'When the Sky Falls': narrative and journalistic report writing
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Threads
Why this why now
This unit uses and builds on the Year 6 unit, 'Climate emergency: journalistic report writing', in which pupils got into role as a journalist writing a report based on the climate emergency. Here, pupils use a fictional event from the novel 'When the Sky Falls' to write a narrative climax and a journalistic report, using climactic narrative techniques like short sentences and fast time adverbials in the first and key journalistic phraseology and passive voice in the second. This unit's outcomes can be used for pupils' KS2 writing portfolios as they demonstrate all taught cohesive devices.
Prior knowledge requirements
- When The Sky Falls was written by Phil Earle.
- When The Sky Falls is set in 1941 during the Second World War.
- The Second World War was a major global conflict between 1939 - 1945.
- The German leader, Adolf Hitler, began the war by invading Poland in 1939.
- A 12-year-old boy, Joseph Palmer, is sent from rural Yorkshire to the city.
- Joseph finds himself in the care of Margaret Farrelly.
- Several challenges impact Joseph's life in the city.
- Historical details are interwoven through the fictional narrative.
- Figurative language used by a writer can give the reader deeper insight into characters, setting and plot.
- Images used by a writer can have more than one meaning.
Threads
Why this why now
This unit uses and builds on the Year 6 unit, 'Climate emergency: journalistic report writing', in which pupils got into role as a journalist writing a report based on the climate emergency. Here, pupils use a fictional event from the novel 'When the Sky Falls' to write a narrative climax and a journalistic report, using climactic narrative techniques like short sentences and fast time adverbials in the first and key journalistic phraseology and passive voice in the second. This unit's outcomes can be used for pupils' KS2 writing portfolios as they demonstrate all taught cohesive devices.
Prior knowledge requirements
- When The Sky Falls was written by Phil Earle.
- When The Sky Falls is set in 1941 during the Second World War.
- The Second World War was a major global conflict between 1939 - 1945.
- The German leader, Adolf Hitler, began the war by invading Poland in 1939.
- A 12-year-old boy, Joseph Palmer, is sent from rural Yorkshire to the city.
- Joseph finds himself in the care of Margaret Farrelly.
- Several challenges impact Joseph's life in the city.
- Historical details are interwoven through the fictional narrative.
- Figurative language used by a writer can give the reader deeper insight into characters, setting and plot.
- Images used by a writer can have more than one meaning.
Reading, writing & oracy
'When the Sky Falls': narrative and journalistic report writing
In this unit, pupils write a narrative climax and a journalistic report based on the text, 'When the Sky Falls', focusing on changing tone and style to meet each outcome's purpose. The journalistic report is based on an event in the novel. These outcomes can be used for KS2 SATS writing.
10 lessons in unit
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