Future Tense Letters

Overview

This 60-minute lesson supports Year 6 pupils in writing a letter using the future tense, inspired by Ada from Children of the Benin Kingdom by Dinah Orji (Chapter 1). The lesson also highlights apostrophes for contractions, integrating reading comprehension with grammar and writing skills.

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National Curriculum Links

• English – Writing – Year 6
  • Pupils should be able to:
    • Plan their writing by identifying the audience and purpose (pupils write a letter to Ada).
    • Use a wide range of devices to build cohesion within and across paragraphs.
    • Ensure the consistent and correct use of tense throughout a piece of writing.
    • Use the passive voice where appropriate.
    • Use expanded noun phrases to convey complicated information concisely.
    • Use commas to clarify meaning or avoid ambiguity.
• English – Grammar and vocabulary – Year 6
  • Recognise and use the difference between the language of speech and writing.
  • Use the perfect form of verbs to mark relationships of time and cause.
  • Use modal verbs or adverbs to indicate degrees of possibility (will, might, could).
  • Use brackets, dashes or commas to indicate parenthesis.
  • Use apostrophes to mark plural possession and contractions (e.g., won’t, I’ll).
• Reading – comprehension (linked to Class Text)
  • Develop positive attitudes to reading, understanding of what they read, and vocabulary acquisition.
  • Draw inferences such as inferring characters’ feelings, thoughts and motives from their actions and justifying inferences with evidence.

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Learning Objectives

By the end of the lesson, pupils will:

1. Understand and apply the future tense correctly to write predictions, plans, or promises.
2. Use apostrophes accurately for contractions within their writing.
3. Write a coherent letter addressed to Ada, based on information from Chapter 1 of Children of the Benin Kingdom.
4. Demonstrate understanding of content through inference and quoting textual evidence.

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Resources

• Copies or excerpts of Children of the Benin Kingdom (Chapter 1 only)
• Whiteboard and markers
• Lined paper and pencils
• Apostrophe contraction reference poster (created by teacher)
• Example letter (modelled by teacher) using future tense and contractions
• "Future Tense & Apostrophes" worksheet (focus exercise)

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Lesson Structure

1. Starter (10 minutes)

Activity: Quick recap and engagement discussion

• Revisit Ada and key events from Chapter 1 using guided questioning to refresh memory and extract facts for letter content.
• On the board, write sentences in the present tense summarising aspects from Chapter 1 (e.g., "Ada lives in the Benin Kingdom", "She learns about her kingdom’s history").
• Pupils work in pairs to convert two sample sentences into the future tense verbally (e.g., "Ada will visit the palace").
• Brainstorm examples of contractions using future tense modal verbs (I will = I'll, You will = You'll, She will = She’ll), modelling on whiteboard.

National Curriculum Link: Recognising and using the difference between language of speech and writing; understanding modal verbs.

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2. Main Teaching Input (15 minutes)

Activity: Focused grammar input and exemplar letter analysis

• Show an exemplar letter on the board written to Ada, entirely in future tense. Read aloud with pupils, highlighting contractions using apostrophes (underline or colour code I'll, won't, she'll).
• Explain apostrophes function in contractions, emphasizing where letters are omitted and why punctuation matters for clarity.
• Reference Chapter 1 to confirm facts included in the letter are text-based (e.g., “I will learn about your culture and traditions”, “You’ll discover many amazing stories about your kingdom”).
• Use a short worksheet or interactive quiz with sentences to identify correct apostrophe use and convert full phrases into contractions.

National Curriculum Link: Use apostrophes to mark contractions correctly; use modal verbs to indicate possibility.

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3. Independent/ Guided Writing (25 minutes)

Activity: Write a letter to Ada

• Clear brief: Write a personal letter to Ada telling her what pupils think they will do to explore or learn from her world, based on Chapter 1. Encouraged to use future tense and contractions throughout.
• Pupils use lined paper to draft their letters. Provide a writing frame for those who require scaffolding (e.g., Dear Ada, I will... You’ll... I won’t... etc.)
• Teacher circulates, providing targeted support with apostrophe use and tense consistency.
• Encourage pupils to include at least 5 contractions and 5 future tense statements.

National Curriculum Link: Plan writing by identifying audience and purpose; ensure consistent use of tense.

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4. Plenary (10 minutes)

Activity: Peer review and whole-class reflection

• Pupils pair up to read each other’s letters, identify examples of future tense and contractions, and give one positive comment plus one suggestion for improvement.
• Select a few volunteers to read their letters aloud to the class.
• Teacher models constructive feedback focusing on apostrophe use and tense accuracy.
• Quick formative assessment quiz (verbal): pupils respond to sentences asking, e.g., "Is the apostrophe used correctly here?" or "What is the future tense verb in this sentence?"

National Curriculum Link: Assess the effectiveness of own and others’ writing; use discussion to improve vocabulary and grammar.

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Assessment and Differentiation

• Formative assessment: Through peer review, teacher observations, and plenary quiz questions.
• Differentiation:
  • Support: Writing frames and targeted adult support.
  • Challenge: Encourage pupils to use modal verbs to express possibility (might, will, could) and varied sentence openers.
• Mark letters against a simple rubric focusing on:
  • Correct use of future tense verbs (5+ examples).
  • Accurate apostrophes for contractions (5+ examples).
  • Coherence and relevance to Chapter 1 content.

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Extension Ideas

• Create a "future diary" entry from Ada’s perspective predicting her next adventures.
• Compose a group “What will we discover?” poster predicting the rest of the book’s content based on Chapter 1.
• Use ICT: pupils type their letters and use an apostrophe-highlighting tool or software to check accuracy.

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Teacher Tips

• Prepare realia or images related to Benin Kingdom to make cultural connections vivid.
• Keep the exemplar letter age-appropriate in tone and vocabulary.
• Encourage exploration of contractions beyond will (e.g., don’t, can’t) but keep future tense central.
• Use mini whiteboards for live sentence transformations to engage the whole class.

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This lesson plan combines literacy skills with cultural engagement, enabling pupils to respond creatively and grammatically to a rich text, in alignment with the National Curriculum.