Creative Writing Magic

Overview

This 30-minute session invites Year 2 pupils to write imaginatively by crafting their own job interview answers. It nurtures early writing skills alongside speaking and listening, linking to personal identity and future aspirations. This aligns with the English Programme of Study for Key Stage 1 under the National Curriculum (England), focusing on composition, vocabulary, grammar, and spoken language.

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Learning Outcomes

By the end of the session, pupils will be able to:

• Use simple sentences to express ideas clearly in writing.
• Think creatively about roles they might like to have in the future.
• Use descriptive vocabulary when describing themselves and their skills.
• Participate in a short, structured verbal activity to build confidence in speaking.

References:

• National Curriculum for England: English Programmes of Study (Year 2) – Writing and Spoken Language.
• Development Matters (Early Years Foundation Stage) guidelines for supporting writing and communication skills.

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Materials Needed

• Whiteboard or flipchart and markers
• Lined exercise books or writing paper
• Pencils and crayons
• “Job card” prompts (small cards with different professions illustrated, e.g. teacher, vet, artist, firefighter)
• Example interview question sheet (simple questions like “Why do you want this job?”)

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Lesson Structure

1. Introduction (5 minutes)

• Engage: Show colourful job cards to pupils and briefly discuss what each job is about.
• Activate prior knowledge: Ask, “When people want a job, they sometimes have an interview. What do you think that means?” Discuss ideas as a class.
• Explain the creative task: “Today, you are going to pretend to have a mini job interview and write your answers!”

2. Modelling and Guided Practice (7 minutes)

• Display an interview question on the board: “Why do you want this job?”
• Model a simple answer out loud, e.g., “I want to be a teacher because I like helping children learn.” Write it on the board, highlighting key vocabulary and sentence structure.
• Ask a few pupils to suggest ideas aloud, writing down some answers for a visual scaffold.

3. Independent or Paired Writing Task (12 minutes)

• Pupils choose one job card that interests them.
• They write or draw their answer to the questions: “Why do you want this job?” and “What skills do you have for this job?”
• For pupils needing extra support, pairs can work together or scribe support can be provided.
• Encourage use of adjectives and simple connectives like “and” or “because”.

4. Sharing and Speaking (5 minutes)

• Invite several pupils (or pairs) to share their answers aloud to the class.
• Focus on listening skills and positive feedback (“What a great reason!” or “I like how you said...”)
• Reinforce confidence in speaking and showing pride in their writing.

5. Plenary and Reflection (1 minute)

• Recap what was learned about writing sentences and thinking creatively about jobs.
• Ask a reflective question: “What job would you like to do when you grow up and why?”

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Assessment and Differentiation

• Assessment: Observe pupils’ ability to form simple sentences, their use of descriptive vocabulary, and engagement in the speaking task. Collect writing samples for formative assessment of early sentence composition.
• Differentiation: Provide sentence starters or word banks for less confident writers. Allow more able pupils to write longer answers or include reasons with 'because'. Use paired work for additional verbal scaffolding.

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Cross-Curricular Links

• PSHE: Discussing jobs connects to learning about aspirations and personal identity.
• Speaking and Listening: Oral sharing develops communication and presentation skills, fulfilling National Curriculum speaking & listening aims.
• Art: Pupils can illustrate their job card or their written answers to support multimodal learning.

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Teacher Tips

• Use enthusiastic voice acting when modelling interview answers to make the lesson memorable!
• Create a positive ‘safe space’ atmosphere to encourage shy pupils to participate.
• Celebrate all contributions with stickers or praise moments to nurture confidence and motivation.
• For extended learning: Have pupils design their own job card at home as a creative homework task.

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This focused, multi-modal approach will help Year 2 pupils enjoy creative writing through real-world connections, build early sentence structure skills, and enhance their confidence in speaking and listening – all while fostering their imagination about the future.