Emulating Murakami’s craft to write a descriptive opening
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can write an engaging descriptive opening paragraph using an omniscient perspective and extended metaphor.
Key learning points
- Using an omniscient perspective allows the reader to be more immersed in a scene description.
- An unusual choice of narrative perspective can make your omniscient perspective more engaging.
- An extended metaphor is an opportunity to add detail and depth to writing.
- An extended metaphor is most effective, when explored in multiple layers, e.g. using comparison and personification.
Keywords
Omniscient - all knowing
Immersive - allowing someone to become completely absorbed or involved in something
Extended metaphor - a metaphor that extends several lines of text
Personification - attribution of human characteristics to non-human things
Common misconception
Students may find it difficult to harmonise their perspective choice with appropriate metaphors.
Spend time discussing less effective pairings e.g. a tree would would not perceive people in a city as 'ants' but an airplane might.
Teacher tip
You may want to re-read and annotate Murakami's opening paragraph of 'After Dark' before you begin Learning Cycle 1 to recap his crafting.
Equipment
You may want access to a copy of the opening paragraph from Chapter 1 of Haruki Murakami's 'After Dark' for this lesson.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What does perspective mean?
Q2.What is an extended metaphor?
Q3.Match each perspective to the general effect it can have.
gives an insight into a character's feelings
makes the reader feel as if they are involved in a text
creates a vivid image and wide scope of a scene
Q4.Which perspective can offer an omniscient view?
Q5.Match each technique to the corresponding example.
The flower swayed like a dancer.
The flower was a beacon of hope.
The flower lifted its face to the sun.
Q6.Why might an omniscient perspective be effective in descriptive writing?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Arguably, which narrative perspective allows for the most immersive experience of a scene?
Q2.What does Murakami use to provide a wide scope of his opening scene of 'After Dark'?
Q3.What does Murakami use to paint a vivid image of his opening scene in 'After Dark'?
Q4.Which of the following is used in the following sentence: "The endless roads stretch ahead, like fatigued conveyor belts."
Q5.Match the narrator to the unique perspective of the world that they offer.
it has known different centuries
it offers a perspective on nature's seasonal changes
it offers a heavily zoomed out perspective
Q6.Why is an omniscient perspective particularly suitable when writing a description?
To help you plan your 10 English lesson on: Emulating Murakami’s craft to write a descriptive opening, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 English lesson on: Emulating Murakami’s craft to write a descriptive opening, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 English lessons from the Fiction: read around the world unit, dive into the full secondary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.