Writing for Different Purposes and Audiences: Monster Zoo (Year 8)

Lively, student-friendly project packs with over 10 worksheets and handouts to use in class or as homework. Guide your class through an engaging scenario as they work towards creating their own meaningful independent writing.

I absolutely love it! It is enormously creative but also very thorough.

L O'Loughlin, English Teacher & Peer Reviewer

Assuming roles from astronaut to secret service official, students gain valuable experience in writing for a range of purposes and audiences across fiction and non-fiction. With a clear focus on the new 2014 National Curriculum, your class will be completely prepared for the writing demands of GCSE English.

Example writing tasks:
  • Letters
  • Newspaper articles
  • Travel writing
  • Speeches
  • Blog articles
  • ... and many more!
Interlinking activities with a continuous theme
  • Appealing, relevant tasks based on modern media to captivate students
  • Ideal blend of independent, pair and group work
  • Heaps of extension tasks to challenge your high-fliers


Students have to be able to write letters, articles, stories, leaflets and speeches for AQA GCSE English Language which are all covered here so this is great for early but fun preparation for our GCSE spec

L O'Loughlin, English Teacher & Peer Reviewer

Student support throughout
  • Confidence-building preparation questions to aid the all-important planning process
  • Activities to support every learner type - mind maps, presentations, role plays...
  • Packed with checklists to keep students on track - great for AFL and quick marking
  • Structured with example texts and sample activity answers for inspiration
  • Plus handy tips and essential guidance on SPaG

Monster Zoo (for Year 8)
Thanks to the wonders of science, a new zoo has opened that houses a range of fabulous creatures and monsters from ancient mythology and folklore. What will your Year 8 students make of such a place? Suitable for all abilities, this enchanting pack inspires students to produce a wide range of texts from a diary entry of the opening day to a newspaper article on the monsters’ escape! Includes a glossary so students get to grips with the essential KS3 terminology!

What do teachers say about this resource? (8702)

I absolutely love it! It is enormously creative but also very thorough. It covers a wide range of genres for the students to practise with ideas and hints of how they should go about each one. I like the way that the whole resource has an internal narrative that holds the unit together and engages the students’ interest in the project. It is also a no-prep resource which for teachers is always a big bonus – I feel I could just pick this up and run with it and the students would have great learning outcomes because everything has been thought about and included... This resource covers a wide range of writing forms for different purposes that the students need to be practising in Year 8. It is also engaging which will hold their interest... Students have to be able to write letters, articles, stories, leaflets and speeches for AQA GCSE English Language which are all covered here so this is great for early but fun preparation for our GCSE spec.

L O'Loughlin, English Teacher & Peer Reviewer