Lesson video

Hello, everyone.

How are you? I hope you're feeling really good today.

My name is Ms. Afzal, and I'll be a teacher for this lesson.

I'm feeling very pleased about that because we've got such an interesting topic today and an interesting text that we're looking at.

Our topic is diaries, analyzing diary entries.

And our text that we're looking at is "The Firework-Maker's Daughter." Our lesson is called Analyzing the Features of a Diary Entry, and it comes from the unit of work "The Firework-Maker's Daughter:" Reading and Diary Writing.

So if you are ready to get into this text, "The Firework Maker's daughter," if you're ready to get into diary entries, if you have some energy, focus, and enthusiasm, then we'll begin our lesson now.

The outcome for today's lesson is I can identify and analyze layout and linguistic features of a diary entry.

I hope that sounds interesting to you.

We have some keywords in today's lesson.

I'd like us to go through them one at a time, saying them out loud.

My turn, your turn.

Purpose.

Recount.

Layout.

Linguistic features.

It was good to hear those keywords out loud.

Now turn to someone nearby and tell them, have you heard of any of these words before and/or do you know what they mean? Pause here and share with someone.

Thanks for sharing.

Let's find out what these keywords mean.

The purpose of a text is the aim of the text.

A recount is a piece of writing that recalls an event or experience.

Layout refers to the way a text is structured.

And a linguistic feature is a structure of language that uses words.

So these are our keywords: purpose, recount, layout, and linguistic feature.

Let's be on the lookout for them.

Let's listen out for them.

Let's think carefully about these keywords.

They'll be coming up in our lesson today.

Today's lesson is called Analyzing the Features of a Diary Entry.

And it has two learning cycles.

First of all, purpose and layout of a diary entry, and the next, linguistic features of a diary entry.

Let's begin by exploring the purpose and layout of a diary entry.

I would like you to turn to someone nearby and discuss with them what is a diary entry.

Pause here while you do this.

Thanks for sharing with someone.

A diary is a personal book that an individual writes in.

Each time a person writes in a diary, it's called a diary entry.

We are entering something into the diary.

The purpose of a diary entry is to recount important experiences and express feelings.

A diary is just for the person writing it to read.

It is personal and private to them.

Pause here and share with someone, have you ever written a diary, where you write about your important experiences and express your feelings? Thanks for sharing.

I've found writing in a diary to be something really helpful.

I like writing about special things that have happened.

And also, happy things, sad things, all sorts of experiences go into my diary.

Let's have a check for understanding.

What is the purpose of a diary? Select from the following options.

A, to tell a fictional story, b, to recount important experiences and express feelings, c, to tell other people about your life.

Pause here while you decide which of these is the purpose of a diary.

Well done if you selected answer b.

Indeed, the purpose of a diary is to recount important experiences and express feelings.

You are going to be writing two diary entries from the perspective of Lila in "The Firework-Maker's Daughter." First diary entry: the day Lila finds out her father's views on her future.

Second diary entry: the day Lila discovers her father told Chulak the secret.

Each of these diary entries will provide a recount of events and express Lila's emotions and thoughts.

Remember, those are the two main things that a diary entry does.

It recounts events and lets us express our emotions and feelings.

We're going to read a model diary entry by Lila.

"Friday, 23rd of January, 2024.

Dear Diary, this morning, I was learning in the workshop with my dad and I invented the coolest fireworks ever.

The fiery red sparks flew out in little dashes and then they spun in the air like tiny acrobats.

It was exhilarating to watch.

I felt so proud of myself because I've spent years trying to learn my father's craft.

I was on cloud nine.

Just after, my dad told me that there was lots I didn't know about fireworks.

I felt deflated.

I told him there was nothing I wanted more in the entire world than to be a firework-maker, but he said I should focus on finding a husband instead.

I couldn't believe it.

Honestly, my heart shattered into a thousand pieces.

I can't bear the thought of not making fireworks.

It's my destiny.

Plus, girls should be able to do the same things as boys.

I think I need to visit my dear friend Chulak because he'll know what to do.

Until next time, Lila." Pause here and share with someone your impressions of Lila's diary entry.

Thanks for sharing.

Diary entries follow a specific structure and layout.

Structure and layout refer to the way the writing is organized on the page.

We're going to examine the layout features of Lila's diary entry.

Let's have a check for understanding.

What does the structure and layout of a text refer to? Select from the following.

A, the type of language used, b, the genre of writing it belongs to, c, the way the writing is organized on the page.

Pause here while you decide what the structure and layout of a text refers to.

Well done if you selected answer c.

Indeed, the structure and layout of a text refers to the way the writing is organized on the page.

So let's take a look at the way this writing has been organized on the page.

So at the top here, we can see the date, Friday, 23rd of January, 2024.

And a feature of a diary entry is a date written at the top on the left side.

This records when the entry was written.

Next, we can see it says, "Dear Diary," and then there a comma.

This is the greeting.

A feature of a diary entry is a greeting, which is always, "Dear Diary," with a comma after.

And here we can see the writing is divided into paragraphs.

A feature of a diary entry is the use of paragraphs to organize recounts in chronological order.

And then there we can see right at the bottom is the sign-off: "Until next time, Lila." A feature of a diary entry is a sign-off to end the entry.

These are personal and can vary.

So here we have some of the features of a diary entry.

Let's have a check for understanding.

True or false.

Diary entries follow a specific structure and layout.

Pause here while you decide.

Is this statement true or false? Well done if you said true.

And now I'd like you to justify your answer by choosing from one of these two options.

A, they include a title and a summary, or b, they begin with the date and a greeting.

Then they provide a recount and sign-off.

Pause here while you decide which of these statements justifies your earlier answer.

Well done if you selected statement b.

Indeed, they begin with the date and a greeting, then they provide a recount and sign-off.

This justifies your earlier answer.

And now it's time for your first task.

I would like you to answer the following questions to demonstrate your understanding of a diary entry and its layout features.

Number one, what is the purpose of a diary entry? Two, number the following to show the order in which they appear in a diary entry.

So we have paragraphs to organize recount, greeting, "Dear Diary," sign-off, and date.

So pause here while you have a go at this two-stage task.

First of all, answer the question, what's the purpose of a diary entry? And next, number the features of a diary entry to show the order in which they appear.

Enjoy your task, and I'll see you when you're finished.

It's good to be back with you.

So how did you get on with that task? First of all, we had the question, what is the purpose of a diary entry? Perhaps you said something like this.

The purpose of a diary entry is to recount experiences and express feelings.

And second, I asked you to number these features of a diary entry to show the order in which they appear.

So number one should be the date.

Number two is the greeting, "Dear Diary," and comma.

Number three are the paragraphs to organize the recount.

And number four, the sign-off.

Well done if you ordered these features of a diary entry in this way.

And now we're onto our next learning cycle, linguistic features of a diary entry.

Diary entries have distinctive linguistic features in order to achieve their purpose.

Pause here and share with someone, do you have any idea what some of these linguistic features might be? Thanks for having a go at that.

Let's have a look at what are the linguistic features that diary entries have in order to achieve their purpose.

They are written in the first person and they use informal language.

So it's a personal piece of writing about oneself and their own life.

They're written in the past tense to recount experiences or events.

A recount is about something that has already happened.

They use fronted adverbials of time.

This clearly sequences the events in a recount chronologically, in time order.

And they use the present tense to express current feelings.

Diaries express current emotions based on past events too.

So here we have some of the distinctive linguistic features that are used in diary entries.

Now let's see if we can find some of those distinctive linguistic features.

Pause here and share with someone, can you find any examples of the first person and any examples of informal language? Thanks for looking for those.

Did you find this I, which shows this this is written in the first person? A diary entry is written in first person using the pronoun I.

Did you find this informal language COOLEST in capitals? The language is informal because the writing is personal and private.

Well done If you spotted these.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Which of the following are key linguistic features of a diary entry? Select from these options.

A, first person, b, formal language, c, informal language, d, third person.

Pause here while you decide which of these are key linguistic features of a diary entry.

Well done if you selected answers a and c.

Indeed, the use of first person and use of informal language are key linguistic features of a diary entry.

Diary entries use the past tense to recount experiences and events.

Diary entry includes the use of simple past and progressive past tenses.

Pause here and share with someone, can you find an example of the simple past and an example of the progressive past tense? Well done if you found "I invented." This is an example of the simple past tense.

And well done if you selected "I was learning." This is an example of the progressive past tense.

Let's have a check for understanding.

True or false.

The use of past tense is a key feature in a diary entry.

Pause here while you decide.

Is this statement true or false? Well done if you selected true.

And now I'd like you to justify your answer by choosing from one of these two statements.

A, simple past and progressive past tenses are used to recount events, or b, past tense is used to show how the writer is currently feeling.

Pause here while you decide which of these statements justifies your earlier answer.

Well done if you selected statement a.

Indeed, the simple past and progressive past tenses are used to recount events.

This statement justifies your earlier answer.

Let's take a look at another linguistic feature of diary entries, fronted adverbials of time.

A diary entry includes fronted adverbials of time to sequence events chronologically.

Pause here and share with someone, can you find any fronted adverbials of time in this extract from the diary entry? Thanks for looking for the fronted adverbials of time.

Did you find "Just after" and "Then?" These are both fronted adverbials of time helping us to sequence the events chronologically.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Why are fronted adverbials of time a key feature of diary entries? Choose from the following selection.

A, they make them more interesting to read, b, they help sequence the recount of events chronologically, c, they let us know how the writer is feeling.

Pause here while you decide why fronted adverbials of time are a key feature of diary entries.

Well done if you selected option b.

Indeed, fronted adverbials of time are a key feature of diary entries because they help sequence a recount of events chronologically.

Let's take a look at another linguistic feature of a diary entry, the use of the present tense to express current feelings.

A diary entry commonly involves a shift from past to present tense towards the end when the writer expresses how they're feeling now.

Pause here and share with someone, can you spot a shift from the past to the present tense in this extract from the diary entry? Thanks for having a go at that.

Perhaps you spotted "shattered" is in the past tense and then we have "I can't bear" and "It's my destiny" in the present tense.

There's our shift from past to present.

Let's have a check for understanding.

True or false.

The writing in a diary entry is all in the past tense.

Pause here while you decide, is this statement true or false? Well done if you selected false.

And now I'd like you to justify your answer by choosing from one of these two statements.

A, it's all in the present tense, or b, it shifts into present tense when the writer expresses how they're currently feeling.

Pause here while you decide which of these statements justifies your earlier answer.

Well done if you selected statement b.

Indeed, this justifies your earlier answer.

And now it's time for your next task.

I would like you to read the diary entry in the additional materials.

So pause here while you do this.

Now that you've read the diary entry, I'd like you to do the following.

First of all, find and copy one example of informal language.

Next, give three examples of first person and past tense used during the recount.

Three, give the two fronted adverbials of time used.

And four, find and copy one example of present tense to express current feelings.

So pause here while you find these examples of linguistic features of a diary entry.

It's good to be back with you.

How did you get on with that task, reading the diary entry and then finding examples of informal language, first person and past tense, fronted adverbials of time, and use of present tense to express current feelings? Did you find this example of informal language, "the COOLEST fireworks ever," "I was on cloud nine," "I couldn't believe it." How about examples of first person and past tense? Did you find "I was learning," "I invented," "I felt," "I have spent?" Did you find two fronted adverbials of time, "This morning" and "Just after?" And did you find an example of the present tense to express current feelings? "I can't bear the thought.

." "It's my destiny.

." "I think I need to.

." Well done for finding these of linguistic features in Lila's diary entry.

In our lesson, Analyzing the Features of a Diary Entry, we've covered the following.

The purpose of a diary entry is to recount important experiences and express feelings.

A diary entry has a specific layout.

It is written in first person and it uses informal language.

Simple past and progressive past sentences recount what the writer experienced and felt.

Fronted adverbials of time support in sequencing events in a recount chronologically.

Present tense is used towards the end of a diary entry to show how the writer is feeling now.

Well done, everyone, for joining in with this lesson, Analyzing the Features of a Diary Entry.

It was great to get into Lila's diary entry to find all of these different examples of features of a diary entry and linguistic features in particular.

And perhaps you'll go on to write your own diary entries about your experiences and your feelings.

I hope you enjoyed this lesson.

I really enjoyed teaching you.

And I look forward to seeing you again soon.

Bye for now.