Guide a New Student

Overview

Students plan and write clear, numbered instructions explaining how to travel from the classroom to the library. They build on oral direction-giving and simple sequencing, then create an informative guide for a real audience: a new student who does not yet know the school.

Learning intentions

• WALT identify the important landmarks and steps on a route.
• WALT plan instructions for a particular reader and purpose.
• WALT write clear, numbered steps that help someone get to the library.
• WALT reread and improve our writing so the reader can follow it.

Success criteria

• I can say where to start and where to finish.
• I can include the landmarks and actions the reader needs.
• I can use numbered steps in the correct order.
• I can check that my instructions are clear and complete.

Relevance

Clear instructions help people feel confident and safe in unfamiliar places. Students are writing for an authentic audience and purpose: helping a new classmate find the library independently.

Curriculum links

• Writing to inform: numbered simple steps help a reader understand what to do.
• Writing processes — planning: identifying and working towards a specific writing goal.
• Writing processes — planning: making a plan before composing.
• Key competencies: managing self; relating to others; using language, symbols, and texts.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Purpose and connection. Teacher welcomes students as “route experts”, shows the opening question in the hook and purpose slide — “What would a new student need to know to find our library?” — and explains that today they will write a helpful guide. Students briefly share a time they needed directions and identify the reader and purpose.

2. 5–12 min · Notice good instructions. Teacher uses the model instructions slides to display a short route with mixed-up steps, then models noticing a clear starting point, action words, landmarks, numbered order and a finishing point. Students help reorder the steps orally and explain why “Turn left at the office” is more useful than “Go over there”.

3. 12–20 min · Walk and rehearse the route. Teacher takes the group on the actual classroom-to-library route, pausing at two or three safe, visible landmarks and using precise language such as “walk past”, “turn left”, “go through” and “stop beside”. Students observe, mime each action and repeat the route to a partner; the teacher records agreed landmarks and actions on the board or in the route vocabulary and planning slide.

4. 20–27 min · Plan for the reader. Teacher gives each student the route planning and writing sheet and models completing the start, landmarks, actions and finish boxes, thinking aloud about what a new student might not know. Students draw or write a route plan, choosing a personal goal such as “I will include every turn” or “I will use clear action words”; the teacher conferences briefly with each writer.

5. 27–38 min · Write numbered instructions. Teacher displays the writing steps and checklist slides and reminds students to use one action per numbered step, readable spacing and a final check. Students write their instructions on the worksheet, using their plan and the agreed route; the teacher supports individuals while the remaining students work quietly. Midway, students pause for a “thumbs to chest” self-check: start, turns, landmarks and finish.

6. 38–43 min · Test and improve. Teacher pairs students and displays the partner-testing prompts: “What do you do first?”, “Where do you turn?”, and “What tells you that you have arrived?” Students read their instructions aloud while partners trace the route on the plan or point to landmarks, then give one specific suggestion: “I was unsure when…” Writers make one improvement.

7. 43–45 min · Share and next step. Teacher invites two students to read a strong step and asks what made it helpful. Students complete the traffic-light check-in exit ticket slips, indicating their confidence and writing or drawing one thing they included and one thing to improve next time.

Resources

• the complete route-writing slide deck
• the route planning and writing sheet
• the traffic-light check-in exit ticket slips
• Whiteboard and markers
• Pencils, erasers and coloured pencils
• Safe, familiar route from the classroom to the library
• Optional clipboard or hard writing surface for the route walk

Assessment

• During discussion and the route walk, listen for students identifying the correct sequence, landmarks and action words.
• Check each plan and draft for a clear start, logical numbered steps, useful landmarks and a library finish. Confer using the student’s chosen writing goal.
• During partner testing, note whether the reader can follow the instructions without extra explanation. Use the exit ticket to group students for the next writing session.

Differentiation

• Support: Provide a teacher-scribed or jointly constructed first step, a word bank with picture support (start, walk, turn, past, through, beside, library), numbered boxes and the option to draw before writing. Allow oral rehearsal, speech-to-text or dictation to an adult.
• Autism and sensory considerations: Preview the route and lesson sequence visually in the visual timetable and route slides; avoid unexpected changes, offer a quiet workspace and permit students to observe rather than touch or lead during the walk. Use literal language, clear boundaries and a predictable partner routine.
• Dyslexia-friendly options: Use a clear sans-serif font, large print, generous spacing, uncluttered worksheet boxes and high-contrast text. Read instructions aloud, provide visual icons and accept drawing, oral recording or adult scribing while still assessing the quality of the route information.
• Extension: Students add a simple labelled map, include a helpful safety reminder, or revise steps so a reader can follow them with no spoken prompts. They may write an alternative route and explain which route is easier for a new student.

Next steps

Use students’ drafts and exit tickets to form a short follow-up group. Revisit missing landmarks, unclear direction words or sequencing, then publish selected guides with a map for a genuine new-student welcome pack.