Travel Brochure Creation

Overview

This 50-minute lesson enables Year 7 students to apply researched information and use persuasive language to create an engaging travel brochure for a destination of their choice. The lesson builds on prior learning about travel writing and reflections, supporting literacy skills as set out in the National Curriculum for England.

---

National Curriculum Links

English Programmes of Study - Key Stage 3

• Writing
  • Pupils should be taught to:
    • Plan, draft, write, edit and proofread;
    • Use a range of techniques to adapt writing for specific purposes and audiences, including selecting vocabulary and grammar that are appropriate;
    • Use organisational and presentational devices to structure text and guide the reader (e.g. headings, bullet points, underlining).
• Spoken Language
  • Pupils should be taught to participate in discussions and presentations, adapting talk to context.

---

Learning Objectives

By the end of the lesson, pupils will

• Select and organise facts and persuasive vocabulary to create a travel brochure aimed at attracting visitors.
• Apply research skills to gather accurate and relevant information about a travel destination.
• Use persuasive techniques such as emotive language, rhetorical questions, and direct address to engage readers.
• Demonstrate competence in presenting information clearly and creatively through layout and design elements.

---

Success Criteria

• Clear and accurate information about the chosen destination.
• Use of at least three persuasive techniques within the brochure text.
• Logical structure with headings, bullet points, and images/graphics.
• Evidence of editing or improvements to enhance clarity and appeal.

---

Resources Needed

• Brochure templates (printed or digital) with space for text and images.
• Access to research materials (books, printed fact sheets, or pre-selected websites if ICT available).
• Writing materials (pens, coloured pencils, ruler for neat layouts).
• Example travel brochures for analysis (physical or projected).

---

Lesson Breakdown

Starter (8 minutes)

• Begin with a brief recap: What makes travel writing persuasive? Discuss features like positive adjectives, questions to engage the reader, and clear organisation.
• Show brief examples of travel brochures and identify persuasive features together as a class.
• Introduce the task: Create a travel brochure for a destination they have researched or want to research today.

Main Activity (35 minutes)

1. Research & Planning (10 minutes)

• Pupils select or confirm their travel destination (can be real or fictional).
• Use provided resources to find key information: landmarks, attractions, food, cultural highlights, and practical tips.
• Fill in a planning sheet identifying three main points they want to promote and three persuasive language techniques they will use.

2. Drafting Brochure Text (15 minutes)

• Using their plans, students write the text for their brochure. Support includes sentence starters for persuasive writing:
  • “Discover the stunning…”
  • “Have you ever dreamed of…”
  • “You will be amazed by…”
• Encourage use of varied sentence structures and vocabulary. Pair work to peer review language use and clarity.

3. Layout & Design (10 minutes)

• Pupils arrange their text in the brochure template, adding headings, bullet points, and space for images/drawings.
• Emphasise neat presentation and clear organisation to make the brochure visually appealing and easy to navigate.

Plenary (7 minutes)

• In pairs, pupils present their draft brochures to each other briefly, focusing on how persuasive their writing is.
• Collect verbal feedback focusing on what persuaded them to visit the destination and one suggestion for improvement.
• Teacher models reflective questions for improvement: Have you included emotional appeal? Is your language clear and engaging? How can the layout be more appealing?

---

Assessment Opportunities

• Assess pupils’ brochures against the success criteria to check understanding of persuasive writing and organisation.
• Note use of persuasive techniques and language accuracy.
• Observe participation in peer feedback to gauge verbal communication skills.
• Provide written or verbal feedback focusing on development areas (e.g. sentence variety, clearer organisation).

---

Differentiation

• Support: Provide sentence starters, vocabulary banks, and structured planning sheets. Allow use of facts supplied by the teacher for research.
• Challenge: Encourage more sophisticated persuasive techniques such as rhetorical questions, direct address, and layered descriptions. Allow opportunity to incorporate graphics or maps in their brochures.

---

Extension/Home Learning

• Pupils can finalise and decorate brochures at home or create a digital version using presentation software.
• Write a short travel journal entry imagining a day spent in the destination featured in their brochure.

---

Reflection for Next Lesson

• Review common language errors or layout challenges observed today.
• Plan a follow-up lesson on editing and publishing their travel brochures, adding photos and creative titles.

---

This lesson plan combines creativity with critical writing skills, closely aligned with the National Curriculum’s aims for Year 7 English, encouraging pupils to develop confident, purposeful writing tailored for audience and purpose.