Lesson video

Hi, everyone, how are you doing today? Hope you're feeling good, I hope you're sat somewhere comfortable, and I hope that you're feeling ready to learn.

In this lesson, you will need an exercise book or some paper, a pencil or a pen and your brain.

If you haven't got any of those things ready, pause the video and come back to us when you're ready.

So, our writing warm up will be the first thing we're going to do, then we will order the opening of the story, then we'll plan to use really precise language for each part of the opening.

And we will finish by practising some oral sentences, which means saying some sentences out loud.

So for our writing warm up, we're going to think about phrases and clauses.

Now a phrase is a group of words without a verb.

And a clause is a group of words that contains a verb.

Here are some examples.

So, in this example, in the moonlight, there's not a verb in that phrase.

And then we've got this one, the ghostly moon.

Again, no verb in that, so it's a phrase.

And finally, below that eerie sky.

That must be a phrase because that isn't a verb in it.

But let's have a look at some clauses.

So the faint moon like Shone, why is that a cause? Because it's got a verb in it, what's the verb? Shone, well done.

And the next one, the howling Wind ripped through the trees.

What's the verb in that clause, tell me? Ripped, well done.

And our last example, is he galloped rapidly.

What's the verb in that clause? Galloped, well done.

So your task now, is to have a look at those four groups of words, and just write down number one, two, three and four, whether it's a phrase or a clause.

You don't have to write the full phrase or clause out.

I will read them aloud and just think about whether it's a phrase or clause as I'm reading them.

Number one, the sinister clouds in the sky.

Number two, gnarled branches swayed in the tempestuous wind.

Number three, in the darkest hour of the night.

Number four, his heart thumped inside his chest.

Pause the video now and write down phrase or clause next to one, two, three and four.

Have you had a go? Let's check.

So the first one, that's got to be a phrase.

There's not a verb in it.

Well done if you got that one.

Now the second one, is a clause, why? What's the verb? Swayed, well done if you got that one.

What do you think the next one is? It's a phrase, there's no verb in it.

The last one is a clause, why? What's the verb? Thumped, can you act out the word thumped? His heart thumped inside his chest.

So, now we're going to be thinking about the order of the opening so that we have a really clear structure when we come to write it.

We're going to write zoom in opening which means we start with the biggest thing, and we zoom all the way to the smallest thing.

So, each of these elements are going to be included in our opening, the moor, the highwayman and his horse, the sky, and the trees and the wind.

So you've got four elements of the opening.

Can you pause the video and write them from biggest, all the way to smallest? You can do it in that triangle if you want.

So, start with the biggest thing, and then zoom in to the smallest thing, pause the video.

Shall we check? What's the biggest element there? What's the biggest thing? We're going to start off with the sky, of course that's the biggest thing, followed by the moor.

Okay, then we zoom a little bit closer, we zoom into the trees, and the wind and the smallest part of our opening is of course the highwayman and his horse.

So we've got four parts there, well done for having a go at that.

So we're going to plan some really precise vocabulary for each part.

So what you need to do is on your A4 piece of paper, you need to draw a table that looks a little bit like this.

So in your first column, it says order.

And then it goes number one, the sky.

Number two, the moor.

Number three, the trees and the wind.

And number four, the highwayman.

In the next column along is going to be, your precise descriptive language.

And in the final column, your heading is precise verb and adverbial detail.

So it would take the whole width of your page and then each row, can you see how many centimetres it should be? 10 centimetres doesn't matter if you haven't got a ruler, show me what 10 centimetres is like, probably about that much.

So you need to pause the video now and draw your table on your paper.

Okay, really well done if you've done that.

So, the first row we will look at is the sky.

Now to help us do this, we will recap on our vocabulary lesson.

So it'll be really helpful if you have your notes from that lesson to have a look at.

You can pause the video now and go and get them if you haven't got them already.

So some of the words that we thought about for the sky, we thought about full moon, we thought about the sky full of wispy, spooky clouds.

We thought it was quite an ominous sky.

Let's say that word, ominous.

Meaning something may be quite scary, is about to happen.

The moon shone dimly I remember planning that, the midnight sky, the darkest hour.

So it'd be really helpful if you have your notes with you.

Or you can just come back to this page when you go into your plan in a second.

So I've just got some questions for us, to help us plan.

So in a minute you're going to pause the video and have a go at filling in that row.

But I've got some question prompts to help you.

So the first thing you need to think about is, what the sky looked like, then think about what the clouds looked like, describe the moon.

And that's all your precise descriptive language in that first column that you need to fill in.

And then you can see the questions in pink, are going to help you plan your precise verb and adverbial detail.

What did the clouds do? What did the moon do? So, you can pause the video now, and have a go at answering those questions to help you come up with the best, most precise language that you can.

Hopefully you've had a really good go at that.

What we can do is go through some of my ideas.

And as we go along, you can add them to your row if you haven't got them already.

So, I thought we could think about the sky as pitch black.

Maybe it's a midnight sky, maybe we could use a simile, as dark as coal.

Coal is really, really dark, it's black.

So maybe that would be a good simile to use for the sky.

What did the clouds look like? Wispy, ominous clouds.

So I think we could use something like that to describe them.

Describe the moon, a ghostly moon.

So I'm getting a bit scared thinking about the sky now.

What did the clouds do? The cloud swirled threateningly.

The clouds floated eerily.

I've chosen those adverbs really carefully to give my reader a picture in their mind of how those clouds are moving.

And again, it adds to that quite scary sense of what the setting looks like.

What did the moon do? Now this is really interesting because I've used a little bit of personification.

The moon peered through the clouds.

Can you act out the word peered? We're looking.

So it's interesting because can the moon really look, does it have eyes? No, but I'm giving it, I'm personifying it so that it creates an effect for the reader.

As if the moon is watching, or staring at what is happening below.

Or you might say it faintly shone.

So if you need to pause the video, and add any extra notes in, you can do that now.

So the next thing we're planning, is the moor.

So have a look at your notes back, have a look at your notes from the vocabulary building lesson about the moor, here are mine.

The misty moor, eerie, vast landscape, the fog or mist covered moor, winding roads, bleak.

So you're going to the same thing again and here are the questions, to help you plan.

First of all, try and describe the moor's size, is it a little bit of land or really vast expanse of land.

Then describe what it looked like, then think about what he road was like, what did the mist do? And what did the road do? And those two questions will help you with your verb and adverbial detail.

Pause the video now, and have a good go at answering those questions to help you plan.

Shall we see what I thought? So the moor's size, I thought of these words, a vast expanse of land, meaning a really big stretch of open land, in the heart of the countryside.

The heart of the countryside is right in the middle of the countryside.

Describe what it looked like.

This is what I thought these words could be good, remote, bleak, eerie, covered in mist and fog.

And actually that makes me think about a place that I wouldn't really want to be.

So again, it helps your reader imagine what it's like in the setting.

What was the road like? Was it a straight road? It was a winding, a long and winding road, never ending.

And I also included this word, desolate except for, now desolate would be a word to describe something where there's no one else there really.

And that's why I put except for, it's desolate except for, the highwayman and his horse, no one else is there.

So what did the mist do? Blanketed the land.

Now that's interesting, isn't it? Because a blanket is a type of cover, isn't it? That we would cover ourselves with if we were cold, but we can use it in this sense, to show how thick and near to the land, the mist was.

It's almost like a cover for the land.

And I bet that you wouldn't be able to see very far, if you were standing in a moor that was blanketed in mist, you wouldn't be able to see very far.

Maybe it's swirled a little bit above the land.

So we've got a little bit of movement in there.

What did the road do? Now, this is an interesting word, my turn, your turn, meandered.

Now that means, it kind of curved and bent around quite a lot.

And that links back doesn't it? To the road as a ribbon of moonlight.

So it was really kind of curving around the hills.

We could also say something like, it stretched for miles.

If you want to write down anything that you see on the screen, in your plan, you can pause the video now.

So the third thing we're going to think about are the trees and the wind.

Look back at your notes from the vocabulary lesson and see what words you would use to help you for this bit.

These were mine, I've just remembered, the long, gnarled branches, blustery, gusty wind blew through the trees.

Tempestuous let's have a go at saying that out loud actually, tempestuous.

Well done.

Trees swaying makes it's very stormy setting, isn't it? So here are the questions that will help you.

So the first thing you can think about, is how you would describe the trees.

Then, describe the branches, then describe the wind, so you're thinking really carefully about descriptive language here.

For your verb and adverbial detail, here are some questions to help you plan.

What did the trees do? What did the branches do? And what did the wind do? Pause the video now and write down your answers in your plan.

I'd like to show you what I got.

So I thought this is a really great description for the trees.

They were like dark silhouettes.

So, so dark that you could just see the outline of them.

And again, that adds to the sense of it being quite a spooky, sinister night.

Describe the branches.

Gnarled, twisted, almost like really long fingers trying to reach out whoever dares to walk or ride past.

Describe the wind, I bet you've got some really good words for this, gusty, tempestuous, howling all really good words to describe what the wind was like.

I wonder what you've got for what the trees were doing.

Swayed rapidly in the strong wind, just act that out for me, as tree swing rapidly in the strong wind.

And the branches, like we said before, maybe they try to reach out, a little bit of personification again there, can branches really reach out at you? Can they try and grab you? They can't really, but if we say that they can, then that adds to this effect on the reader.

What did the wind do? It blew, it ripped, it tore and those second two, sound a bit funny because normally it's things like clothes or material that can rip and tear.

But, we can use them in this sense for showing what the wind did, and that they're really fast movements.

So I think there could be good precise verbs for us to use there.

Pause the video now, and write down anything that you'd like to, that you can see in my plan.

So the last thing we're planning, is the highwayman and his horse.

Okay, this is the smallest bit of our zoom and opening, we described the sky, we described the moor, we described the trees, and now we're describing the highwayman and his horse.

So again, look back on your vocabulary lesson.

These are the ones that I had, galloped, raced, thundered, urgently, desperately, skillfully as my adverbs to describe those verbs.

Here are the questions, that will help you with your plan.

First of all, start off with describing my highwayman, then think about other ways to refer to him, rather than just saying, highwayman, highwayman, highwayman, are there any other nouns that you could use, when you're writing about him? And then are there other ways that you can refer to the horse rather than just saying, his horse, his horse, his horse.

I wonder what else you could say.

To help you with your verb and adverbial detail, you can think about these questions.

What were they doing? What were the highwayman and his horse doing? And then think about this, some show not tell for the how the highway man felt.

So, you could think about how he's feeling, but then, think about how you would show not tell that using, some really good verb choices.

Pause the video now, and have a go.

Shall we see what I thought? We could describe the highwayman as determined, 'cause he really wants to get to the inn doesn't he? His eager which is a synonym for determined, he's eager to get there quickly, isn't he? And then maybe one about his appearance, smartly dressed.

Now I wonder if you've got anything for this one.

These are quite interesting words.

We could also describe the high.

Or refer to the highwayman as the bandit, the outlaw.

Now these words mean or refer to someone who has broken the law, someone who does quite bad things and doesn't want to get caught and maybe he's on the run.

Because he doesn't want to get caught so bandit and outlaw could be really good there.

Wonder what ways you've got to refer to the horse.

These are my ones, I've got an adjective there, powerful horse.

Now we know that because he's thundering along the pathway really rapidly so he must be a powerful horse.

And then I've got this right here.

Stallion-like, connect with a hyphen to make one word, one adjective.

He's like a stallion, isn't he? A stallion is a big, powerful horse.

What were they doing? Think about some precise verb and adverbial detail here.

They were, galloping.

So, galloped urgently, thundered skillfully, raced desperately.

So I've chosen some adverbs to go with those verbs as well.

So how is the highwayman feeling? I think he was feeling really anxious to get to the inn for some reason.

So I think if I was feeling anxious to get somewhere, my heart would be thumping or pounding.

So I've written heart thumped or heart pounded in his chest.

Pause the video now, and if you need to write down anything that you can see on my plan, you can add it to yours.

So a final part of this lesson, is to practise some full sentences orally, which means saying them out loud.

I'm going to give you an example, and then you will have a go at yours for each of those four parts.

So let's see what my one is.

This is the plan for the first part for number one, which was the sky.

It was the darkest hour of the night and ominous, comma, threatening clouds filled the sky.

Your turn to look at your plan and say your sentence out loud.

Pause the video.

Shall we see what I got for my number two, which was the moor? Listen really carefully.

The desolate, moor, comma, which was covered in eerie mist, comma, stretched as far as the eye could see.

Your turn to look back at your plan and say your full sentence out loud.

Pause the video.

Shall we see what my number three was? So this was a sentence all about the wind and the trees, using my vocabulary from my plan.

Tempestuous winds ripped through the gnarled trees, quite a short sentence there.

A simple sentence but very powerful, because I chose those words really carefully.

So it's your turn now, to pause the video and say your full sentence out loud.

So my final sentence which was about the highwayman and his horse is this.

As the eager outlaw thundered towards the inn on his powerful horse, comma, his heart pounded inside his chest.

Just remind me what type of sentence that is, I've got an as clause, and a subordinate clause followed by a main clause must be a complex sentence well done.

So it's your turn now, to say your full sentence out loud.

Pause the video.

Okay, wow, I really hope that you feel proud of the amount of work that you've done today.

You worked really hard for our writing warm up and we had a really good go or during the openings that we've got a zoom in opening, then you planned precise language for each part of the opening.

And then you practised some sentences out loud and I think that, that is an amazing effort, well done.

If you'd like to, please share your work with your parent or carer, as I am sure that they will be very, very impressed.

Looking forward to seeing you very soon, well done.