A 30-minute writing task for your YEAR 4 child - the summer tree
10.10.25
Week Six Writing Challenge! 
This week, we’re zooming in on a single part of nature — a tree.
This week, we’re zooming in on a single part of nature — a tree.
A tree can appear in almost any setting — a blossom-filled cherry tree in spring, a sturdy oak in summer, or a twisted, bare trunk in winter. How your child describes it can completely change the mood of the scene.
Over the next two weeks, we’ll explore two very different sides of the same idea:
This week (Part 1) – a calm and gentle tree
Next week (Part 2) – an eerie and ancient tree
This week (Part 1) – a calm and gentle tree Next week (Part 2) – an eerie and ancient treeBy now, your Year 4 child may have explored lakes, caves, markets, beaches, and forests — building up their descriptive skills week by week. Now we’ll focus on bringing one natural object to life through sight, sound, and atmosphere.
(If you missed earlier weeks, links are in the comments 
)
) This week’s theme: a calm and gentle treeThis week, your child will practise creating a peaceful, soft, and sunlit mood — describing a tree that feels alive and safe rather than spooky or mysterious.
Below you’ll find:
A short practice extract
A writing toolkit (for the calm and gentle mood)
A practical 30-minute task to try at home
A short practice extract A writing toolkit (for the calm and gentle mood) A practical 30-minute task to try at home
Try this at home (about 30 minutes)Reading prompt:
‘The great oak stood at the edge of the field, its branches stretching wide like open arms. Sunlight dappled through the leaves, scattering golden patches across the grass. Somewhere above, a blackbird sang, and a breeze whispered softly through the branches.
Task:
Describe a tree that feels calm and gentle. What colours, sounds, and textures would you notice? How does it make you feel to stand beneath it?
Describe a tree that feels calm and gentle. What colours, sounds, and textures would you notice? How does it make you feel to stand beneath it?
Tip: Look at a picture of a tree in spring or summer. Notice the light, the patterns on the bark, and how the leaves move in the breeze.
Writing Toolkit: calm and gentle treeUse this when you want your tree to feel peaceful, safe, or full of life.
Use soft sounds, warm colours, and flowing movement.
Use soft sounds, warm colours, and flowing movement.
Adjectives: green, golden, dappled, peaceful, gentle, whispering, leafy, sunlit
Verbs: swayed, shimmered, rustled, drifted, basked, stretched, glowed
Similes: branches like open arms, leaves fluttering like tiny dancers, bark smooth as polished stone
Onomatopoeia: rustle, whisper, sigh, flutter
Personification: the tree breathed in the morning light, the leaves whispered to each other in the breeze
Metaphors: a green cathedral, a crown of sunlight, a dancer in the wind
Alliteration: whispering woods, gentle green giant, soft summer shade
Verbs: swayed, shimmered, rustled, drifted, basked, stretched, glowed
Similes: branches like open arms, leaves fluttering like tiny dancers, bark smooth as polished stone
Onomatopoeia: rustle, whisper, sigh, flutter
Personification: the tree breathed in the morning light, the leaves whispered to each other in the breeze
Metaphors: a green cathedral, a crown of sunlight, a dancer in the wind
Alliteration: whispering woods, gentle green giant, soft summer shade
Parent TipEncourage your child to use all their senses. What does the tree look like? What might it sound like in the wind? How might the air feel around it — warm, cool, damp, or still?
For example:
‘Blossoms drifted like snowflakes as the old cherry tree sighed in the spring breeze.’
Next week, we’ll explore a very different mood — the eerie and ancient tree, where description takes a darker, more mysterious turn.
I hope you find the task useful!