Creating Holiday Brochures

Overview

This engaging 60-minute lesson is designed for Year 7 KS3 students working at Entry Level 3, focusing on developing literacy, creativity, and communication skills through the creation of a holiday brochure. The lesson closely aligns with the National Curriculum for England’s English programme of study for KS3, particularly the emphasis on writing for different purposes, reading comprehension, and speaking and listening skills.

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National Curriculum Links

• Reading:
  • Develop positive attitudes to reading and understanding of what they read by identifying key information (NC KS3 English, Reading).
• Writing:
  • Write for a range of purposes and audiences, including imaginative and persuasive texts (NC KS3 English, Writing).
  • Use clear and coherent sentences and paragraphs to organise ideas appropriately (NC KS3 English, Writing).
• Speaking & Listening:
  • Participate in discussions, presentations, and performances, adapting spoken language for different contexts and audiences (NC KS3 English, Spoken Language).
• Literacy across the Curriculum:
  • Develop research skills to locate relevant information (NC KS3 English).

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Learning Objectives

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

1. Literacy: Identify and select key information about holiday destinations to include in their brochures.
2. Creativity: Design and visually organise an attractive and informative holiday brochure using images and persuasive writing techniques.
3. Communication: Write clear, simple persuasive sentences aimed at encouraging readers to visit a specific holiday destination; practice speaking their brochure pitch to the class.

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Resources Needed

• Printed fact sheets and pictures about 3-4 popular UK and international holiday destinations (designed to suit Entry Level 3 reading skills)
• Plain A4 paper and coloured card (for brochure base)
• Coloured pencils, markers, glue sticks, scissors
• Template for holiday brochure layout (simple three-fold design)
• Whiteboard and markers
• Example holiday brochure (simple level) displayed on board/projector
• Vocabulary list including descriptive adjectives and persuasive phrases
• Writing frames with sentence starters for persuasive text

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Lesson Structure (60 minutes)

1. Starter – Introduction and Context (10 minutes)

• Briefly explain the purpose of a holiday brochure and show a simple example.
• Discuss as a class: What information do holiday brochures include? (e.g., destination features, weather, activities, food, accommodation).
• Share success criteria on the board: “My brochure will include clear information, colourful pictures, and sentences that persuade.”
• Introduce and explain key vocabulary (e.g., exciting, relaxing, beautiful, explore, discover). Write them on the board.

2. Research and Information Gathering (15 minutes)

• Distribute fact sheets and pictures about different holiday destinations.
• In pairs or small groups, students select one destination to focus on.
• Activity: Identify key facts using a highlighter or underline (e.g., climate, things to do, special features). Teacher to support lower reading ability students with guided reading.

3. Planning and Designing the Brochure (15 minutes)

• Hand out brochure templates and coloured card.
• Students plan the layout: front cover (name and picture), inside pages (information, persuasive sentences), back page (contact or booking details).
• Model writing one persuasive sentence on the board using the sentence starters: “You will love…”, “Don’t miss…”, “This holiday offers…”
• Students use writing frames to compose 3-4 simple persuasive sentences about their chosen destination.
• Encourage use of adjectives and conjunctions learnt earlier.

4. Creating the Brochure (15 minutes)

• Students cut, colour, and glue images onto their brochures.
• Write or copy their persuasive sentences neatly into the brochure.
• Teacher circulates, offering individual help and encouraging creativity.

5. Plenary – Sharing and Assessment (5 minutes)

• Volunteers present their brochures with a short 1-minute verbal pitch using their persuasive sentences.
• Peer assessment: Classmates provide positive feedback based on the success criteria (e.g., “I liked your bright colours” or “Your sentence makes me want to visit!”).

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Assessment

• Formative Assessment: Observations during group work and creation stages to check understanding and participation.
• Written Work: Completed brochures assessed with a simple rubric focusing on:
  • Inclusion of relevant key information (literacy).
  • Use of persuasive language (literacy and communication).
  • Creativity and organisation of the brochure (creativity).
• Oral Presentation: Evaluate clarity and confidence in presenting persuasive pitch (communication).

Rubric example:

Criteria	Emerging	Developing	Secure
Key information	Uses few relevant facts	Selects some key facts clearly	Accurately chooses relevant information
Persuasive writing	Simple sentences, some key phrases	Uses adjectives and phrases to persuade	Coherent persuasive text with varied language
Creativity & Design	Basic layout, minimal decoration	Includes images and colour	Well-organised, attractive brochure with clear design
Oral communication	Few words, hesitant	Some clear phrases	Confident, clear persuasive pitch

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Differentiation and Inclusion

• Support students with lower literacy by providing sentence starters and writing frames.
• Allow stronger students to add extra details or a short paragraph describing activities.
• Offer the option to present orally with notes or simply to read their brochure aloud for those less confident.
• Use visual aids (pictures and diagrams) to support understanding.

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This lesson plan aims to foster a love of writing, build essential communication skills, and boost creativity while meeting the literacy goals of the KS3 National Curriculum for England. By making research, writing, and speaking interactive and purposeful, students’ confidence and skills in English will flourish.