stories which explain how the world began and what the world is like and why

being modest, humble, the opposite of hubristic

to be filled with the desire and motivation to do something

a lesson, often about how to behave, taught through a story

Bruegel's Landscape with the Fall of Icarus: how the myth inspired the painting

English

Exploring William Carlos Williams’s poem ‘Landscape with the fall of Icarus’

Exploring W.H. Auden's poem 'Musée des Beaux Arts'

Exploring William Carlos Williams's poem 'The Hunters in the Snow'

Exploring Walter de la Mare's poem 'Brueghel's Winter'

Comparing poems: 'Brueghel's Winter' and 'The Hunters in the Snow'

Alfred, Lord Tennyson's 'The Lady of Shalott': understanding the ballad

Symbolism in Alfred, Lord Tennyson's ‘The Lady of Shalott’

Exploring enjambment in Alfred, Lord Tennyson's ‘The Lady of Shalott’

Descriptive writing using Lord Tennyson's 'The Lady of Shalott' as stimulus

Effective sensory language using ‘The Execution of Lady Jane Grey’ as stimulus

Third person omniscient writing: ‘The Execution of Lady Jane Grey’ as stimulus

Writing a full descriptive piece: ‘The Execution of Lady Jane Grey' as stimulus

Reviewing and refining descriptive writing: alliteration, plosives and sibilance

Natasha Bowen's ‘Skin of the Sea’: understanding the extract

Writing inspired by ‘Skin of the Sea’: varying sentence types to create rhythm

Use of flashback in Natasha Bowen's 'Skin of the Sea'

Geoffrey Chaucer's ‘The Canterbury Tales’: compelling characterisation

Creating convincing characters using ‘The Canterbury Tales’ as stimulus

Pat Barker's 'The Silence of the Girls': understanding the extract

Madeline Miller's 'The Song of Achilles': understanding the extract

Comparative paragraphs: 'The Silence of the Girls' and 'The Song of Achilles'

Hanan Al-Shaykh's ‘The Fisherman and the Jinni’: understanding the story

Exploring the theme of power in Hanan Al-Shaykh's ‘One Thousand and One Nights’

The five part narrative structure

Planning a narrative using the five part narrative structure

Writing a full narrative piece using the five part narrative structure

Improving and proofreading a piece of narrative writing

In 'Myths and Legends Re-Told', pupils explore how they can alter traditional stories to convey modern ideas and morals. In 'Animal Farm: the Pigs and Power', pupils learn about Orwell's allegory and understand how he uses an apparently simple fairy story to convey a political message. 

In 'Step Into the Unknown', pupils look at the ways in which famous children's writers create convincing settings, particularly through descriptions of windows and doors. In 'Myths and Legends Re-Told', pupils take inspiration from the ways in which writers and poets use powerful imagery and symbolism, to inspire their own writing. 

In this unit, pupils read and explore a range of text types in connection to classical myths and legends. They first look at poetry before doing some descriptive writing inspired by poetry and paintings. They then explore Chaucer and modern retellings of myths to inspire their narrative writing.

Myths, legends and stories that inspire

a poem which describes a piece of art, and is inspired by it

when there is no punctuation at the end of a line of poetry

a large piece of farming equipment that is used to plant seeds and turn over soil

showing little interest or feeling in response to something

any person who is regarded as a skilled painter who worked in Europe before 1800

death or suffering of someone because of their religious beliefs

to portray in a picture or to describe in writing.

a poem which describes a piece of art, and is inspired by it.

the attitude and emotion of your voice - written or verbal

something suggesting something bad is about to happen

the '-ing' form of the verb; for example, slipping

the tools a writer uses to create their work; enjambment, verbs and adjectives are all examples of methods

a spell put on someone meaning something bad will happen to them

to form fabric by interlacing different threads together

a legendary place (that is, not real) where King Arthur (a legendary King) was said to hold court.

something that can't be touched e.g. love

when writers use something to represent intangible ideas; for example, a rose as a symbol for love

the state of being alone with no-one around you

to be placed far away from others; to have little contact with others

a hint or indication of something happening in the future

creating a powerful and identifiable mood.

when writers use something to represent intangible ideas; for example, a rose as a symbol for love.

in literature, when the weather reflects the mood.

a metaphor for a final act before death; this phrase comes from an ancient belief that swans sing a beautiful song before they die.

writing that includes reference to some, or all, of the five senses

usually to describe water or air that smells bad because it is completely still and without movement

of an emotion, to keep it hidden or bottled up

the narrator isn’t a character in the story and presents the feelings and experiences of one character using pronouns like 'she', 'he', 'they', 'it'

the narrator isn’t a character in the story and presents the feelings and experiences of multiple characters using pronouns like 'she', 'he', 'they', 'it'

the narrator isn't a character in the story and presents the feelings and experiences of multiple characters using pronouns like 'she', 'he', 'they', 'it'

when two or more words start with the same consonant

use of letters 'p', 't', 'k', 'b', 'd' and 'g' to make a harsh sound; unlike alliteration, these letters don’t have to be found at the start of a word.

words which sound like the noise they describe e.g. crash

repetition of the letter 's' in successive words

a water spirit or deity (god) sacred to West, Central and Southern Africa

a transition in a story to an earlier time in the life of one or more characters

to make short notes on, and about, a text

the beat, flow, or pattern of a piece of music or writing.

a clause of a sentence which doesn’t make sense by itself.

a sentence made up of a main clause (a sentence which makes sense by itself) and a subordinate clause.

a person who travels to a place of religious significance for religious reasons

a brief description of a character which establishes important ideas about them

a brief insight into something or someone

a person who works in a corn mill where grain is ground into flour

the emotion someone feels if something is strange or mysterious and they want to know more about it

the narrator of the story is a character in the story, using pronouns like ‘I’ and ‘me’.

what readers feel when they start to anticipate something bad is going to happen.

the state the reader is held in as they wait for an anticipated conflict, event or outcome to occur.

to make short notes on, and about, a text.

the narrator of the story is a character in the story, using pronouns like ‘I’ and ‘me’

the narrator of the story is a character in the story, using pronouns like 'I' and 'me'

the tools a writer uses to create their work

a supernatural spirit with magical powers

stories that are passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth

a person who is able to communicate the will of God

a main story that surrounds shorter stories

the tools a writer uses to create their work; simile, adjective, and adverb are all examples of methods

in English, this means looking at something carefully and considering why it was written in that way

a way of planning an analytical paragraph by preparing the first and final sentences, as well as your quotations

in the Yoruba religion, goddess of creation, water, moon, motherhood and protection

responding quickly and unthinkingly to something

the narrator is a character in the story using pronouns like 'I' and 'me'

a way of planning a paragraphs by preparing the first and final sentences, as well the detail in the middle

when two or more words close by to each other start with the same consonant

use of letters 'p', 't', 'k', 'b', 'd' and 'g' to make a harsh sound; unlike alliteration, these letters don’t have to be found at the start of a word

the tools a writer uses to create their work; flashback, alliteration and plosives are all examples of methods

Myths, legends and stories that inspire

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