple questions.
• Students will observe a pie chart and describe which learning area has the most time using everyday language (more/less).

Success criteria

• I can say what the unit is about using at least two key words (farm, dinosaurs, living things, habitats, better world).
• I can answer a simple question about a picture or short sentence (who/where/what).
• I can help retell what we learned by using a few sentence starter phrases.
• I can point to the biggest slice in the pie chart and say “This has the most time.”

Curriculum links

• English — Reading comprehension: activating background and word knowledge, connecting and understanding sentences and whole text, monitoring comprehension, recalling details.
• Other learning goals are supported through integrated talk and participation across the unit (listening, shared reading, and visual information).

Lesson structure (90 minutes)

1. 0–10 min · Welcome and routine. Teacher greets students, shows the unit display (farm picture, dinosaur picture, living things/habitat images), and says the daily plan in simple language; students repeat key words and point to images.

2. 10–25 min · Activate knowledge (dinos + living things). Teacher asks: “What do you know about dinosaurs/living things/homes?” and uses a quick picture sort (dinosaur cards, plant cards, animal cards, “not living” items); students place cards into “living” and “not living” while teacher prompts “Is it living? How do you know?”

3. 25–40 min · Shared reading (short connected text). Teacher reads a teacher-made, picture-supported text titled “On the Farm” (3–5 short sentences about a habitat and living things, using simple repeated vocabulary); students follow along, point to the matching picture, and answer one question per page (e.g., “Where does the bird live?”).

4. 40–55 min · Comprehension check (connect and recall). Teacher models a “think” strategy: “I think this because…” and uses sentence frames on the board (e.g., “The living thing lives in a __.” “It eats/it drinks.”); students choose a frame, answer orally, then teacher confirms by rereading the relevant sentence.

5. 55–70 min · Big ideas talk: habitats and building a better world. Teacher uses two giant images: a habitat (e.g., pond/garden/farm shed area) and a “better world” action (e.g., recycling, caring for animals, planting); students participate in a guided discussion using prompts: “What do you notice?” “How can we help?” Students choose one action and point to it.

6. 70–82 min · Pie chart introduction (time for each area). Teacher shows a prepared pie chart with labels for each subject area in the unit (teacher uses a small set of areas only, e.g., English, Maths, Science/Technology-like learning, Creative/PE-like learning). Teacher points and says: “This slice is biggest, so it has the most time.”; students practise pointing to slices, matching a colour on the pie chart to a colour on the label cards.

7. 82–90 min · Exit ticket: unit recap. Teacher hands out a one-page “Unit Starter” sheet with three picture boxes (dinosaurs, living things/habitat, better world). Students circle or point to the pictures they remember and say one sentence starter: “This unit is about…”.

Resources

• Unit display board with farm, dinosaur, habitat, and better world images
• Dinosaur/living thing card set and “not living” items (safe classroom materials)
• Teacher-made picture-supported text (“On the Farm”) with large print
• Sentence starter cards (e.g., “The living thing lives in a…”, “I think because…”)
• Pie chart poster with a small number of clearly labelled slices
• Coloured label cards matching the pie chart slices
• Student “Unit Starter” exit sheet with picture boxes

Assessment

• Formative observation during card sorting (living vs not living) and guided questions after shared reading
• Check understanding during comprehension step using “who/where/what” prompts and sentence starter responses
• Exit ticket: teacher collects “Unit Starter” sheets to confirm key vocabulary and recall of big ideas

Differentiation

• Support: provide gestures, visual sentence frames, and fewer choices (e.g., two picture options) for comprehension questions.
• Support: allow responses by pointing, repeating key words, or using single-word answers before expecting full sentences.
• Extension: invite the student to add a “because” reason during the comprehension step (“I think… because I saw…”) if they are ready.
• EAL/SEN considerations: use consistent repeated phrases during reading and discussion; use the same sentence frames throughout the lesson to reduce language load.