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Planning the first entry of Florence Nightingale's diary

Lesson details

Learning outcome

I can make a plan for writing a diary entry as Florence Nightingale.

Key learning points

  1. Perspective is the way someone thinks, feels or sees something.
  2. Florence Nightingale went to the Crimean War to help the wounded soldiers. She was shocked by what she saw.
  3. Notes are used when making a plan and they are short and only capture key vocabulary and important information.
  4. Notes are not written in full sentences and do not require capital letters, full stops or commas.

Keywords

  • Perspective - the way someone thinks, feels or sees something

  • Plan - a framework that writers create before they write a section or whole text

  • Notes - written out of full sentences

Common misconception

Pupils may want to include details in their plan from other times in Florence's life.

Ensure the children are clear that this entry is about just one day, the day she arrived at the hospital in Crimea. Use the three sections in the planning form to reiterate the key moments - arriving, seeing soldiers on the floor, the hospital food.

Teacher tip

The unit 'Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole: non-chronological report' would be a good unit to teach before this one as pupils will develop a strong knowledge of Florence's life. Otherwise, it can be used to supplement or as reference.

Content guidance

Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

6 Questions

Q1.
True or false? If something happens in the past, it has already happened.

Correct Answer: true, True

Q2.
When writing about the past, a writer should mostly write in which tense?

Correct answer: past tense
future tense
present tense

Q3.
True or false? When we talk about something that has happened to us in the past, we are recounting.

Correct Answer: true, True

Q4.
A diary is written in ...

the second person.
Correct answer: the first person.
the third person.

Q5.
True or false? A recount is written in non-chronological order.

Correct Answer: false, False

Q6.
Why might a person write a diary?

to show all their family and friends
Correct answer: to keep a record of a day or week
to practice their handwriting
Correct answer: to express their thoughts and feelings

6 Questions

Q1.
What is the name for the way someone thinks, feels or sees something.

Correct answer: perspective
perspiration
personality

Q2.
When we share our perspective, we are saying what we think about something, or giving our ...

knowledge
address
Correct answer: personal opinion

Q3.
A person may choose to share their perspective in a ...

fiction story
Correct answer: diary
non-chronological report

Q4.
What is it called each time a person writes in their diary?

a story
Correct answer: an entry
a report

Q5.
True or false? The purpose of notes is to help the writer to organise information easily for future use.

Correct Answer: true, True

Q6.
A writer can take notes and turn them into ...

bullet points
drawings
Correct answer: full sentences

To help you plan your 2 English lesson on: Planning the first entry of Florence Nightingale's diary, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...