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Year 6

Planning the climax of 'A Kind of Spark' including flashbacks

I can plan to write about Addie's speech from her perspective, incorporating third person flashbacks to the witch trials.

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Year 6

Planning the climax of 'A Kind of Spark' including flashbacks

I can plan to write about Addie's speech from her perspective, incorporating third person flashbacks to the witch trials.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Writing is most successful when it is planned.
  2. Writing can include a shift in perspective from first to third person and a change from present to past tense.
  3. The first person allows the reader to hear Addie's direct thoughts and emotions.
  4. We can also plan to include flashbacks that show past events in the third person.
  5. These flashbacks might be 'triggered' by a certain action in the present.

Keywords

  • First person - the 'I/we' perspective

  • Present tense - shows the action is happening now

  • Flashback - a jump to a time or event that happened earlier in the narrative

  • Third person - the 'he/she/it/they' perspective

  • Past tense - shows that the action happened before now

Common misconception

Pupils may find it challenging to segment Addie's speech into three sections.

Encourage pupils to think about past drama tasks where they looked at Addie's feelings before, during and after her speech.


To help you plan your year 6 english lesson on: Planning the climax of 'A Kind of Spark' including flashbacks, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

If you are using the writing that results from this task as evidence for teacher assessment, refer to local and national guidance regarding the level of teacher input that is appropriate.
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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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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of these describes the 'climax' of a story?
where the writer describes the setting and characters
where the problems are introduced and tension rises
Correct answer: where the highest point of the action and tension is
where the problems are resolved
Q2.
Which of these are not arguments made in Addie's speech?
Correct answer: autistic people are more interesting that non-autistic people
she might have been treated like the witches in the past
differences are positive things
Correct answer: we should pardon everyone who was convicted of witchcraft
Q3.
Which of these key arguments in Addie's speech comes first?
In the past, people who were different might have been accused of witchcraft.
Correct answer: Because she's autistic, she experiences the world differently.
We shouldn't forget the people who experienced this in the past.
Q4.
What clues are there that the following sentence comes from speech as opposed to formal writing? 'And that's what I want to explain to you today.'
Correct answer: a contraction
a complex sentence
Correct answer: an informal way of starting the sentence
asking questions to the audience
Q5.
At what point might Addie be thinking the following piece of internal monologue in relation to her speech? 'People are really listening! Maybe they're being convinced ...'.
before she is called to speak
when she gets up to speak
Correct answer: as she is speaking
when she sits back down
Q6.
At what point did Addie notice the following in relation to her speech? 'I see that everyone is paying attention; they're watching and listening carefully now.'
before she is called to speak
when she gets up to speak
Correct answer: as she is speaking
when she sits back down

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of these are features of the sections where we write in role as Addie?
Correct answer: first person
third person
past tense
Correct answer: present tense
Q2.
Which of these are features of the flashback sections of our text?
first person
Correct answer: third person
Correct answer: past tense
present tense
Q3.
Put the sections of our text in order.
1 - first person, present tense for point 1
2 - first flashback to Maggie's story
3 - first person, present tense for point 2
4 - second flashback to Maggie's story
5 - first person, present tense for point 3
Q4.
What is the 'trigger' for the flashbacks in the model story?
Addie thinks about Bonnie's story.
Maggie thinks about Addie.
Correct answer: Addie looks at Maggie's name on her hand.
Addie looks at Keedie.
Q5.
Which of these sentences could be from the flashbacks in our narrative?
Correct answer: The children laughed and trod on Maggie's food.
Correct answer: "Get away from me!" Maggie yelled.
I can't believe they're listening to me.
Can I really do this?
Q6.
Which of the following describes how the mood changes in the sections written from Addie's perspective about her speech?
becomes more negative
Correct answer: becomes more positive
stays positive throughout
stays negative throughout

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