Y5: Spring Term Fiction 1: Short stories: Spooky Stories Main text: Short! by Kevin Crossley-Holland
Wk 1 / Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday / FridayWhole class teaching / Show Short! by Kevin Crossley-Holland. Read the blurb; it sounds fun! What do chn think? Does the book appeal to them? Would they want to read it? Why is the book title written in such large letters? Display the list of titles (see resources). Chn discuss what type/genre some of the stories are likely to be, e.g. ‘The Fox and the Geese’ sounds like the title of an Aesop’s fable; ‘Slam and the Ghosts’ sounds like a horror/ghost story. List and discuss possible genres on f/c (see resource list). Read a few of the stories that chn have identified. Did they choose the right genre? Comprehension 1 / Read a selection of stories from Short!, e.g. In the Back Seat (Did the title give chn a clue to what was happening?), The Hook (Did chn guess what the scratching noise was?), Who’s Who? (What do chn think happened to Jack?), etc. What genre do chn think these stories belong to? Horror. Discuss the features that horror stories could have. Write any suggestions chn have on f/c. Agree on a list (compare with plan resource), which could always be added to later in the week.
Spoken Language 1 / Comprehension 2 / Read story Room for One More again. Write wrestled on f/c. Explain that this word contains two silent letters: w and t. This makes it difficult to spell. What is the root word? wrestle. Note that when we add the suffix –ed to create the past tense, we lose the final e of the root word. Write doubt, island, lamb, solemn, thistle and knight on f/c as other examples of words with silent letters. Some letters which are no longer sounded used to be sounded hundreds of years ago, e.g. the k in knight was sounded as /k/.
Transcription 1 / Use the grammar PowerPoint (see resource Slides 1-14) to revise adverbials. Explain how adverbials provide cohesion, add detail and build suspense in the short stories you have been reading. Adverbials tell us more about a verb; they can modify a word, phrase or clause. They can answer the questions: Where? When? or In what order? Adverbials often open with a preposition (by, in, after, etc.) and are named fronted adverbials when placed at the beginning of a clause. Record some good examples of adverbials created in the ‘Your Turn’ part of the PowerPoint. Emphasise the punctuation of fronted adverbials using a comma.
Grammar 1 / Ask what is meant by an oral story, and discuss how many traditional stories were handed down through generations orally, before being written down and printed in books. To be able to retell an oral story you have to know it really well (though details in oral stories did often change from one storyteller to the next). Explain that chn are going to read a written story called Hunted during which they will answer some questions as a group. Afterwards we will discuss how to retell the story orally.
Comprehension 3: Group Reading/Spoken Language 2
Objectives / Dimension / Resources
Spoken Language / Pupils should be taught to:
a. listen and respond appropriately to their peers
d. articulate and justify opinions
k. consider different viewpoints / 1. Tuesday: Discuss what will happen next in a short story See Comprehension 2
Chn work in pairs to discuss & predict what will happen next in the story, Room for One More.
Plenary: Follow on after Comprehension 2. Volunteers share their predictions with the class, explaining why they think this. Class give thumbs up, down or an ‘unsure wiggle’ to express whether or not it is a likely outcome. Finally read the rest of the story to chn. Was anyone’s prediction close? / First five paragraphs of Room for One More (see resources)
f. maintain attention and participate actively in collaborative conversations
k. consider different viewpoints / 2. Friday: Discuss and answer questions about Hunted See Comprehension 3
Discuss and answer questions about Hunted. Ensure that all chn join in the discussion and that all views are heard.
Plenary: See Comprehension 3. / Copies of Hunted
Questions about Hunted (see resources)
Comprehension / a. continue to read and discuss an increasingly wide range of fiction
e. identify and discuss themes
f. make comparisons within books / 1. Monday: Read and identify the genre of a range of short stories
In mixed-ability pairs (to support with reading), chn read a range of short stories. Give a different story from Short! to each pair. Chn read together, discuss & agree on the story’s genre. Chn pass their copy to the next pair when you give the signal. Continue until all pairs have read and discussed at least 5 stories.
Plenary: Discuss the genre of the stories and what helped chn to decide. Agree that some stories contain elements of different genres, e.g. a horror story may contain fantasy characters.
Collect in photocopies of short stories for next week. / Copies of several stories from Short! – select a range of genres but not the stories you are going to read on Tuesday
Tip: the genre is roughly indicated by the header image on each page for quick classification
Comprehension / Maintain positive attitudes to reading… by:
a. continuing to read and discuss a wide range of books
Understand what they read by:
c. drawing and justifying inferences
d. predicting what might happen
Provide reasoned justifications for their views / 2. Tuesday: Predict what will happen next in a short story See Spoken language 1
Give chn a copy of the first 5 paragraphs of Room for One More (see resources) – another horror story. Which features of a horror story can they identify? Chn read the opening together before moving on to Spoken language 1.
Plenary:
Discuss the features of horror stories chn have found. Add any new features not already on class list of features for this genre. / First five paragraphs of Room for One More
(see resources)
Maintain positive attitudes…by:
a. continuing to read/discuss wide range of books
d. recommending books they have read
Understand what they read by:
e. summarising main ideas & key points
Participate in discussions about books they read themselves / 3. Friday: Group Reading: Read and discuss a short story See Spoken language 2
In groups, chn read Hunted together and answer the questions (see resources) as they read. Ensure chn know to stop after the second paragraph to answer question 2.
Plenary: Introduce story pegs to chn as a technique for retelling stories (these work a story prompts on which to ‘hang’ the detail of each part/paragraph). This will lead into using story pegs in week 2. Explain that chn could use story pegs to retell the story orally. Write story pegs on f/c (or use plan resource) & ask partners to retell the story using them to each other. At the end, ask chn which of the stories they have enjoyed the most this week and why? Which would they recommend to their peers? / Copies of Hunted
Questions about Hunted
Story Pegs sheet
(see resources)
Transcription / Spelling
Pupils should be taught to:
b. spell some words with ‘silent’ letters / 1. Wednesday: Explore, sort and write words which contain silent letters
Display ‘Word List’ and/or print off for weaker readers (see resources). Chn each choose a word from the list, then find three more words with the same silent letter. They then write a short sentence with one of their words in it, e.g. The knight rode a magnificent black stallion. Repeat with a new word from the list.
EASY: Provide with ‘Word Hunt’ (see resources) to support chn in finding words.
Plenary: Share some sentences. Then give chn a list to learn for homework (see resources). / Word list
Word Hunt
Graded spelling lists - Homework
(see resources)
Grammar / g. learn the grammar in App.2
(link ideas … using adverbials of time, place and number) / 1. Thursday: Extend sentences using adverbials See Composition 1
In Main Teaching: Use Powerpoint – slides 1 to 14 and go through Adverbials with chn. Ensure that they understand what an adverbial does, and also, that it can start a sentence.
Provide ‘Adverbials’ (see resources) to chn working at differentiated levels.
Easy: Adverbials 1; Medium: Adverbials 2; Hard: Adverbials 3
Plenary: See Composition 1. / ‘Adverbials 1/2/3’ differentiated activities
Grammar PPT
(see resources)
Composition / Draft and write by:
d. using a wide range of devices to build cohesion within and across paragraphs / 1. Thursday: Extend sentences using adverbials See Grammar 1
Encourage chn to see the impact grammar choice has on writing, with cohesion particularly as a focus, e.g. ‘By adding the adverbial Later that day I am linking what happened before to what happens next’.
Plenary: Discuss how adverbials can be moved within a sentence without changing the meaning, though it does change the emphasis sometimes. Challenge chn to extend the clause ‘The door opened’ with an adverbial, to make as suspenseful as possible, e.g. When the screaming stopped,…Where there had been no door before, …As my heart beat like a drum,… / As Grammar 1
© Original plan copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.
Y5: Spring Term Fiction 1: Short stories: Spooky Stories Main text: Short! by Kevin Crossley-Holland
Wk 2 / Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday / FridayWhole class teaching / Write ‘Paragraphs’ on f/c. Give chn 3 minutes to discuss with a partner when/why a writer begins a new paragraph in a story. Discuss & list ideas on f/c. Display PowerPoint on Paragraphs, slides 15 and 16 (see resources), e.g.
Change of place/setting
Change of time/ flashbacks
Change of topic/theme
Change of viewpoint
Change of speaker
Introduce a new character
Add suspense/ change the mood
Smooth links between paragraphs help the reader follow the story. Remind chn how adverbials create cohesion. Together list some adverbials on f/c that might be useful to link paragraphs (see plan resource).
Grammar 2 / Today chn will plan their own spooky story. Revise features of horror stories (discussed last week). List on f/c or use plan resource. The story will be written in paragraphs, so it is a good idea to have some story pegs (as with Hunted oral story retelling) to base these on, e.g.
Opening: character(s) introduced, hints at the problem
Build up: problem/danger occurs; scary character gets closer
Climax: moment of greatest danger, secrets uncovered, battle or escape attempt
Resolution: main character escapes or meets a sticky end
Chn could use a story cube to gather their ideas (see website list). Point out that chn need not use best handwriting for draft!
Composition 2/Transcription 2 / To ‘hook’ their readers, writers want readers to be able to feel they are inside the story; using words to create images and emotions is a powerful thing! They do this by using elaborated language to describe. What type of words can we use to do this, e.g. adjectives, adverbials, adjectival phrases, prepositional phrases, Write The man went down the road. on f/c. How could chn elaborate on this sentence? Ask chn to discuss with a partner and share some ideas. Say, ‘I’d like to add more detail about this man. What could we add? Maybe he is covered in cobwebs’. Explain that relative clauses are useful for adding this kind of detail. Use the PowerPoint slides 17 to end (see resources) to teach relative clauses. Go through it carefully with the class, and show how relative clauses can be used to add detail to nouns/pronouns in a story.
Composition 3 /Grammar 3/Transcription 3 / Look at the opening paragraph of Room for One More (see resources). This story opened by introducing the character and describing the setting. What do chn notice about the punctuation? The sentences are separated by semi-colons. The writer used them again in the sixth paragraph too (see resources). A semi-colon is the punctuation equivalent of ‘and’; it can be used to separate independent clauses which are closely linked, less strongly than a full stop. It can be useful in linking sentences which are short to build impact. Write some more examples on a f/c, e.g. The room was cold; something was there.
Composition 4/Grammar 4/ Transcription 4 / Enlarge/display a copy of one child’s writing. Together discuss how it could be improved. Which features of a horror story have been included? Is it written in paragraphs? Are the paragraphs linked together appropriately? Point out good examples of the use of adverbials or descriptions. And so on. Discuss what you need to look for when editing your own writing – paragraphs, adverbials, vivid adjectives, powerful verbs, etc. Talk about what to check when proofreading someone else’s writing - spelling & punctuation errors. Composition 5
Objectives / Dimension / Resources
Grammar / g. learn the grammar in App.2
(link ideas across paragraphs using adverbials of time, place and number) / 2. Monday: Identify paragraphs and also cohesive adverbials in reading
in Whole class teaching: Use the Powerpoint slides 14, 15 to stress when we need a new paragraph.
Using photocopies from Monday Week 1 (plus others if you wish), challenge chn to find adverbials used in the stories to link paragraphs. They should list any they find noting the title of the story. If required, write some of the adverbials listed in the resource on the board to help chn who struggle.
Plenary: Share findings and add examples that chn have found to the list on f/c or plan resource. / List of adverbials showing time, place or number