language that is more similar to spoken language

saying the words you plan to write out loud in order to make the writing process easier

Writing the first section of the climax of 'A Kind of Spark'

English

In this unit, pupils finesse writing a build-up and climax with a focus on switching between the past and present tense to highlight a jump in perspective. In 'When The Sky Falls’: Narrative and Diary Writing', pupils will write a narrative climax and use it as the stimulus for writing a diary entry from a character's perspective.

In 'Beowulf’, pupils rewrote the build-up and climax of a scene from the end of ’Beowulf’, focusing on interspersing dialogue to convey atmosphere and advance the action. In this unit, pupils will finesse writing a build-up and climax with a focus on switching between the past and present tense to highlight a jump in perspective.

In this unit, pupils write a build-up and climax based on the text, 'A Kind of Spark'. They learn to switch tense to highlight a jump in perspective from narrative prose to an internal monologue and from present to past tense to indicate a flashback. These outcomes can be used for KS2 SATS writing.

'A Kind of Spark': narrative writing

Which of these are features of our writing in **this lesson** only? 

Which section of our text have we completed so far?

Which sentence uses the first person and present tense?

Which of the following are shown in this passage? 'I grit my teeth and look down at Mum and Dad; they are holding hands and smiling up at me nervously.'

Which of the following are informal language features that we might see in our first person sections? 

What important feature is shown in the following sentence? 'With a gulp, I look down at the word 'Maggie' which is written on my hand ...'.

If we are writing in the first person and in the present tense, what part of our narrative are we writing? 

they will have a 'trigger' in the first person sections

they will describe what Maggie and the villagers do and say

Which of these are true of the flashbacks in our narrative? 

sitting and waiting to begin; feeling nervous

starting to speak; growing in confidence as the audience responds

sitting back down; feeling relieved and overwhelmed by the applause

Put these parts of Addie's speech in order. 

to allow us to switch to first person, present tense

to allow us to switch to third person, past tense

to allow us to switch back and forth between tenses

What is the purpose of the 'trigger' in our narrative?

Which of these sentences might be from the first person, present tense sections of our narrative?

Which part of the narrative will have the most positive mood? 

This lesson will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Writing the first section of the climax of 'A Kind of Spark'

Lesson outcome

This lesson will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.