Year 4 writing: A quieter lunch corner
Persuade an adult with reasons and a practical suggestion.
Your writing task
Write a short piece for your headteacher asking for a quiet corner in the lunch hall. Explain who it could help and suggest a fair way to use it. Your school and situation can be imaginary.
Plan before you write
- Who would use the quiet corner?
- What is one reason it would help?
- How could it work without stopping other pupils talking?
Write on paper or in your own document. Try a first draft before reading the model responses.
An opening you can try
A quieter place to eat could make lunchtime easier for some pupils.
Use this opening or write your own. A useful opening gives your reader something to follow.
A small word bank
- persuade
- To make someone agree to do or believe something by giving them good reasons.
- hush
- A sudden silence, especially after there has been noise.
- however
- Used to add a point that goes against what was just said.
Choose a word only when its meaning fits. You do not need to use every word in the bank.
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Compare three model responses
These are three ways to develop the same task. They are teaching examples, with notes linked to the English national curriculum. They are not exam grades or a prediction of a mark.
A starting point
Please could we have a quiet corner in the lunch hall? Some pupils find it hard to talk when lots of voices are around them. A quieter table could help them enjoy their lunch.
We would not need to make the whole hall silent. One table near the wall could be enough. Pupils could choose it when they wanted a quieter meal, and other tables could stay as they are.
Teaching notes
Write for a reader and purpose
Please could we have a quiet corner
The request is clear at the start, so the adult knows what is being proposed.
Organise related ideas
We would not need to make the whole hall silent.
The second paragraph answers a possible concern about the proposal.
Try next: Explain how pupils would know which table to use.
A more developed response
A quieter place to eat could make lunchtime easier for some pupils. When many people speak at once, a pupil may struggle to hear the friend sitting beside them. A quiet corner would offer a choice.
I suggest using one table near the far wall. A small sign could ask pupils to use quiet voices there. Anyone could choose that table; it would not be only for one class.
Other pupils could still chat at the remaining tables. We could try the idea for a week and ask whether it helped. This would give us a chance to change the plan before making it permanent.
Teaching notes
Choose useful details and words
A small sign could ask pupils
The suggestion explains a practical step instead of leaving the headteacher to invent the whole plan.
Write for a reader and purpose
ask whether it helped
A short trial gives the reader a reasonable way to consider the request.
Try next: Add a polite final sentence asking the headteacher to consider the trial.
A further developed response
A lunch hall should give pupils somewhere to eat and spend time together. For some, that means lively conversation. For others, a quieter table would make it easier to listen, talk and finish a meal comfortably. Could we offer both?
I propose a quiet corner at one end of the hall. A sign would explain that pupils there should use low voices. No one would have to sit there, and the choice would be open to every class.
However, a sign alone may not be enough. At first, the lunchtime team could remind pupils how the corner works. We should also choose a table that does not block the serving area or the exits.
A one-week trial would let pupils and staff share their views. If the corner helps, we could keep it; if it causes problems, we could alter the plan. Please consider giving this small change a chance.
Teaching notes
Write for a reader and purpose
Could we offer both?
The question frames the proposal as a choice that respects different pupils.
Organise related ideas
However, a sign alone may not be enough.
The model recognises a difficulty and then proposes a response, strengthening the argument.
Try next: Check that you have suggested benefits rather than invented survey results.
Read back and improve
- Is the request easy to find?
- Have you explained a reason and a practical step?
- Check that the tone stays polite.
Where the teaching notes come from
Our notes apply the published writing guidance for Years 3 and 4 and Years 5 and 6. The prompts and model responses were written originally for Trace Learn. Reviewed 2026-10-01.
Read the Department for Education English curriculumChoose another writing task
Questions parents ask
What should I plan before I write?
Who would use the quiet corner? What is one reason it would help? How could it work without stopping other pupils talking?
How can I improve my first draft?
Is the request easy to find? Have you explained a reason and a practical step? Check that the tone stays polite.
Will this page mark or save my writing?
No. Write on paper or in your own document. The models and notes are teaching examples. This page does not collect your writing, save it to a profile or award a score.
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