Ten English lessons: 25 minutes… | Year 5 English · T1 W1–2 · Lessons

Use the original Texts A–C and claim/evidence mat. Each day has 2 + 4 + 5 + 7 + 4 + 3 = 25 minutes. Teach the rich text through a suitable access route; do not label a read-aloud answer as independent reading. Codes indicate partial learning links: AC9E5LA02, AC9E5LA04, AC9E5LA05, AC9E5LA06, AC9E5LY02, AC9E5LY05, AC9E5LY06, AC9E5LY07. See assessment and keys.

Day 1 — A count is not a conclusion

Success: identify an observation, a claim and a limit in Text A. Prepare: Text A, three labelled slips observed / claimed / still unknown. (AC9E5LA02, AC9E5LY05)

Hook · 2 min. Read “5, 8, 7” and ask, “What can we say for sure from these numbers?” Accept “three counts” before adding.
Model · 4 min. Read Text A aloud or provide accessible text. Say: “The source tells me the same person may be counted again. I can total 20 observations, not 20 different children.” Put the two phrases on separate slips.
Guided sort · 5 min. Read Sam's sentences one at a time. Class sorts “on Tuesday counts were 5, 8, 7” as observation, “everyone wants” as unsupported claim, “some may want shade” as inference. Ask which source detail changes the answer.
Independent turn · 7 min. Each learner marks one exact sentence from Sam as too strong, revises it to a bounded claim, and names a missing fact. Offer highlight, dictation, AAC or typed response; keep authorship clear.
Compare · 4 min. Pairs paraphrase each other's revision before agreeing or disagreeing. Teacher asks 2–3 planned learners, “Could the counts include repeats?”
Exit · 3 min. Prompt: “Were there 20 different users?” Key: cannot tell; there were 20 counted observations. Record exact response and support.

Day 2 — Who knows, and how?

Success: distinguish an observation note from a proposal and ask a question that would improve the source. Prepare Text A and Text B. (AC9E5LA02, AC9E5LY02)

Recall · 2 min. Display “20 different children”. Learners signal whether Text A establishes this; ask for the limiting line.
Model source check · 4 min. Point to Text A's source label. Think aloud: “One Tuesday, same place, same method; useful for what happened then, weak for everybody's preference.” A staff member responsible for the space could confirm permissions; a qualified installer could advise on structure safety. Neither opinion or fact has been supplied here, so do not invent it.
Guided compare · 5 min. Read Text B and identify the four labels. Ask, “Which text tells us what is still unknown? Does either text prove a roof is best?”
Independent turn · 7 min. Learners write or record two questions for a real decision group: one about the users and one about options or safety. They choose which school staff member could legitimately help, without making up an answer.
Partner check · 4 min. Partners test whether each question could be answered. Replace “Do you like it?” with a clear choice or open question as appropriate.
Exit · 3 min. “Why might asking one friend be insufficient?” Key: it represents one view and cannot stand for all users. Record a reason, not a yes/no.

Day 3 — Lead a reader through an idea

Success: start with the message and connect evidence, limit and next step. Prepare Text B and four sentence strips. (AC9E5LA04, AC9E5LY06)

Find · 2 min. Learners point to Text B's question. Ask why it appears first.
Model · 4 min. Write “We need more evidence before changing the lunch space.” Add “On one Tuesday…” and “However…” Explain how each sentence moves the reader.
Order together · 5 min. Shuffle strips: message; Tuesday counts; same user may repeat; ask users and staff. Class sequences them and proposes for example / however / therefore where the link fits.
Independent paragraph · 7 min. Learners make a four-sentence note with a lead, exact evidence, limit and next step. Voice, keyboard or paper all work; record if scribed.
Peer navigation · 4 min. Listener states the first sentence's message and points to the sentence that stops overclaiming. If they cannot, writer moves or rewrites one sentence.
Exit · 3 min. Write a stronger first sentence for “The counts were 5, 8, 7.” Example: “One day's counts are a useful start, but we need more evidence before choosing shade.”

Day 4 — Precision without invention

Success: expand a noun group with only details a source supplies. Prepare Text A and three cards: counts, three ten-minute counts, three ten-minute counts from one Tuesday. (AC9E5LA06, AC9E5LY06)

Notice · 2 min. Read the cards. Which is most informative, and what details make it so?
Model · 4 min. Build “three end-of-interval counts from one Tuesday”. Cross out “sunny” because the source did not state the weather.
Guided challenge · 5 min. Learners expand “space” and “observer” using only the source. Test “crowded, hot, uncomfortable space” against the actual note: none is established.
Independent edit · 7 min. Revise Day 3's paragraph with two accurate expanded noun groups. Mark every added detail and trace it to Text A or label it opinion.
Read-back · 4 min. Partner asks “Where did that detail come from?” Teacher samples 2–3 learners; invite a tactile or spoken card sort.
Exit · 3 min. Choose the supported phrase: three ten-minute counts or three sunny lunchtime counts. Key: the first; weather was not recorded.

Day 5 — A note that could survive a question

Success: independently write a bounded proposal and identify its evidence limit. Prepare new prompt and no shared model in view. (AC9E5LA02, AC9E5LA04, AC9E5LY06)

Retrieve · 2 min. Learners say or select the four parts: message, evidence, limit, next step.
Clarify task · 4 min. Teacher says: “Write to a fictional decision group. You may recommend finding out more. Use Text A, but do not claim the school made a decision.” Read prompt aloud if needed.
Plan · 5 min. Learners use four blank boxes, their own outline or the print mat. No sentence is supplied to copy.
Independent response · 7 min. Produce 4–6 sentences, audio/AAC response or another agreed format. Record whether handwriting or spelling is the construct being checked.
Self-check · 4 min. Learners underline their exact source fact, circle a limit, and strike any everyone / always / proves that outruns evidence.
Exit · 3 min. Submit first and revised versions. Teacher uses Day 5 key and next moves rather than a single grade.

Day 6 — A claim needs a criterion

Success: question an attractive but unsupported claim in Text C. Prepare Text C, counters and claim / evidence / missing cards. (AC9E5LA02, AC9E5LY05)

Hook · 2 min. Read “Five boxes will be cheaper, so five is fair.” Ask, “What is the person assuming?”
Model · 4 min. Read Text C; mark the number 36 and available six boxes. Say: “We have no prices. Cheaper has not been established.”
Guided talk · 5 min. Learners name two criteria besides cost: equal whole-number shares, capacity, availability, waste, ease of carrying. Avoid judging a peer's personal circumstances.
Independent note · 7 min. Each learner writes one fair restatement of the volunteer's idea and one question they would ask before agreeing.
Paraphrase circle · 4 min. A partner paraphrases before responding: “You want fewer boxes because …; we still need …”. Teacher notices whether disagreement is about the idea, not a person.
Exit · 3 min. “Does the card prove five boxes are cheaper?” Key: no cost information is given.

Day 7 — Give the other view its best version

Success: use evidence to respond to a counterclaim without a straw person. Prepare Text C and factor array. (AC9E5LA02, AC9E5LY02, AC9E5LY06)

Recall · 2 min. Ask what five equal boxes of 36 would require. Accept “check divisibility” rather than guessing.
Model · 4 min. State fairly: “The volunteer may want to use fewer boxes.” Then: “But 36 is not divisible by five into equal whole books; cost is unknown.”
Guided comparison · 5 min. Contrast “That volunteer is silly” with the model. Learners identify which sentence addresses the decision and which attacks a person.
Independent response · 7 min. Write a three-sentence reply: recognise the fewer-box goal, use one mathematical fact, ask for one missing cost or availability fact.
Source check · 4 min. Pairs underline the given fact and mark an unprovided assertion with a question mark. Teacher checks one complete response per focus learner.
Exit · 3 min. “Can four boxes of nine be equal?” Key: yes mathematically, but those boxes are not yet available.

Day 8 — Conditions change conclusions

Success: use a dependent clause to state a condition clearly. Prepare cards If we can obtain four boxes and we could pack nine books in each. (AC9E5LA05, AC9E5LY06)

Hear · 2 min. Read each card separately. Which is unfinished by itself?
Model · 4 min. Join: “If we can obtain four boxes, we could pack nine books in each.” Name dependent and main clause. Explain that if protects the condition.
Guided repair · 5 min. Repair “Although five boxes cheaper, equal shares.” Example: “Although five boxes might cost less, we cannot divide 36 whole books equally among them.” Do not assert cheaper as fact.
Independent edit · 7 min. Learners revise yesterday's reply with if, although or because. Require one complete main clause and a condition that matches the card.
Partner test · 4 min. Remove the dependent clause. Can the main clause stand alone? Does the full sentence still say what the writer means?
Exit · 3 min. Complete: “If the four boxes are available, …” Key example: “… each can hold nine of the 36 books.”

Day 9 — Speak so a listener can decide

Success: present a 45–60 second proposal with a claim, a fact, a limit and a question. Prepare Text C, notes and a timer. (AC9E5LY02, AC9E5LY07)

Set audience · 2 min. Learners choose a fictional librarian or class decision group. Ask what that listener needs to decide.
Model · 4 min. Teacher gives a short example, then labels claim, “36 books”, condition and next question. Speak at a pace a listener can follow; no memorisation requirement.
Plan · 5 min. Learners choose speech, AAC sequence, recorded audio with consent, or spoken plus visual. They may use notes, not a full script.
Rehearse · 7 min. Pairs deliver; listener paraphrases the recommendation and asks one clarifying question. Teacher samples focus learners and arranges later quiet time for the rest.
Revise · 4 min. Learner moves the source fact earlier if listener missed it, or adds the condition that was absent.
Exit · 3 min. Listener writes: “I heard the claim ___ and still need to know ___.” This checks clarity, not acting confidence.

Day 10 — Fresh decision, honest evidence

Success: independently evaluate a new fictional claim and give an audience-ready response. Prepare the fresh assessment card, not yesterday's model. (AC9E5LA02, AC9E5LA05, AC9E5LY06, AC9E5LY07)

Start · 2 min. State task and audience. Check accessible format and whether independent writing or idea quality is the target.
Read · 4 min. Present the assessment card once through the selected access route. Learners may reread; record read-aloud use.
Plan · 5 min. Learners identify one supplied fact, one overclaim and one question; teacher gives no content answer.
Independent response · 7 min. Write or compose a bounded claim plus a reason and condition. Keep the unedited original.
Deliver · 4 min. Learner gives a brief spoken/AAC/recorded pitch or private one-to-one explanation. Record content separately from mode demands.
Exit · 3 min. Ask “What would change your mind?” A valid answer names a relevant new source or result. Use key and rubric.