Free English / Writing / Level 1 / A recount of a trip

Writing · Level 1 · Years 1 and 2 · Unit 3 of 6 · Recount

A recount of a trip

Children use first, next, then and last to retell a class trip in order, with a feeling at the end.

6sessions

30 to 40minutes each

Years 1 and 2ages 6 to 8

Pre-A1 to A1CEFR

By the end

Children write four to six sentences in the correct order using time words, in the past tense, with a closing feeling.

How the unit runs

6 sessions, 8 parts

Every writing unit follows the same eight parts: read, talk, learn the sentence skill, plan, write together, write alone, check, publish. This unit fits them into 6 sessions of about 30 to 40 minutes.

Session	Parts	What happens
Session 1	Part 1: Read and enjoy + Part 2: Talk it	Read and enjoy "Our trip to the farm". Find 3 features to notice. Oral rehearsal games: Story line, Photo order, Past tense echo.
Session 2	Part 3: Sentence skill	Teach the sentence skill: First, next, then, last.
Session 3	Part 4: Plan	Plan on the frame: my trip recount.
Session 4	Part 5: Shared write	The teacher models the writing, thinking aloud.
Session 5	Part 6: Independent write	Children write independently, with support and stretch.
Session 6	Part 7: Check + Part 8: Publish	Check against the success criteria and the editing checklist. Publish for a real reader on the printable template.

Curriculum link. Year 1 composition: sequencing sentences to form short narratives. Year 2: writing about real events and consider what to write before beginning; Appendix 2: correct choice and consistent use of past tense. Sources: see the end of this page.

Part 1 of 8

Read and enjoy a model text

Read it aloud first, or press the button. Talk about what the writer has done before anyone writes. This text was written for Litlings and is free to copy for your class.

Our trip to the farm · Recount

First we got on the bus. Next we saw the cows. Then we fed the hens. Last we ate our lunch on the grass. It was a brilliant day!

What to notice

First, next, then, lastTime words tell the reader the order of events.
got, saw, fed, ateA recount is in the past tense.
It was a brilliant day!The ending says how the writer felt.

Part 2 of 8

Talk it: oral rehearsal

Talk comes before writing. Children say the sentences, then the paragraph, before the pencil moves.

Story line

Draw four boxes in the air. Say what happened in each, starting First, Next, Then, Last. Swap partners and tell it again.

Photo order

Put four photographs of a real class activity in the wrong order. Children arrange them and tell the story with time words.

Past tense echo

The adult says, Today we go to the park. Children say, Yesterday we went to the park. Try with eat, see, run, sit.

Part 3 of 8

Sentence skill: First, next, then, last

Time words show the order of what happened. They make a short recount easy to follow.

Teach it in four steps

Choose four things that happened, in order.
Say each with a time word: First, Next, Then, Last.
Write the time word with a capital letter, then what happened in the past tense.
End with a feeling.

Examples

Start	Becomes or shows
we go to the park	we went to the park
we see a duck	we saw a duck
we eat lunch	we ate lunch

Practise: First, next, then, last

Part 4 of 8

Plan: My trip recount

Remember four things in order. Say each one, then write it. Children say each part aloud to a partner first, then jot notes. Type here, or print the frame to use on paper. It prints on one A4 page.

FirstWhat happened first?NextWhat happened next?ThenWhat happened after that?LastWhat happened at the end?How I feltIt was ___!

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Part 5 of 8

Shared write: the teacher models

A script for the teacher. Think aloud, make the choices visible, and make one deliberate slip to fix.

SayI went to the park. I will tell it in order. First, we walked to the gate.
Dowrite First we walked to the gate. Say: walked is past tense, it already happened.
Saynext we played on the slide. Then we ate our snack. Last we went home.
Dowrite each, underlining the time word.
Sayhow did I feel? Happy! It was a fun day! I will write that last.
Saynow you. Think of a trip or a special day. Say First, next, then, last before writing.

Part 6 of 8

Independent write

The task

Write about a real trip or a special day. Use first, next, then and last, and say how you felt at the end.

Sentence starters

First we ___.
Next we ___.
Then we ___.
Last we ___.
It was ___!

Word bank

first
next
then
last
went
saw
ate
played
was
happy
tired

Support

Give four picture cards in order. Children say a sentence for each, then write.

Stretch

Add a describing word to each event and write two sentences for one part.

English as an additional or foreign language. Let children tell the trip in their home language first, then add the English time words one at a time.

Part 7 of 8

Check: success criteria and editing

Children read their writing aloud, tick what they have done and fix what they have not. Ticks are saved on this device only.

Success criteria

I tell what happened in order.I use first, next, then and last.I write what happened in the past tense.I say how I felt at the end.

Editing checklist

Are my events in the right order?Did I use time words?Do my verbs say it already happened?Does every sentence have a capital letter and a full stop?Did I say how I felt?

Printable Level 1 editing checklist

Part 8 of 8

Publish for a real reader

Make a class trip book with a photograph on the left and the child's recount on the right. Send it home.

Printable template: Picture and writing page

One A4 page, blank for handwriting. Print from the browser or download the PDF.

Download PDF

Keep going

In this course

Elsewhere on the site

Sources

Curriculum statements are paraphrased from the documents above. Model texts and activities are original to Litlings.