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Hello and welcome to today's lesson.
I'm so glad that you decided to join me today when we are going to be looking at another lesson in the unit of non-fiction explorers.
Today it's going to be all about your writing, and we're going to be experimenting with a range of sentence structures that are really gonna lift your writing, and make it sing.
So let's get started.
So the outcome of today's lesson is that you will be able to use sophisticated sentence structures to create specific effects.
As ever, we will begin with the keywords.
They are, "to navigate," which means to plan, plot, or direct a path.
An "abundance" is a very large quantity of something, and it's often associated with being generous.
If you are generous, you might give an abundance of gifts.
If you are intentional when you do something, you do it in a planned, or deliberate way.
And we are going to in this lesson be looking very carefully at clauses.
They are the basic unit of grammar.
They are typically made up of a subject, a noun phrase, and a verb phrase.
And being able to manipulate clauses is the key to really sound sentence structure.
And we are also going to be thinking about euphony, which is the quality of having a pleasant sound, the melody in language.
You can see that, "euphony" is actually quite a melodic word itself.
Now, if you would like a little bit of time to familiarise yourself with the key words, please feel free to pause the video and do that now, and rejoin the lesson when you're ready.
Let's look at the lesson outline.
We are going to start by looking at inverted sentence structures, and then we're gonna look at how you could use chiasmus in sentences.
I'm not expecting you to know what those words mean at the moment.
We're going to be finding out, and you are going to be practising them.
Let's go.
Now I want you to look at how really simple words can actually create really sophisticated sentence structures.
So here's the first one.
"Never have," two simple words, and you can use them in a sentence like this.
"Never have I seen anything as glorious as the Pyramids in the early morning sun." And, "Little did," another two simple words, and you can use them like this.
"Little did I realise how difficult it would be to navigate the cobblestone streets of the old city in high heels." There you have our keyword, "navigate," making your way through the cobblestone streets, those bumpy streets that are hard to walk in even with flat shoes.
And number 3, "Only then." "Only then were we able to look down, and see how far we had climbed.
Another example of two very simple words that make a really very good sentence structure.
And then we have, "Not only.
but." An example of that would be, "Not only did the traveller drive huge distances, but he also managed to speak to hundreds of people." Now what I want you to do is to discuss the effect of those different sentence structures.
And I'm gonna give you a little bit of a hint.
Think about what they emphasise.
Now you're gonna need to pause the video while you have your discussion.
So do that now, and I'm really looking forward to sharing ideas with you later.
So off you go.
So welcome back.
I hope you enjoyed that discussion.
And I really hope you realised that how much there is to say about sentence structures when you really start thinking about what they're doing, and the effect they have.
Now, I'd like to share with you what the Oak pupils said.
Now, Izzy thought that the phrase, "never have" emphasises the speaker's surprise.
And that's really appropriate for travel writing because good exploring, and travel writing often does have an element of surprise.
And then she went on to say that, "little did" suggests ignorance.
Ignorance in the sense of lack of knowledge.
And again, she thought that fitted with the idea of abundance, and learning, and exploring, that in travelling we are going to be given more than we have at the moment.
And Jun said, that he thought the phrase, "only then" really makes the reader focus, and reflect on something specific and meaningful.
Again, that's part of travelling 'cause you want travel to be memorable in some way.
And he said that, "not only.
but" makes you realise what a lot is happening, and that too is perfect for travel writing.
Is there anything you would add to the discussion? Let's have a check for understanding.
On the left-hand side there are sentence starters, "little did," "never have," "only then," and, "not only but." and on the right-hand side there are the purpose of those sentence starters.
And I would like you to match the sentence starters with their purpose.
Pause the video while you have a think about that, and then I'll share the answers with you.
So welcome back.
How did you do? You ready for me to share the answers with you? "Little did." That is a really good way of drawing the reader's attention to your lack of knowledge about a topic, and then is quite likely to be followed by the gaining of new knowledge.
And, "never have." That's really good for suggesting surprise as if you've just realised something.
"Only then," that would be good for introducing a moment when you saw something meaningful or significant that you really wanted to focus on.
And, "not only but" would be great for showing a range of experiences or opinions, or an abundance of experiences or opinions.
Very well done.
Let's move on.
So now it's over to you.
So I have put here a picture of Venice, very beautiful city in Italy.
It's built on the sea so the roads are canals rather than roads, and they have boats instead of buses and cars.
And I have put here some really very simple sentences that are inspired by that picture.
Here they are.
1, Venice's Grand Canal is wide.
That's the Grand Canal there.
And the domes of Venice are magnificent.
You can see some of the domes in the back of the picture.
And 3, Venice serves the best food in Italy.
And 4, Venice is sinking into the sea.
That's one of the dangers of a city that is built on water like this.
Now what I would like you to do is to rewrite those four very simple sentences using the starter phrases, "never have," "little did," "only then," "not only but." And I want you to really focus on being intentional.
Think about what effect you are aiming for.
You're going to need to pause the video while you do that.
So do that now, pause the video, and off you go.
Happy writing.
Welcome back and well done for showing such excellent focus on your writing.
I'd like to share with you what Jun wrote.
He started with the starter phrase, "only then," and he wrote this.
"Only then did I realise that a small determined swimmer was powering his way down the Grand Canal, seemingly oblivious to the shouts of the people in the boat." That's a great image, isn't it, of a swimmer in the Grand Canal? And this is what he said.
He said, "I wanted to give the impression that I was looking at something else, maybe the buildings.
And it was a shock and surprise to see the swimmer." And indeed it would be.
People have swam the Grand Canal, but it's not an everyday occurrence by any means.
So now I would like you to self-assess your work.
Read it over and ask yourself, did you use each of the starter phrases? And can you explain your intention in using them? You're going to need to pause the video while you self-assess and reflect on your work.
So pause the video now, and join the lesson when you're ready.
We're making brilliant progress today.
So we've looked at inverted sentence structures.
And now we are going to move on, and look at chiasmus in sentences.
So what is chiasmus? Well, the first thing that's good to know is that the word "chiasmus" comes from a Greek word meaning X-shaped.
And it's used to refer to a literary device in which grammatical constructions, or words, or concepts are stated in one clause, and then repeated, but inverted, that means reversed, in the following clause.
Now the best way to show you this, or to help you understand this, is to show you an example.
And a notable example comes from a speech by the American President John F.
Kennedy.
And here it is.
"Ask not what your country can do for you.
Ask what you can do for your country." So you have the word, "ask" repeated in the first, and second clause, and the words "you," and "country" are repeated and reversed.
And you can see that it forms as a structure an X shape.
Now I want you to think about this.
What is the effect of using chiasmus? Pause the video while you have your discussion.
And I'm really looking forward to sharing ideas.
Off you go.
So welcome back and I hope you enjoyed that discussion.
Now I would like to share with you what the Oak pupils said.
Now Izzy said that she thought the chiasmus in that sentence made you and the country sound like equals, almost like friends helping each other out.
And she summarised it as a friendly, supportive image.
And Jun said that using the imperative, "ask" twice, first in the negative is in, "ask not." And then in the positive, gave the statement an urgent, and authoritative sound.
Is there anything you would add to their discussion? You can have the discussion now if you'd like.
You can pause the video, and then rejoin the lesson when you're ready.
Now you and the Oak pupils came up with some really good reasons for the effectiveness of that use of chiasmus.
And I'd like to share with you some other reasons why you might choose to use this device.
It's really good for emphasis.
The repetition allows you to highlight key ideas, or themes in your sentence.
It has a rhythm that that very balanced structure can create a kind of pleasing rhythm in writing, and that enhances the flow and euphony of the text.
Remember, euphony means having a pleasing quality of sound.
And it's convincing.
It makes the opinions and arguments, partly because they're repeated, but partly because of the reversal.
It makes them sound very complete, and settled.
And it has high memorability.
Repetition like that can be catchy.
And you will notice that chiasmus is often used in slogans where the advertisers want you to remember their product, and why you should buy it.
And it has a certain elegance, there's a flare to it.
It is clearly intentional and well crafted.
And that's what I want you to be aiming for in your writing.
Let's have a check for understanding.
I'm gonna read a paragraph to you.
I'd like you to follow along, and I'd like you to identify where chiasmus is used.
Here's the paragraph.
"As the city opened its arms, he could feel his head swimming with fear and hope.
It was now he realised the truth.
To finally find oneself, one must first lose oneself.
And here, in streets humming with life where mirrored skyscrapers reflected the heavens, he saw his own glittering dreams reflected." So where's the chiasmus? Have a think.
So did you say this sentence? "To finally find oneself, one must first lose oneself." So you can see that the word, "oneself," which is stated in the first clause, is then repeated in the second clause.
And we have the idea of searching in both clauses, finding in one, and losing in the other.
What I'd like you to do now is think about why.
What is the intention? Remember we talked about the importance of intentionality in writing.
So I'd like you to consider this.
Which option best explains how chiasmus has been used? Is it A, to make the idea sound settled and convincing? Is it B to illustrate the mirroring of the ideas? Or is it C, to draw the reader's attention to the grandeur of the city? Have a think.
Make your choice.
Did you say A? Yes.
It's about making this idea sound reflective, and thoughtful, and settled.
The writer is making really quite a philosophical sort of statement about what happens when we encounter a grand, magnificent city.
Very well done.
Let's move on.
Now it's over to you.
Now on the left-hand side of this grid, there are some sentence starters.
I'm gonna read them to you.
Follow along as I read please.
So, "Travel is a kind of learning." "We hit the road and chased our dreams and." "Finally we conquered the mighty peak and." "They say that travel broadens the mind." "We ventured into the wilderness only to." And what I would like you to do is to write a sentence ending for each of those sentence starters using chiasmus.
The first one has been done.
So, "Travel is a kind of learning, and learning is a kind of travel." Which is trying to convey the idea that in both travelling, and learning there is a journey.
That in both travelling, and learning, we end up somewhere different, and somewhere better than the place that we have left.
So I want you to end the remaining four sentences using chiasmus.
You're going to need to pause the video while you do that.
So please pause the video now, and off you go.
So welcome back, once again great focus.
You really have been concentrating on your learning today.
So let's look at some possible responses.
Some possible endings to those sentences.
So, "We hit the road and chased our dreams, and found that our dreams were chasing us." Now that's got a lovely, really quite atmospheric sense of being caught up in kind of wonder and excitement.
And then we have, "Finally we conquered the mighty peak." Somebody is clearly climbing a mountain, and, "in turn were conquered by the mightiness of the peak." And that conveys really well that sense we sometimes have when we see something huge, and magnificent of how kind of small, and insignificant we are by comparison.
And the next one, "They say that travel broadens the mind.
Well, the mind also broadens travel." So yes, if we travel with a broad open mind, we will get more from the experience of travelling than if we go expecting things to be just the same as they are at home.
And, "We ventured into the wilderness only to find that the wilderness was in all of us." Yes, I think people who go out into the wilds who like things like wild camping, or going to places where there aren't very many people, they like to kind of really relate to the kind of wildness, and savageness of those other places.
So really well done, really thoughtful responses.
I'm really pleased with your work today.
So before we finish, what I'd really like you to do is to share your sentences with a partner, and decide which ones work best.
Chiasmus is a great sentence structure because it's kind of, it's both serious, and it's playful, and it's elegant, and very clever when it's well done.
So have a think.
Share your ideas and your sentences with each other, and decide which one works best.
And if you're working alone, just read over your sentences, and put a tick next to the one you think has used chiasmus most effectively.
You're going to need to pause the video while you share, and reflect on your work.
So do that now and then join me for the end of the lesson.
Now, before we say goodbye, I would like to summarise what you have been learning today.
You have been learning that inverted sentence structures add variety to your writing.
And that inverted sentence structures also draw attention to moments or ideas.
You've been learning that chiasmus is an X-shaped sentence structure, and that chiasmus takes the clause from the first half, of a sentence and repeats and reverses it in the second one.
And you've been learning that chiasmus creates a sense of completion, and is often euphonious.
You've worked really, really hard today.
Not only have you learned these things, you have put them into practise, improving your writing immensely.
So very well done.
I'd like to say thank you for coming to the lesson, and I wish you a really good rest of the day.
And I look forward to seeing you in another lesson on explorers.
Bye for now.