English
WHAT
THEY’LL
LEARN
l How to take
appropriate notes
to help plan a piece
of writing
l How to discuss
the structure,
vocabulary and
grammar of
instructional
writing
l The use of simple
organisational
devices
l The use of
a range of
appropriate verbs,
conjunctions,
adverbs and
prepositions
KS2 LESSON PLAN
Instructional
writing with
The BFG
This fun, practical and
engaging lesson will prove to
be a favourite among pupils,
says Julianne Britton
@juliannebritton
missbritton.co.uk
This practical and engaging lesson focuses on identifying
and using the organisational and grammatical features
of instructional writing. Children will write a set
of instructions after making their very own cup of
Frobscottle, from Roald Dahl’s The BFG. Many pupils
look back on this lesson as one of their favourites and,
I must admit, it’s a fun one to teach. In its entirety,
this lesson is quite long but can easily be shortened if
necessary. Before teaching the lesson, ensure you have
practised making Frobscottle and you have purchased the
required quantities of ingredients, as well as checking for
any allergies among your pupils.
START HERE
Prior to teaching
this lesson, ensure
your class have
read chapter 10
of The BFG. This
provides some
context for the
lesson and a hook
for the learners
in the form of the
Whizzpop-inducing Frobscottle.
To begin the lesson, share various examples of
instructional writing on the tables. In groups, pupils will
then attempt to identify and locate the features. Some
children can be given labels to add to their text while
others might be asked to write their own labels. Briefly
discuss some of the features identified before beginning
the main part of the lesson.
72 | www.teachwire.net
Frobscottle themselves and it
is a great way to ensure they
understand the steps before
writing their instructions. Plus,
1|MAKING
they often look forward to
FROBSCOTTLE
tasting it at the end of the lesson
To remind children of the
and this can be a great incentive
humorous effects of Frobscottle, for producing a good piece of
watch the musical clip from the writing.
1989 BFG animation at tinyurl.
2|CREATING A
com/tpfrobscottle.
CHECKLIST
Demonstrate how to make
Frobscottle while the children
Now that the Frobscottle
take notes. Mix ice cream,
has been made, recap the
lemonade and green food
features of instructions that
colouring in a jug to make the
the children identified at the
fantastic drink. For a maths
start of the lesson. Watch
link, ask for volunteers to help
the following BBC clip about
you measure out the different
writing clear instructions within
ingredients. Time permitting,
a cake recipe: tinyurl.com/
you could then ask each group
tpcakeinstruct. Ensure children
of children to make their own
are familiar with imperative
jug of Frobscottle, adding to
(bossy) verbs, adverbs and time
their notes in the process.
connectives. Begin to create a
The children love making
bank of useful vocabulary and a
MAIN LESSON
“Children look forward to
tasting the drink at the
end of the lesson and this
can be a great incentive
for writing”
3|GIVING
INSTRUCTIONS
class checklist. Ask your pupils
to find a partner from another
table and label themselves 1 and
2. Child 1 will tell child 2 how to
make Frobscottle. Child 1 should
try to use a range of imperative
verbs and time connectives
while child 2 should listen
carefully for key vocabulary and
write it down.
Pupils will now write
instructions for making
Frobscottle. A writing template
can be used by the children to
aid the presentation of their
instructions, or for a more
creative approach, it can be
nice to allow the pupils to
produce their own layout.
To support the writing
process, children will have
access to a feature checklist
and a bank of vocabulary as
well as their own notes from
earlier in the lesson. Pictures
can also be used as prompts
where necessary.
Before the end of the
lesson, ask children to swap
their piece of writing with
someone else on their table.
They should then read each
other’s work, thinking about
what has been done well but
also how it could be improved.
Has any interesting vocabulary
been used? Have they missed
out any steps? Have the
instructions been organised
well? Could the instructions be
more detailed or specific? After
this short peer assessment,
allow the children some time to
edit their work, thinking about
the constructive feedback
received and referring back to
the class checklist.
Finally, at the end of the
lesson, children can taste their
refreshingly fizzy, creamy,
green creations!
Julianne Britton is a
qualified teacher with eight
years’ experience and owner
of missbritton.co.uk where
she offers downloadable
teaching resources and
private tuition services.
EXTENDING
THE LESSON
l In a maths lesson, pupils
could measure out the
quantities of different
ingredients while following
different recipes. The
recipes could all be linked
to other Roald Dahl stories.
This provides opportunities
to focus on measurement,
fractions, problem solving
and ratio.
l What are the effects of
Frobscottle on the BFG’s
teeth? What should he be
drinking in order to look
after his teeth? In science,
investigate the effects of
different drinks on teeth,
using eggshell in the place
of teeth.
l In English, create fliers
advertising Frobscottle.
Children can focus on the
use of persuasive language,
rhetorical questions and
emotive and exaggerated
vocabulary. Instead of fliers,
pupils could also use drama
to create YouTube or
Spotify advertisements.
USEFUL
QUESTIONS
l What are the
key features of
instructional writing?
l What are the main
steps involved in
making Frobscottle?
l Have you used a range
of imperative verbs?
l Could your
instructions be any
more specific?
l Could you make
your instructions easier
to follow?
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