Planning a Journey

Overview

WALT: I can plan a description of the journey.
Year Group: Year 2
Duration: 50 minutes
Class Size: 30 students
Unit: Snail’s Journey in Words (Lesson 4 of 5)
National Curriculum Links (English - Writing):

• Write narratives about personal experiences and those of others (real and fictional), after discussion with the teacher and other pupils (NC English - Writing - Year 2).
• Plan or say out loud what they are going to write about (Writing - composition).
• Develop positive attitudes towards and stamina for writing (transcription and composition).
• Use expanded noun phrases to describe and specify (Vocabulary, Grammar & Punctuation - Year 2).

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Learning Objectives & Success Criteria

WALT: I can plan a description of the journey using a planning template.

Success Criteria:

• I have brainstormed and recorded at least five key ideas on my planning template.
• I include different senses (sight, sound, touch, smell) to describe the environment in my plan.
• I organise my ideas clearly in order of the snail’s journey.
• (Extension) I have included extra sensory details and have created a detailed outline.

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Resources

• Planning templates (with spaces for key ideas and sensory details)
• Whiteboard and markers
• Visual prompts/images of a snail’s journey (e.g., garden scene with leaves, soil, rain, flowers)
• Word mats with sensory adjectives and expanded noun phrases
• Example of a teacher’s modelled planning sheet
• Pens, pencils, and coloured pencils for annotations

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Lesson Structure

1. Introduction (10 minutes)

• Engage: Gather the class on the carpet. Recap briefly what they learned about the snail’s journey in previous lessons (unit context).
• Explain the WALT: Write on the board “WALT: I can plan a description of the journey”.
• Discuss: What do you remember about the journey the snail takes? What things can we describe in a story? (Prompt: places, feelings, things the snail sees or hears).
• Introduce the idea of ‘planning’ as preparing ideas before writing a story. Explain that today they will use a special template to help organise their ideas clearly.
• Show the planning template and briefly explain its sections (e.g., start, middle, end, and spaces to add how things look, sound, smell, or feel).

2. Teacher Modelling (10 minutes)

• Share a large version of the planning template on the board.
• Model thinking aloud, writing five key ideas for a descriptive journey of the snail — e.g., beginning in a damp garden, moving over wet leaves, feeling the rain, hearing birds, smelling flowers. Include sensory details.
• Demonstrate how to organise these ideas in sequence and to use expanded noun phrases (“the sticky, wet leaf”, “soft rustling of dry leaves”).
• Highlight how this planning will help with writing in the next lesson.

3. Main Activity – Independent Planning (20 minutes)

• Hand out the planning templates and word mats.
• Children brainstorm and fill out their planning template with at least five key points describing the snail’s journey.
• Encourage use of sensory words from the word mats to add description.
• Adult support: Teaching assistants circulate to offer help, ask guiding questions, and support children with SEND or emerging language skills.
• Differentiation:
  • For less confident learners: Provide sentence starters and simplified templates with pictures and key vocabulary.
  • For those with English as an additional language: Pair with a buddy and use visuals.
  • For those needing challenge (extension): Encourage them to add more detailed sensory descriptions and create their own extended outline for the eventual writing, including feelings and small events along the journey.

4. Sharing and Reflection (8 minutes)

• Invite volunteers to share one or two ideas from their plans.
• Discuss as a class how adding sensory details helps the description come alive.
• Recap key learning points and praise the effort on organisation and creativity.

5. Plenary (2 minutes)

• Revisit the WALT and success criteria verbally and ask:
  “Have you included five key ideas?”
  “Did you think about what the snail might see, hear, smell or feel?”
• Explain that next lesson they will use their plans to write their own descriptive journey.

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Assessment for Learning (AfL)

• Formative observation during independent work to check students can plan and organise ideas logically.
• Success criteria checklist to be completed by teacher based on planning templates collected.
• Informal questioning during plenary to assess understanding of sensory description and sequencing.

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Differentiation Strategies

Learner Group	Strategy
SEN / Less Confident Writers	Use picture prompts & word banks; simplified planning template; guided group support.
EAL Learners	Visual aids, peer support, bilingual word banks, concrete examples of sensory words.
Advanced Learners	Extended planning template; encouraged to add emotions and create a detailed story arc.
All learners	Sentence starters and scaffolding questions to stimulate ideas and vocabulary use.

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Extension Activities

• Advanced learners: Write a detailed outline including not only sensory details but also the snail’s feelings or reactions at each stage of the journey.
• Create a simple story map or comic strip to visualise the snail’s journey with detailed captions enhancing descriptive language.
• Use a thesaurus or word bank to find synonyms for common adjectives to further develop vocabulary.

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Links to National Curriculum (England)

Key Stage 1 Writing - Composition:

• Pupils should be taught to write narratives about personal experiences and those of others, real and fictional. (NC PoS 2a)
• Planning or saying out loud what they are going to write about. (NC PoS 2c)
• Use of expanded noun phrases to describe and specify. (NC PoS Grammar focus Year 2)
• Develop stamina for writing by organising ideas clearly and purposefully.

Speaking & Listening:

• Participate in discussions, expressing ideas and feelings clearly (helpful during briefing and sharing).

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This lesson plan ensures scaffolded support while encouraging creativity and independence aligned with the Year 2 National Curriculum for England, developing writing skills through a well-structured planning process.