Lesson video

Hello, everyone.

My name is Ms. Butt.

And today I'm going to be teaching you using vocabulary for you to use in your unit on the Golden Compass.

At the moment, you're working towards a diary entry where you will be pretending to be Lyra who has just had a very long journey and arrived in a port.

When she arrives in this port, she walks off to find a quiet space.

And walking is something that characters do an awful lot in our writing.

But it quite often can be a little bit boring if we always describe characters as just walking.

'Cause there are many different ways that we can walk.

And if we use different ways of describing how we can walk, it shows different feelings.

So today, we're going to be learning three different ways of describing how you might walk.

I hope you enjoy the lesson.

Here's what we're going to do today.

First I'm going to introduce the new vocabulary one word at a time, and we'll be looking at Mrs. Wordsmith pictures to illustrate what each word means.

Then we're going to identify word pairs and synonyms, which will help us to have a deeper understanding of what these words mean and how we can use them in lots of different contexts.

And finally, we'll apply these words in sentences and we'll try to use sentences that will be useful in your diary writing.

Right at the end of the lesson, I'm going to ask you to write your own sentence.

So you will need something to write on and something to write with.

Perhaps you could pause the video now and make sure you've got everything you need and make sure you're ready and focused to start your learning.

So here are some important vocabulary we'll be using in today's lesson.

I'm going to say each word and then I'd like you to repeat it back to me, just so I know we're all engaged.

Synonym, word pair, verb, adverb, adjective.

Let's find out what these mean.

So a synonym is a word that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, like the words merry and happy.

So today, we'll be learning some synonyms for the word walk.

Word pairs are words that often appear together, like a bright sun, a bright moon, or a bright light.

A verb is a being or doing word.

And of course walking is something that we do.

So the words we're going to be learning today, two of them are verbs, they're doing words.

An adverb describes how a verb happens or it modifies a verb.

So for example, if the verb was ran, the adverb might be quickly.

And adverbs often end in ly.

And finally, an adjective is a describing word.

So, how many different ways of walking can you think of? For example, I'm thinking that if somebody was feeling a little bit nervous, they might tiptoe into a room.

How many ways of walking can you think of? Perhaps you could pause the video and try and name as many as you can.

Lovely.

Hopefully you came up with lots of ideas.

And as I mentioned earlier, it's important that we use really specific vocabulary that is accurate.

For example, if a character was feeling really angry, they might stomp.

And in using that verb stomp instead of saying that they walked, it shows us a lot about how this character is feeling.

So let's take a look at our first walking word.

Before I show you the word, I'm going to first of all get you to focus on this illustration.

So, what's happening in this picture? What do you notice? How would you describe this character? How would you describe this route that the character seems to have gone on the sea? Can you pause the video and either have a think or describe what you see out loud? Okay, so this character looks like they're feeling very relaxed and they're on a little raft, and it looks like the sun is either rising or setting.

I have a feeling it could be setting.

And instead of just going like this across the sea, they've gone on this route where I can see lots and lots of different curves and bends.

I wonder if that's got something to do with the meaning of this word.

This word is meandering.

Meandering.

Meandering is an adjective which means wandering or following a bendy path; like a sailor roaming across the sea.

What else could be described as meandering other than rivers? Remembering that it means following a bendy path.

Perhaps you might want to pause the video and have a think about that.

Okay.

So here are some ideas.

You could describe walking as being a meandering walk if you, instead of going from A to B directly, you wound and bended around.

A path might be described as meandering.

Or thoughts can sometimes be meandering.

Sometimes if you were daydreaming, your thoughts might meander because they're kind of flitting from one idea to another.

Now, this is important because actually, meandering is an adjective.

It's a describing words.

So for example, you might say, I followed the meandering path.

The path is the noun.

It's the thing.

And meandering is an adjective to describe it.

But we could turn this adjective into a verb, into something that you do.

How do you think you would do that? What would meandering become if we turned it into a verb? So for example, if I said, "I had a lovely afternoon, and.

all through the town." What would we say? So we would say, "I meandered through the town." That's the past tense.

But this verb is meander.

So if you meander, it means you proceed by taking a winding or indirect course.

If you were in a rush somewhere, then you wouldn't probably meander.

But if you were having a nice relaxing afternoon and you wanted to see lots of things, you might meander, you might take a winding or indirect course.

So I'm going to read some words to you now.

And as I read them, I'd like you to see if you can spot the synonyms of meandering.

Remember, a synonym is a word that means more or less the same.

The rest of the words will be word pairs which we'll read later on.

Route, river, stream, footpath, winding, track, bendy, road, plot, and wandering.

Here's the word in a sentence.

I was in a hurry so I couldn't afford the time to take a meandering route.

Now, remember, because meandering is an adjective, the synonyms should also be adjectives.

So when you're having a look now for synonyms, see if you can spot the adjectives.

Off you go.

Okay.

So the synonyms are winding, bendy, and wandering.

Which means the rest of these words are word pairs, which I'm going to read to you now.

A meandering route, a meandering river, a meandering stream, meandering footpath, meandering track, meandering road, meandering plot.

When you say words over and over again, they can start to sound a little bit funny in your head.

As I was reading that word, I kept thinking it sounded strange.

I wonder if you now could pause the video and read these word pairs aloud, because that's the way that we're going to remember this word and then we can use it in our writing and in our speech.

Perhaps you'll notice too, as you keep saying the word over and over again, it starts to sound a little bit funny.

Good luck.

Okay, excellent.

So before we move on, can you very quickly remind me what does meandering mean? Well done.

It means wandering or following a bendy path.

And it is an adjective.

But we can take, say meander and make it into a verb.

Let's look at the second illustration.

So what's happening in this picture? How do you think this character is feeling and how might you describe how they're walking? Pause the video and have a think about that now.

This word is stagger.

Stagger.

Stagger is a verb.

So it's a doing word.

And it means to stumble or walk unsteadily; how you might walk after being hit over the head with a coconut.

I think that's what we can see happening in this illustration.

This character has been hit over the head, we can see there's little stars, and they look very, a bit.

They look very dizzy and confused.

And therefore when they walk, they would probably walk unsteadily or stumble.

So they would stagger.

So just as before, I'm going to read you some words, and as I read them, see if you can spot the synonyms of stagger.

Stagger is a verb and therefore the synonyms should also be verbs.

Stumble, back, forwards, about, drunkenly, downstairs, ashore, walk unsteadily, aimlessly.

If you're walking somewhere aimlessly, it's like you don't have an aim to go to.

So you're just kind of meandering around, I guess.

Walk clumsily.

So here's the word in a sentence.

I staggered ashore, finding my feet and squinting at the bright sun.

Can you pause the video and tell me the three synonyms of stagger? So, the synonyms are stumble, walk unsteadily, or walk clumsily.

So this would be a good sentence to use in your diary entry after Lyra has.

She might stagger ashore because she's.

If she's finding her feet, it might mean because she's been sitting down for a long time, she's still.

She's a little bit unsteady on her feet.

These words therefore are words pairs which I'll read to you now.

Stagger forward, stagger back, stagger about, stagger drunkenly, stagger downstairs, stagger ashore, or stagger aimlessly.

Can you now pause the video and read these word pairs aloud? Brilliant.

Well done.

So before we look at our final image, quickly remind me, what does this verb stagger mean? Well done.

It means to stumble or walk unsteadily.

Let's look at our final illustration.

So what's happening in this picture? How do you think the character's feeling? Why do you think they're feeling that way? And how would you describe that they are walking? Pause the video and have a think about that now.

It looks to me, again, like it might be sunset and that this character has been surfing.

They've now finished their surfing for the day and they either.

They look quite exhausted or quite grumpy.

Their body language is telling me that.

They're slumped forward and they look a bit tired or fed up.

Perhaps they're fed up because they've had to finish surfing 'cause it's the end of the day.

Perhaps it might be because the waves have calmed down so there's not any good waves to surf in anymore.

Or perhaps it might just be that they are wet and tired after a long day out in the water.

Let's find out what this word is.

Trudge.

Trudge.

Trudge is a verb meaning to plod or walk slowly with heavy steps, like a tired dog walking out of the sea.

Which word could replace trudge in the phrase, he trudged up the beach, to completely change the meaning? So if we took out that verb, trudged, and we changed it to something else, how could that completely change the meaning? Perhaps pause the video and have a think about that.

Hmm, what could we say? Perhaps we could say, "He skipped up the beach.

He galloped, he sprinted, or he hopped." Now, this really shows us how important it is that we choose verbs accurately and precisely.

Because if in a book you read the phrase, "He trudged up the beach," that instantly tells you that the character's feeling, perhaps is tired or fed up.

Whereas if in your story, you said, "He skipped up the beach." Then that shows you that this character is feeling energetic and positive and happy.

And that's why we try to use really specific verbs.

Because if we just said, "He walked up the beach," well, then no one's going to understand how our character is feeling.

So let's take a look at some words that could be synonyms of the word trudge.

Along the beach, through the mud, through the blizzard, plod, wearily, trump, homeward, onward, up the hill, along the road, walk slowly, or back to the car.

Here's the word in a sentence.

I trudged through the crowds, searching for a quiet spot.

That's what Lyra might do after she's arrived at the port.

Pause the video and see if you can spot the three synonyms for me.

Okay, so the synonyms are plod, trump, or walk slowly, which means these words are all word pairs.

So let's see how they fit with the verb trudge.

Trudge along the beach, trudge through the mud, trudge through the blizzard, trudge up the hill, trudge along the road, trudge back to the car, I think definitely.

I used to trudge back to the car after a long day at the beach or something at the end of the day when I didn't want to go home.

Trudge wearily, that means you are tired.

Trudge homeward, or trudge onward.

So perhaps if you were on a journey and you were tired, you would trudge onward.

Can you now pause the video and read these word pairs aloud.

Well done.

So now we've learned three different words.

Can you pause the video and tell me what each word was that we've learned? So the first one was meandering, the second one was stagger, and the third one was trudge.

I'd now like you to come up with your own definition for each word, because when we put things in our own words and explain things ourselves, it helps us to understand them more deeply and to remember the meaning.

So imagine that you were explaining to somebody who'd never heard these words before.

How would you define each of these words? Pause the video and come up with your own definitions now.

Well done.

So just to see how you got on, oh, sorry, before we do that, first of all, can you just tell me which of these words is an adjective? Was it meandering, stagger, or trudge? Well done.

It was meandering.

And if we want to turn meandering into a verb, what would the verb be? Excellent.

It would be meander.

So now I'm going to tell you the definitions just so you can see how close your definitions were.

So meandering means wandering or following a bendy path.

And it's an adjective.

Stagger is a verb meaning to stumble or walk unsteadily.

And trudge is a verb that means to plod or walk slowly with heavy footsteps.

So we're now going to take a look at some sentences.

And you'll notice that these sentences are taken from your unit on the Golden Compass.

Now, this was from the last writing outcome that you've just finished writing about.

The courageous explorer, who was accompanied by his leopard-daemon,.

steadily across the icy terrain.

How might he walk across the icy terrain? Pause the video and have a think about which of these words you would put in the sentence.

So the answer would be, the courageous explorer trudged steadily across the icy terrain.

The part of the sentence that I just read, the courageous explorer trudged steadily across the icy terrain, is the main clause.

But we've interrupted the main clause with a parenthesis in this sentence, which is an embedded relative clause.

Who was accompanied by his leopard-daemon.

We've added in some relative information about the explorer and we've put a comment either side of it so that it's separate from the main clause.

And if you were going to walk across the icy terrain, you might probably be trudging 'cause it might be tiring and hard work and cold.

So again, we can see how the use of that verb there gives us the bigger picture of how this character is feeling.

Okay, so now we're thinking more about the next rating outcome.

So what you're preparing for the moment when Lyra is writing her diary entry about getting off the boat.

So,.

off the boat, I was able to stretch my legs for the first time in days.

I couldn't wait to explore the bustling market and.

streets.

So which words do you think would fit in here.

And think carefully, if the word is a verb, think about the tense.

So, pause the video and have a think about how you would fill in the blanks in this sentence.

Okay, so we spoke earlier about if you get off a boat and you haven't been walking around for a while, you might be a bit unsteady.

But we're not going to say stagger off the boat, I was able to stretch my legs.

We'd have to change the tense to be staggering.

Staggering off the boat, I was able to stretch my legs for the first time in days.

I couldn't wait to explore the bustling markets and the.

streets.

So markets and streets in the sentence are the two nouns.

And bustling describes the markets.

So we're looking for an adjective to describe the streets.

And we know out of these three words that meandering is the adjective.

Okay, it's now your turn to write a sentence and you can either use the word meandering as an adjective, meander as a verb, stagger as a verb, or trudge as a verb.

So here are some sentence starters that you could use if you wanted to.

You don't have to use these, but it might make your.

Sometimes it can be tricky coming up with an idea.

So sometimes just having a way to start your sentence can give you a big help.

So you could take the word stagger and turn it into staggering ashore, comma.

This is a non-finite clause because it's got an unfinished or incomplete verb; staggering, which has got ing on the end.

It's then got a comma to separate it from the main clause which you would have to write.

Staggering ashore, I.

Perhaps you could describe what you saw, what did you smell, what did you hear, so that our reader has a really good picture of what it was like at the scene.

Here's another way you could start your sentence.

As I trudged through the streets, comma, this is that subordinating clause.

So again, you would be adding the main clause.

As I trudged through the streets, comma, again, what did you notice, what did you see, what did you feel? And finally, I followed the meandering roads, searching for.

Followed the meandering roads, comma, searching for.

You don't have to use any of these sentence starters, but if you would like to, they're there to help you.

And if you want, you can even write more than one sentence.

You could even write two or three.

So pause the video now and have a go at writing your own sentences, including these new words that we've learned.

Brilliant.

Well done.

It's always important when we're finished writing that we just take a moment to read back through our work to check for things like missing punctuation, spelling errors, or sometimes even as we read it back, we find little ways to improve it.

So could you just pause the video again and just take a moment to check your work and see if you can make any improvements? Well done.

Brilliant.

Well, that brings us to the end of our lesson.

I really hope that these words have been useful in your.

Will be useful when you come to write your diary entry.

And I hope that you've enjoyed expanding your vocabulary today.

Thank you so much for watching and working so hard, and all the best with your diary entry writing.

Bye everyone.