Writing Unit 3: Poetry Ballads by De and Danielle

About this teaching resource

The Five Pillars of Effective Writing Instruction

Unit 3: Poetry Ballads — Planning and Critical Features Pack

Developed by Danielle Monique and De Ludlum, Fairview Primary School

Most teachers would hesitate before asking Year 6 students to write Australian ballads. Danielle and De didn't hesitate — they planned for it, taught towards it, and watched their students produce work that genuinely took their breath away. This resource shows exactly how they did it.

The Poetry Ballads Planning and Critical Features Pack contains the complete unit overview for one of the most ambitious writing units you will find at primary school level. Rooted in Australia's rich bush ballad tradition, the unit takes students deep into a demanding poetic form — its rhythm, its rhyme, its narrative structure, and its distinctive voice. Alongside the detailed day-by-day planning grid sits the critical features document students receive from the outset, giving every child a transparent map of expectations, learning intentions, and submission milestones.

Danielle and De are candid about the fact that this unit pushed them as teachers. It was a significant learning curve. But the resulting anthology — Voices Under the Southern Sky — stands as proof that when teachers plan boldly and trust their students completely, the outcomes can be extraordinary.

For teachers ready to take poetry seriously and expect the very best from every student, this unit is an invitation to be genuinely ambitious.

Listen to Podcast 1: Purposeful Planning here

Read the Blog: Purposeful Planning here