Unit 1: Story settings Overview English curriculum objectives
Treasure House resources
Year 4 pupils should be taught to plan their writing by: • discussing writing similar to that which they are planning to write in order to understand and learn from its structure, vocabulary and grammar • discussing and recording ideas. Year 4 pupils should be taught to draft and write by, in narratives, creating settings, characters and plot.
• Composition Skills Pupil Book 4, Unit 1, pages 4–6 • Collins Connect Treasure House Composition Year 4, Unit 1 • Photocopiable Unit 1, Resource 1: Different settings, page 64 • Photocopiable Unit 1, Resource 2: Creating atmosphere, page 65
Building towards
• A copy of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien for children to refer to • Other narratives with quality description of settings for children to use as model text
The children will write two contrasting descriptions of settings.
Additional resources
Introduction Teaching overview This unit builds on previous years’ work on creating settings in stories. It uses an atmospheric setting from The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (1892–1973). The children read the extract and analyse the techniques Tolkien has used. They compare and contrast the descriptions, and note the use of personification and noun phrases. They move on to writing descriptions of two different settings; the weather conditions affecting the mood and atmosphere of the piece. J.R.R. Tolkien is one of the world’s best-known writers of fantasy and children’s fiction, including The Hobbit (1937).
Introduce the concept Play a short film clip where there is an introductory scene showing the film setting – many children’s
Pupil practice Get started Children work with a partner to answer the questions about settings they have liked or disliked in books they have read. Suggested answers 1. Children discuss the settings of books they have read.
films begin with establishing shots. Ask the children to describe the setting using adjectives and noun phrases. Then ask them to discuss how an author could produce the same effect with words. Consider composing a class checklist for a writing a good setting. This might include: • vivid adjectives • personification • description of the weather • an appeal to senses other than just the visual – for example, sounds and smells. This can be checked against the techniques used by Tolkein in the extract. Tell the children they are to read an extract from The Hobbit and that they will analyse how the author has created the setting in words.
Pupil Book pages 4–6 2. Children say which of the settings they liked most and give reasons. 3. Children say which of the settings they liked least and give reasons. 4. Children make a list of story settings. [1 mark for each acceptable answer]
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Unit 1: Story settings
Try these Children read the extract and complete a table comparing the descriptions of the two lands Bilbo travels through. Answers Hobbit-lands wide respectable country inhabited by decent folk good roads an inn or two now and then a dwarf or a farmer ambling by Lone-lands no people left no inns, the roads grew steadily worse dreary hills rising higher and higher dark with trees, old castles with an evil look as if they had been built by wicked people everything seemed gloomy the weather that day had taken a nasty turn cold and wet grey clouds, a deep valley wind got up willows along its banks bent and sighed an ancient stone bridge the river, swollen with the rains came rushing down
Award one mark for each word or phrase. Children then summarise the difference between the two settings. [2 marks plus 1 mark for the correct use of a comparative conjunction] Model answer: The hobbit-lands are safe, homely and familiar, whereas the Lone-lands are increasingly unsafe, wild and unfamiliar.
Now try these Children consider how the description of a setting might change in relation to the weather. They complete a table asking for details of what to include in a variety of settings in both good and bad weather. Suggested answers 1. Accept completed tables where each part has details relevant to the setting and weather conditions. Reward imagination. 2. Accept paragraphs which contain good description, a sense of atmosphere and good language skills. A good contrast should be evident between the two descriptions. You may wish to use the activities and photocopiables in Support and Embed to give differentiated support with the writing tasks for Now try these.
Support, embed & challenge Support Children use Unit 1 Resource 1: Different settings to support their note-making for question 1. Ask them to draw their chosen setting for question 2, in good weather and bad, annotating their two images with detailed labels and a caption.
Embed After completing question 1, children use the techniques in the checklist provided in Unit 1
Resource 2: Creating atmosphere as a prompt in their descriptive writing of two contrasting settings for Now try these question 2. These descriptions should create atmosphere by their use of specific vocabulary and the suggested techniques.
Challenge Children describe a school-based setting, for example, a classroom or playground. They write two paragraphs: one describing it favourably, the other less so.
Homework / Additional activities Describing a scene Ask children to write a short paragraph describing the view out of their bedroom window. Ask them then to wait until the weather changes, or it is night-time, and to describe the contrasting scene in another paragraph.
Collins Connect: Unit 1 Ask the children to complete Unit 1 (see Teach → Year 4 → Composition → Unit 1).
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Unit 2: Writing about a character Overview English curriculum objectives
Treasure House resources
Year 4 pupils should be taught to plan their writing by: • discussing writing similar to that which they are planning to write in order to understand and learn from its structure, vocabulary and grammar • discussing and recording ideas. Year 4 pupils should be taught to draft and write by, in narratives, creating settings, characters and plot.
• Composition Skills Pupil Book 4, Unit 2, pages 7–10 • Collins Connect Treasure House Composition Year 4, Unit 2 • Photocopiable Unit 2, Resource 1: Character descriptions, page 66 • Photocopiable Unit 2, Resource 2: Daniel, page 67
Building towards The children will write character descriptions and a first-person recount.
Introduction Teaching overview
Introduce the concept
This unit focuses on creating characters in narratives. It includes an extract from The Stove Haunting by the English writer Bel Mooney (born 1946), to exemplify the writing skills involved and to stimulate children’s own writing. The unit concentrates on how an author shows the reader a character’s personality through the actions, reactions and dialogue rather than just telling them. Children are also given the opportunity to explore the concept of character motivation as they discuss the characters in this extract.
Ask children to talk with a partner or in small groups about their favourite fictional characters in films or TV programmes. What is it that they like about them and why? Ask them then to focus on how a writer, as opposed to a film-maker, might create a character. How does an author convey character motivation? Remind children that as well as describing appearance, they should also concentrate on the actions, dialogue and motivations of a character. This builds a full character description for the reader.
Pupil practice
Pupil Book pages 7–10
Get started
Name
Their appearance
Their actions
Children work with a partner to answer the questions about characters in the extract. Answers 1. Children discuss which character(s) in the extract they dislike. 2. Children look for evidence in the text to explain their dislike for characters in the extract. 3. Children discuss their feelings towards Daniel and explain their opinions.
The Squire
high polished boots starched white neckcloth
talking secretly
Leggat
wore the rough clothes of a labourer a tall man strong, bony hand
glanced round nervously hiding in the thick bushes reached out a strong, bony hand which gripped Daniel painfully by the neck
Try these Children complete a table looking for words and phrases which tell the reader about either the Squire or Leggat. Answers Selected words and phrases may include the following:
[1 mark for each correct word or phrase.]
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Unit 2: Writing about a character
Now try these Children describe three characters from the text. In question 2, they rewrite the last two paragraphs from Daniel’s point of view and in the past tense, including details of thoughts and feelings as well as actions. Answers 1. Accept descriptions where attempts have been made to show character through their actions as well as their appearance.
2. Accept paragraphs where the first person and past tense are used correctly. Look for details about what Daniel thought and felt as well as the description of his actions. You may wish to use the activities and photocopiables in Support and Embed to give differentiated support with the writing tasks in Now try these.
Support, embed & challenge Support Ask these children to focus on Now try these question 1. Unit 2 Resource 1: Character descriptions provides a structure for the children’s notes. Encourage them to compose their descriptions verbally before writing them down. They consider the characters’ appearance and their actions.
Embed After these children have completed question 1, ask them to write the final part of the extract from Daniel’s point of view (first person) using Unit 2 Resource 2: Daniel. They are reminded to include how he felt and
acted as they write the recount. Remind the children that this unit is about description: they should include Daniel’s descriptions of the people he sees, and what happens to him.
Challenge Children choose a well-known character from a film or TV programme and write a character description of them, bearing in mind that the description needs to include the character’s actions and a glimpse into their thoughts, as well as a physical description. Ask them to think about how the presentation of character in film and writing differs.
Homework / Additional activities Character description Ask children to describe a member of their family as they go about their normal routine. They should describe not only their appearance but also what they are think and their actions.
Collins Connect: Unit 2 Ask the children to complete Unit 2 (see Teach → Year 4 → Composition → Unit 2).
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Unit 3: Writing a playscript Overview English curriculum objectives
Treasure House resources
Year 4 pupils should be taught to plan their writing by: • discussing writing similar to that which they are planning to write in order to understand and learn from its structure, vocabulary and grammar • discussing and recording ideas. Year 4 pupils should be taught to draft and write by, in narratives, creating settings, characters and plot.
• Composition Skills Pupil Book 4, Unit 3, pages 11–14 • Collins Connect Treasure House Composition Year 4, Unit 3 • Photocopiable Unit 3, Resource 1: My conversation, page 68 • Photocopiable Unit 3, Resource 2: My playscript, page 69
Building towards The children will write a real-life or imaginary conversation as a playscript.
Additional resources • A range of playscripts; a film of a play
Introduction Teaching overview This unit focuses on how to write a playscript. The unit includes an extract from a playscript adapted from the English writer Lewis Carroll’s well-known fantasy and satirical novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865), dramatised by the playwright Clemence Dane (1888–1965), to exemplify the conventions of playscripts and the skills involved. The unit explains what a playscript is and covers the various conventions of writing a script, distinguishing between scripted dialogue and reported dialogue. Children are asked to write a real-life or imagined conversation as a playscript, observing the correct conventions.
Introduce the concept Ask the class if they are aware of what a ‘playscript’ is. Take feedback and remind them of a class play
they have performed. Ask: ‘How did the actors know what to say? Where to move?’ Tell children that this unit will concentrate on how to write a playscript and will be using an extract from the dramatised version of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. A brief summary of the Lewis Carroll novel would be useful. It may also be useful before starting the unit to show children a televised or film version of a play or dramatic performance. It could even be the end-ofyear school play! You may wish to give the children short plays, or extracts from plays, to read and perhaps perform so that they see at first hand the conventions they have to follow and why they are necessary in playscript writing. Read the extract together, asking volunteers to take on the roles of Alice and the Cheshire Cat. Ask the children to help you use the text to draw up a list of playscript conventions.
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Unit 3: Writing a playscript
Pupil practice Get started Children work with a partner to answer the questions about their prior experience of the theatre and playscripts. Answers 1. Children discuss any plays they may have seen at a theatre. 2. Children discuss any plays they may have seen at school. 3. Children discuss any plays they may have read or acted in. 4. Children compare the playscript to a storybook. They may make some of the following observations: the playscript is comprised mostly of dialogue; actions are described in the present tense and enclosed in brackets; there are no paragraphs (no prose) and no narrative voice.
Try these Children answer questions about the conventions of playscript writing. Answers 1. Names followed by colons indicate which character should speak the lines [1 mark] that follow. 2. The name for spoken words is dialogue. [1 mark] 3. Stage directions tell the actors what to do. [1 mark]
Pupil Book pages 11–14 4. Stage directions are in brackets to differentiate them from the dialogue. 5. A playscript is the written instructions for a play. (This should be in the children’s own words.) 6. Rules should be along the lines of: • Write where the scene is set at the start. • Write the speaker’s name followed by a colon to show who speaks each line. • Start a new line each time a character starts to speak. • Write stage directions to tell the performers what to do. • Write the stage directions in the third person and the present tense. • Put the stage directions in brackets.
[1 mark]
[1 mark] [1 mark] [1 mark] [1 mark] [1 mark] [1 mark] [1 mark]
Now try these Children discuss a recent conversation in preparation for writing it as a playscript. Answers 1. Accept conversations where there is a clear topic, participants, location and time. Expect details of what was said and the actions of those participating in the conversation. 2. Children now write the previous conversation as a playscript with stage directions and details of location and time. Check that the children adhere to the conventions of writing a playscript.
Support, embed & challenge Support
Embed
Children use the checklist in Unit 3 Resource 1: My conversation to make notes concerning a conversation made during a role play activity. Support them as they write their playscript, using their notes and the extract as a model.
The children use their notes from question 1 to write their playscript for question 2 on Unit 3 Resource 2: My playscript, evaluating their work against the checklist provided.
Challenge Children take a short extract of dialogue from a book they are reading and rewrite it as a playscript, remembering the conventions for writing playscripts.
Homework / Additional activities My playscript Ask children to imagine a conversation between a character and a magical animal as in Alice and to write it as a playscript. They should be reminded to check their playscript against the list of conventions.
Collins Connect: Unit 3 Ask the children to complete Unit 3 (see Teach → Year 4 → Composition → Unit 3).
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