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Lesson 5 of 8
  • Year 5

Writing the opening of 'The Viewer'

I can write the opening of 'The Viewer'.

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View unit
Lesson 5 of 8
New
New
  • Year 5

Writing the opening of 'The Viewer'

I can write the opening of 'The Viewer'.

Download all

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The opening is the first section of a story where the writer describes the setting and main characters.
  2. The opening should be descriptive and use figurative language to build an atmosphere for the reader.
  3. A non-finite complex sentence contains a non-finite clause.
  4. A non-finite clause extends the sentence by telling the reader about a second thing that the subject is doing.
  5. A non-finite clause can vary its position in a sentence.

Keywords

  • Opening - the first section of a story and where the writer describes the setting and main characters

  • Figurative language - the use of metaphor, simile and personification to paint vivid pictures for the reader

  • Non-finite clause - a type of subordinate clause that can start with a verb in the progressive tense

Common misconception

Pupils may think that non-finite clauses always come at the start of sentences.

Teach pupils that non-finite clauses can vary their position in a sentence and model a non-finite clause in both positions.


To help you plan your year 5 English lesson on: Writing the opening of 'The Viewer', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

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Teacher tip

Equipment

You need a copy of the 2012 Hodder Children's Books edition of ‘The Viewer’ written by Gary Crew and illustrated by Shaun Tan, for this lesson.

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

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6 Questions

Q1.
Fill in the missing word. Figurative language is the use of metaphor, simile and personification to paint vivid pictures for the __________.

writer
Correct answer: reader
illustrator

Q2.
Fill in the missing word. A __________ is a type of figurative language that involves describing something as though it actually is something else.

simile
Correct answer: metaphor
rhetorical question

Q3.
True or false? There is no difference between a simile and a metaphor.

Correct Answer: false, False

Q4.
Which of these is a metaphor?

The wind howled like a wolf.
The wind howled as loudly as a wolf.
Correct answer: The wind was a wolf howling.

Q5.
Which of these is a metaphor?

Correct answer: Tristan was a ghost quietly floating through the dump.
Tristan was like a ghost quietly floating through the dump.
Tristan was as quiet as a ghost floating through the dump.

Q6.
When planning a setting description, we start from the...

Correct answer: top down.
bottom up.
middle.

Assessment exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
True or false? The __________ is the first section of a story where the writer describes the setting and main characters.

climax
build-up
Correct answer: opening
resolution

Q2.
True or false? A complex sentence is a sentence consisting of a main clause and any type of subordinate clause.

Correct Answer: true, True

Q3.
Fill in the missing word. A main clause contains a __________ and makes sense on its own.

noun
Correct answer: verb
adverb

Q4.
A non-finite (-ing) clause starts with a word that ends in ...

-ly.
Correct answer: -ing.
-ent.

Q5.
Which of these is a sentence that features a non-finite (-ing) clause?

Correct answer: Breathing slowly, Tristan reached down to pick up the object.
At that moment, Tristan knew he had found something special.
Next to a broken bottle, sat a very unusual object indeed.

Q6.
Which two of these sentences feature a non-finite (-ing) clause?

A moment later, Tristan stood still and examined the object that lay before him.
Correct answer: Examining the objects that lay before him, Tristan stood still for a moment.
Correct answer: Tristan stood still for a moment, examining the objects that lay before him.