the point in the narrative where the suspense and excitement reach their highest point

the feeling or atmosphere in a section of text

vocabulary chosen to create a particular impression or to have a particular effect on the reader

Planning a narrative climax scene in 'When The Sky Falls'

English

In this unit, pupils write a narrative climax and use it as the stimulus for writing a diary entry from a character's perspective.

In 'A Kind of Spark’: Narrative Writing', pupils finessed 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 will write a narrative climax and use it as the stimulus for writing a diary entry from a character's perspective.

'When the Sky Falls': narrative and journalistic report writing

Depiction of war, threats of war, death or the aftermath of war.

Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Joseph is knocked down several times by explosions.

Joseph runs through the streets during the air raids.

Joseph climbs the fence, grabs the gun and trains it on Adonis.

Which of the following events are included in our plan for part of the climax of 'When the Sky Falls'?

Match the techniques for using precise vocabulary with the examples. 

Which verbs below help to add pace and speed to a narrative? 

details about emotions, thoughts and speech

Which of the following are elements of a good narrative plan?

Which feature of a plan is shown in this note? 'desperately tried to get up'

Which example uses show-not-tell to give us Joseph's emotions? 

Which part of a narrative contains the highest point of the action? 

Joseph climbs the fence and he finds the gun. 

Joseph runs through the streets towards the zoo. 

Joseph is knocked to the ground by the force of explosions nearby.

Which of these events comes first in the climax of 'When the Sky Falls'? 

Which sense is shown in this description? 'The aroma of burning wood mixed with the zoo's pungent stink and it assaulted Joseph's senses.'

What mood might we be showing in the climax of 'When the Sky Falls'?

Joseph had no choice but to get up; he knew he had to do his duty. 

Joseph's hands trembled as he looked through the sight.

Would he get there on time? Would Adonis still even be alive?

Match the methods of showing emotion to the examples. 

Joseph running through the air raid to the zoo 

Joseph climbing the fence, getting the gun and training it on Adonis 

Joseph being knocked down several times by explosions

Which point in the climax of 'When the Sky Falls' does this emotive detail relate to? 'As explosions lit up the sky on each side, Joseph pushed on towards the high iron gate.'

Content guidance

Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Adult supervision recommended

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

Planning a narrative climax scene in 'When The Sky Falls'

Lesson outcome

Content guidance

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