Diary Writing Activity

Overview

Age Group: Year 2
Class Size: 1 student
Duration: 30 minutes
Unit: World War II Explorers
Lesson Number: 4 of 6
Lesson Title: Diary Entries: Personal Perspectives from the Past

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National Curriculum Links

History

• Pupils should be taught to:
  • Understand significant historical events, people and places in their own locality and beyond (NC History Programmes of Study, KS1).
  • Identify differences between ways of life in different periods (NC History KS1).
  • Communicate ideas about the past using spoken language and simple writing (NC History KS1).

English

• Pupils should be taught to:
  • Develop positive attitudes towards and stamina for writing by writing narratives about personal experiences and those of others (real and fictional) (NC English KS1).
  • Use vocabulary and forms of speech that are increasingly influenced by their experiences of reading (NC English KS1).
  • Write simple sentences, some with capital letters and full stops (NC English KS1).
  • Develop understanding of the purpose of writing by writing for different purposes (NC English KS1).

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Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, the student will be able to:

1. Write a simple diary entry from the perspective of a child living during World War II, expressing thoughts and emotions.
2. Demonstrate understanding of the historical context of WWII through personal reflection.
3. Use appropriate vocabulary related to the period and the experience of wartime Britain.
4. Apply basic sentence punctuation including capital letters, full stops, and question marks.

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Resources Needed

• Age-appropriate WWII resource pack (images, objects/artefacts, simplified timeline)
• Sample diary entry (model text) for demonstration
• Plain lined paper or diary template
• Pencil and coloured pencils
• Role-play items from previous lesson (e.g., simple costume pieces or visual prompts)
• Emotion flashcards

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Lesson Structure

1. Starter (5 minutes)

• Conduct a brief recall conversation to recap WWII role-play from Lesson 3. Use visual prompts or costume items to spark memories.
• Show a simple, child-friendly example of a diary entry written during war (fictionalised). Read it together, highlighting feelings and descriptive words.
• Link to learning objective: “Today, you will become a WWII child and write your own diary entry about your day.”

2. Explanation & Modelling (7 minutes)

• Explain the purpose of a diary: a private place to share thoughts and feelings.
• Identify key parts of a diary entry (date, greeting, sentences about what happened, feelings, pictures or drawings).
• Model writing a short diary entry on the board or paper, using phrases like:
  • “Dear diary, today was…”,
  • “I felt scared when…”,
  • “The sirens sounded and I…”.
• Emphasise use of simple sentences with correct punctuation.
• Highlight emotionally descriptive vocabulary (e.g., worried, happy, safe, lonely).

3. Guided Writing (10 minutes)

• Invite the student to imagine they are living in WWII Britain as a child. Prompt them using questions:
  • What do you see outside your window?
  • How do you feel when you hear the air raid sirens?
  • What are you doing during the day?
• Support the student to verbally formulate their thoughts before writing.
• Encourage them to write at least 3-5 sentences describing their experiences and feelings. Use sentence starters if needed.
• Remind student to use capital letters and full stops.
• If time permits, encourage the student to add a simple drawing to illustrate their diary entry.

4. Review & Reflect (7 minutes)

• Invite the student to read aloud their diary entry. Praise their use of emotional language and sentence structure.
• Use emotion flashcards to ask the student which feelings they have written about and talk briefly about why these feelings are natural in wartime.
• Refer back to the historical context: connect their diary to real children’s experiences during WWII (ages appropriate).
• Encourage the student to keep this diary entry as part of their WWII explorers’ scrapbook.

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Assessment

• Observe the student’s ability to formulate sentences verbally and in writing.
• Check for use of correct basic punctuation (capital letters, full stops).
• Assess the relevance of content to WWII experience and the student’s ability to express feelings and thoughts.
• Provide verbal feedback, highlighting strengths and next steps (e.g., using more descriptive vocabulary, sentence length).

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Differentiation & Extension

• For additional challenge: Encourage the student to write two diary entries: one before an air raid and one after, comparing feelings.
• For additional support: Provide sentence starters or a fill-in-the-blank template to scaffold writing. Use picture prompts to stimulate ideas.
• Extension activity: Ask the student to dictate a two-line diary summary to be scribed and then illustrate the diary page.

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WOW Factor (Engagement Idea)

Create a small “time capsule” with the student including their diary entry, a simple drawing, and a few WWII artefact pictures or replicas. Explain that these will be kept as a treasure from the past to share with future learners. This tangible connection helps deepen empathy and engagement.

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Reflection for Teacher

• Did the student effectively relate their writing to the historical context?
• Is the level of written English appropriate to the student’s stage?
• Were they able to express feelings clearly?
• How engaged was the student with the historical empathy task?
• Plan to revisit or adapt this approach for other historical perspectives in following lessons.