Ages 8–9 Christine Moorcroft CREATING AND SHAPING TEXTS A & C Black • London Photocopiable teaching resources for literacy DEVELOPING LITERACY 2 Contents Introduction 4 Notes on the activities 5 Using the CD-ROM 12 Narrative Stories with historical settings A story in Ancient Egypt develop and refine ideas in writing; use settings and characterisation to engage readers’ interest 13 Egyptian story cards develop and refine ideas for written stories 14 Tudor story use settings to engage readers’ interest 15 Evacuation story: 1 develop and refine ideas in writing using planning and problem-solving strategies 16 Evacuation story: 2 develop and refine ideas in writing using planning and problem-solving strategies 17 The raid use settings and characterisation to engage readers’ interest 18 Stories set in imaginary worlds Imaginary worlds develop and refine ideas in writing using planning and problem-solving strategies 19 Another world use settings and characterisation to engage readers’ interest 20 Scene setters choose and combine words for particular effects 21 Good and evil character builder choose and combine words for particular effects 22 Stories from other cultures An alien came to school use a planning format for a story 23 Ask the alien explore and develop ideas for a story through characterisation 24 Going home with the alien develop and refine ideas about a setting using planning and problem-solving strategies 25 The alien: scene setter develop and refine ideas about a setting using planning and problem-solving strategies 26 Stories that raise issues or dilemmas The issue: cards developing and refining ideas in writing 27 The issue: story mountain refine ideas using planning and problem-solving strategies 28 The issue: story dialogue write dialogue, with narrative 29 Choices map develop and refine ideas using planning and problem-solving strategies 30 Plays Characters and setting use settings and characterisation to engage readers’ interest 31 Scene planner refine and develop ideas for a play 32 Dialogue planner: 1 show imagination through language used to create humour 33 Dialogue planner: 2 show imagination through language used to create humour 34 Non-fiction Recounts: newspapers and magazines Theme park recount route shape material to write non-narrative texts 35 Theme park recount cards shape material to write non-narrative texts 36 Theme park paragraph writer shape material to write non-narrative texts 37 Theme park recount writer engage readers’ interest; summarise material and ideas from different sources 38 In the news refine ideas in writing using planning and problem-solving strategies 39 History in the news shape material and ideas from different sources to write informative non-narrative texts 40 A different view show imagination through the language used to create emphasis 41 Information texts Finding out summarise material and ideas from different sources 42 Notes to information report organise text into paragraphs to distinguish between different information 43 Report improver edit down and reword sentences or paragraphs 44 Weather words glossary organise an alphabetically-ordered text 45 Village notes to chart use a chart to record information in an organised way 46 Cartoon characters chart present information from a variety of sources in a simple format 47 Explanation The Shirt Machine summarise material and ideas from different sources to write convincing and informative non-narrative texts 48 The Shirt Machine flowchart organise text into paragraphs to distinguish between different sections of 49 The Shirt Machine explanation develop and refine ideas in writing using planning and problem-solving strategies 50 Persuasive texts Animal persuaders choose and combine words for particular effects 51 The pop festival: notes develop ideas for writing 52 The pop festival: persuasion choose and combine words for a particular effect; use adverbs and conjunctions to establish cohesion within paragraphs 53 The pop festival: complaint choose and combine words for a particular effect; use adverbs and conjunctions to establish cohesion within paragraphs 54 Persuaders choose and combine words in order to create an effect 55 Poetry Creating images Your similes choose and combine words for particular effects 56 Compare it choose and combine words for particular effects 57 Coloured images choose and combine words for particular effects 58 Model poem show imagination through language used to create images 59 An image in a verse show imagination through language used to create images 60 Exploring form Poetic prayers show imagination through the language used 61 Fairy-tale poem: 1 write a ballad about a fairy tale 62 Fairy-tale poem: 2 write a ballad about a fairy tale 63 How many miles to Babylon? show imagination through the language used to create humour 64 3 Published 2008 by A & C Black Publishers Limited 36 Soho Square, London W1D 3QY www.acblack.com ISBN 978-1-4081-0033-2 Copyright text © Christine Moorcroft 2008 Copyright illustrations © Piers Baker 2008 Copyright cover illustration © Piers Baker 2008 Editor: Dodi Beardshaw Designed by Bob Vickers The author and publishers would like to thank Ray Barker and Rifat Siddiqui for their advice in producing this series of books. A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Printed and bound in Great Britain by Halstan Printing Group, Amersham, Buckinghamshire. The author and publishers are grateful for permission to reproduce the following: pp.48-50: Artwork and activity based on ‘The Shirt Machine’ by Jon Davis. Reproduced by permission of Jon Davis; p.61 ‘Benediction’ by James Berry, from Chain of Days (OUP). Reproduced by permission of PFD. Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and to obtain their permission for use of copyright material. The author and publishers would be pleased to rectify any error or omission in future editions. All rights reserved. This book may be photocopied for use in the school or educational establishment for which it was purchased, but may not be reproduced in any other form or by any means – graphic, electronic or mechanical, including recording, taping or information retrieval systems – without the prior permission in writing of the publishers. A&C Black uses paper produced with elemental chlorine-free pulp, harvested from managed sustainable forests. 4 100% New Developing Literacy: Creating and Shaping Texts is a series of seven photocopiable activity books for developing children’s responses to different types of text and their understanding of the structure and purposes of different types of texts. The books provide learning activities to support strands 7 and 8 of the literacy objectives of the Primary Framework for Literacy: Creating and shaping texts and Text structure and organisation. The structure of 100% New Developing Literacy: Creating and Shaping Texts Ages 8–9 is designed to complement the objectives of the Primary Framework and include the range of text types suggested in the planning for Ages 8–9. 100% New Developing Literacy: Creating and Shaping Texts Ages 8–9 addresses the following learning objectives from the Primary Framework for Literacy: 7 Creating and shaping texts • Develop and refine ideas in writing using planning and problem-solving strategies • Use settings and characterisation to engage readers’ interest • Summarise and shape material and ideas from different sources to write convincing and informative non-narrative texts • Show imagination through the language used to create emphasis, humour, atmosphere or suspense • Choose and combine words, images and other features for particular effects 8 Text structure and organisation • Organise text into paragraphs to distinguish between different information, events or processes • Use adverbs and conjunctions to establish cohesion within paragraphs The structure of 100% New Developing Literacy: Creating and Shaping Texts Ages 8–9 focuses on the following types of text: • Narrative (Stories with historical settings , Stories set in imaginary worlds , Stories from other cultures , Stories that raise issues or dilemmas, Plays) • Non-fiction (Recounts: newspapers and magazines, Information texts, Explanation, Persuasive texts) • Poetry (Creating images, Exploring form) . The activities Some of activities can be carried out with the whole class, some are more suitable for small groups and others are for individual work. It is important that the children are encouraged to enjoy stories and poetry – not just to learn about how they are written – and that they have opportunities to listen to, repeat, learn, recite and join in poems for enjoyment and to read non-fiction texts for information and interest. Many of the activities can be adapted for use at different levels, to suit the differing levels of attainment of the children; several can be used in different ways as explained in the notes which follow. Reading Most children will be able to carry out the activities independently but some of them might need help in reading some of the instructions on the sheets. It is expected that someone will read them to or with them, if necessary. Organisation The activities require very few resources besides pencils, crayons, scissors and glue. Other materials are specified in the Teachers’ notes on the pages: for example, fiction, poetry or information books, websites, interactive whiteboards and CD- ROMs. Extension activities Most of the activity sheets end with a challenge ( Now try this!) which reinforces and extends the children’s learning. These more challenging activities might be appropriate for only a few children; it is not expected that the whole class should complete them, although many more children might benefit from them with appropriate assistance – possibly as a guided or shared activity. On some pages there is space for the children to complete the extension activities, but others will require a notebook or a separate sheet of paper. Accompanying CD The enclosed CD-ROM contains all the activity sheets from the book and allows you to edit them for printing or saving. This means that modifications can be made to differentiate the activities further to suit individual pupils’ needs. See page 13 for more details. Introduction The notes below expand upon those which are provided at the bottom of most activity pages. They give ideas and suggestions for making the most of the activity sheet, including suggestions for the whole-class introduction, the plenary session or for follow-up work using an adapted version of the activity sheet. To help teachers to select appropriate learning experiences for their pupils, the activities are grouped into sections within each book but the pages need not be presented in the order in which they appear, unless otherwise stated. Stories and poems featured or suggested in this book and supplementary texts Stories in historical settings Doodlebug Summer (Alison Prince, A & C Black Flashbacks series) Mission to Marathon (Geoffrey Trease, A & C Black Flashbacks series) A Candle in the Dark (Adèle Geras, A & C Black Flashbacks series) Across the Roman Wall (Theresa Breslin, A & C Black Flashbacks series) A Ghost-Light in the Attic (Pat Thomson, A & C Black Flashbacks series) The Thieves of Ostia (Caroline Lawrence, Orion The Roman Mysteries series) The Secrets of Vesuvius (Caroline Lawrence, Orion The Roman Mysteries series) The Pirates of Pompeii (Caroline Lawrence, Orion The Roman Mysteries series) The Assassins of Rome (Caroline Lawrence, Orion The Roman Mysteries series) The Dolphins of Laurentum (Caroline Lawrence, Orion The Roman Mysteries series) The Twelve Tasks of Flavia Gemina (Caroline Lawrence, Orion The Roman Mysteries series) Carrie’s War (Nina Bawden, Puffin) Keeping Henry (Nina Bawden, Puffin) The Railway Children (Edith Nesbit, Penguin) Stories set in imaginary worlds Harry Potter series (J K Rowling, Bloomsbury) The Wind in the Willows (Kenneth Grahame, Penguin) The Winter Sleepwalker (Joan Aiken, Red Fox) Whizziwig (Malorie Blackman, A & C Black) Whizziwig Returns (Malorie Blackman, A & C Black) The Dragon’s Child (Jenny Nimmo, Mammoth) Stories from other cultures On the Run (Elizabeth Laird, Mammoth) Abdullah’s Butterfly (Janine M Fraser, HarperCollins) Grace and Family (Mary Hoffman, Frances Lincoln) Tales from Africa (Mary Medlicott, Kingfisher) Stories that raise issues or dilemmas The Girl Who Stayed For Half a Week (from Roundabout , Gene Kemp, Faber & Faber) Dinosaurs and All That Rubbish (Michael Foreman, Puffin) Project Kite (Sian Lewis, Red Fox) 5 Brother Eagle, Sister Sky (Chief Seattle, Puffin) Free the Whales (Jamie Rix, Walker) Badger’s Parting Gifts (Susan Varley, HarperCollins) Little Obie and the Flood (Martin Waddell, Walker) Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (Judy Blume, Random House) Down and Out (Bernard Ashley, Orchard) The Bad Beginning (Lemony Snicket , Egmont) Playscripts The Boy Who Fell into a Book (Alan Ayckbourn, Faber) Grimm Tales (Carol Ann Supple & Tim Supple, Scholastic) Whale (David Holman, Heinemann) Curtain Up series (A & C Black) Bill’s New Frock (Anne Fine, Longman) Two Weeks with the Queen (Morris Gleitzman, Macmillan) The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tiler (Gene Kemp, Heinemann) The Wind in the Willows (Kenneth Grahame, adapted by Alan Bennett, Faber) Useful books of poems The Works (chosen by Paul Cookson, Macmillan) The Works 2 (chosen by Brian Moses & Pie Corbett, Macmillan) I Like This Poem (chosen by Kaye Webb, Puffin) Shades of Green (chosen by Anne Harvey, Red Fox) Welcome to the Party (chosen Nicola Davies & Simon Rae, BBC) The Hutchinson Treasury of Children’s Poetry (edited by Alison Sage, Hutchinson) The Kingfisher Book of Children’s Poetry (selected by Michael Rosen, Kingfisher) The Puffin Book of Twentieth-Century Children’s Verse (edited by Brian Patten, Puffin) Useful websites Narrative/plays http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/romanmysteries/game/index.shtml (Caroline Lawrence’s series The Roman Mysteries ) http://www .screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/562525/index.html ( The Railway Children ) http://www .whirligig-tv.co.uk/tv/children/other/ railway children.htm ( The Railway Children ) Dual-language books http://www.kingston.gov.uk/browse/leisure/libraries/ childr ens library service/dual language.htm For selected fiction and non-fiction books and book boxes: http://www.badger-publishing.co.uk/, http://www .madeleinelindley.com/aboutus.aspx Non-fiction Newspapers and magazines http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/uk/default.stm (a news site for children) http://www.schoolnetglobal.com/introduction/gd.html (a site to which children can contribute news or reports on issues) Usborne Newspaper History: The Egyptian Echo (Paul Dowswell), The Roman Record (Paul Dowswell), The Medieval Messenger (Paul Dowswell), The Viking Invader (Fergus Fleming), The Greek Gazette (Paul Dowswell) Notes on the activities _ __ _ Information texts Khalipathar, India www.globallinks.org.uk/liveto india/khalipathar.html. Explanation The Shirt Machine www.jonsmind.com Poetry Videos Birds http://ibc.hbw .com/ibc/. Grazing cows www .magheramor e.com/farm.php, www .ukagricultur e.com/multimedia/farming pictures. The book is split into three main sections: Narrative, Non-fiction and Poetry. These are subdivided to match the planning units of the Primary Framework for Literacy. Narrative Stories in historical settings A story in Ancient Egypt (page 13) This helps the children to develop and refine ideas in writing and to use setting and characterisation to engage readers’ interest. They write their own stories set in the past, using their oral stories to structure the written versions. The scene is based on a picture from the tomb of Menna at Thebes. The scribe, dressed in white linen, watches over the workers as they harvest and winnow the grain. There are cattle trampling the grain to loosen it from the chaff, then workers gather it in scoops and toss it high into the air so that the chaff blows away. The harvested grain is carried away in baskets suspended from poles. An important activity is gleaning . Families of the field workers were allowed to gather any grain that was dropped by the harvesters. In the centre of the bottom row of the pictures, two children can be seen fighting over some ears of grain. It is useful to remind the children of the importance of a few ears of grain to a peasant family. Ask the children to imagine the scene: the weather, the people and what the workers and their overseers are doing. Encourage them to imagine the feel of the scene: the hot sunshine, dust and the hard work going on. Egyptian story cards (page 14) These cards help to stimulate the children’s ideas for storytelling by providing a setting and a character to support oral storytelling. They can discuss these to develop and refine their ideas for written stories. Encourage them to choose their character, to make notes about his or her appearance and personal characteristics, to use what they know about Ancient Egypt and to read information books to find out more. Tudor story (page 15) This activity helps the children to develop a story setting in order to engage readers’ interest. Point out that the setting should seem realistic to the reader. Show how to do this through the use of detail from the picture and from other sources that feature Tudor towns. Ask them to imagine walking through this street. What would they see, hear, feel and smell? How would all this affect their actions: for example, avoiding mud and dirt on the ground and slops being thrown out of windows, being tempted by the smell of pies? Discuss the action in the picture: the work going on, such as fetching water, selling goods, removing vermin such as rats, mending shoes. Also note the actions of the children in the picture. Evacuation story: 1 and 2 (pages 16–17) The first activity helps the children to use planning and problem-solving strategies to develop and refine their ideas for a story in a historical setting, and to organise text into paragraphs to separate parts of the story. They could use what they know about evacuation during the Second World War, and find out more: for example, where children were evacuated from, where they were taken to, how, and why. Discuss what might happen to the evacuees: for example, meeting other children during the journey, how they were allocated to households at the end of their journey, how they were treated, how they kept in touch with their families, what it was like in their new temporary schools and how the local children responded to them. The second activity helps the children to develop the characters in their story. They can name the evacuees in the picture, describe their clothes, luggage and general appearance and say how they think they feel and what they might be saying to one another. The raid (page 18) This develops skills in creating the setting for a story and developing characters through the use of powerful verbs. The idea for the market visit was inspired by the opening of Across the Roman Wall by Theresa Breslin (A & C Black Flashbacks series). The children could read the book and use it to develop their own ideas. Point out how the atmosphere of the market is created through the description, including adjectives. Stories set in imaginary worlds Imaginary worlds (page 19) This activity is about creating a setting or scenario for a story. The children can use these to inspire role-play and oral storytelling with a partner before they plan a longer story. Encourage them to use problem-solving strategies as they plan their story. Ask them how the setting would affect some of the actions they plan, and invite them to figure out ways around any obstacles or ways of meeting challenges (such as how to open the tiny door in Through the book-case ). Another world (page 20) This is about using setting and characterisation to engage readers’ interest. It also involves 6 The activities in this section help the children to plan and write stories set in the past. Children are encouraged to explore settings from the past, to use what they know about the period and to research it further to inform their writing. _ _ These activities help the children to develop their own imaginary settings and characters through suggesting ideas for imaginary settings, encouraging them to imagine how characters can cross from one setting into another, imaginary one – and return from it, providing ideas for creating different atmospheres and suggesting how to develop characters. 7 developing and refining ideas using planning and problem- solving strategies. The children are provided with a starting- point for a story. Their problem is to figure out how Crawford could move into another world. They are also asked to describe this world, which is based on the real world but has some differences: for example, it might be in the same physical location but in the past or the future. The children are challenged to consider how these would affect the setting and Crawford’s activities. You could display the passage on an interactive whiteboard for the children to alter as a class or group activity. Stories the children could read that involve the movement of characters between two ‘worlds’ include the Harry Potter series (J K Rowling, Bloomsbury), Red Fox Classics , (Joan Aiken, Random House), Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland ( Lewis Carroll) and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C S Lewis). In these stories the children can identify the ‘transit’: a magic spell, the wardrobe and the rabbit hole. Scene setters (page 21) This activity develops skills in creating a setting through the careful use of language. The children choose and combine words and phrases that create a happy or creepy house. If used on an interactive whiteboard the children could try out different words and phrases and compare their effects. Children could also generate their own words to fill the gaps, and as an extension, think of a third type of house and write the description for it. Good and evil character builder (page 22) This activity helps the children with characterisation and the use of language to create impressions. The passage features a ‘neutral’ character and the children are challenged to use powerful nouns, adjectives and adverbs to create two different characters. They could use a thesaurus to find different words with a similar meaning and to consider the images created by the different words: for example, slender/scrawny, fingered/fiddled with. Children could discuss how characters can sometimes appear to be one thing, but emerge as something different. Stories from other cultures An alien came to school (page 23) This helps the children to use a planning format for a story. They are presented with a scenario: an alien arrives as a new pupil at school. Encourage them to consider the problems the alien (and the children in the class) may face because of their differences in culture, appearance and behaviour. Focus on the possibilities for misunderstanding, which could lead to humour while at the same time dealing with issues such as racism or bullying. This activity could be linked with work in citizenship on different cultures, racism and bullying if the children are encouraged to think about all or one of these issues. They could discuss the problems that arise through misunderstandings because of different cultural expectations or because one member of a group looks and behaves differently from the others. Encourage the children to use role-play to explore these problems and to find solutions that make all members of the group happy and develop friendship. Ask the alien (page 24) This activity helps the children to explore and develop ideas for a story through characterisation. They imagine they could meet the alien and ask him or her questions. What do they want to know? Encourage them to think up interesting answers that show that the alien has a completely different lifestyle to the children. They can then use these ideas to inform the detail of their story (see page 23). Going home with the alien and The alien: scene setter (pages 25–26) These pages focus on the development of a setting. The children use imagination and their ideas from page 24 to create a setting and to envisage the problems they might face (through misunderstanding or ignorance) when they go there. Ask them to imagine the alien’s home and family (they could make a labelled drawing of it) and to record their ideas and the problems or difficulties they face. They can then write the narrative and dialogue of the scene using the ‘starter’ on page 26 as a model to help them to include details that help to create a realistic setting. Make it clear that the description of the planet on page 26 is just one version of what it could be like on the planet, and that children’s will differ. Stories that raise issues or dilemmas The issue: cards (page 27) This page focuses on developing and refining ideas in writing. The cards outline different issues or dilemmas faced by characters. The children could discuss the issue on their card with a partner and consider what the character could do and the consequences of each choice. The issue: story mountain (page 28) This focuses on refining ideas using planning and problem-solving strategies. The ‘story mountain’ format helps the children to structure a story in paragraphs or chapters. The story could develop from a card on page 27. Encourage the children to make brief notes of what might happen and to build up tension by exploring the scenario on the card until this reaches a climax. How is the problem resolved? The issue: story dialogue (page 29) This develops an issue introduced in the cards on page 27 but the children need not have completed that page or page 28. It will help them to write dialogue with narrative for the story they planned about one of the issues on page 27 using The issue: story mountain on page 28 or it could be used as a model to demonstrate the These activities help the children to create settings with different cultures and to be aware of the ways in which the setting affects the characters and the story. There are opportunities to link this with work in citizenship (Living in a diverse world). In these activities the children consider important issues or dilemmas a character might have to face and incorporate them into stories. They have opportunities to consider the consequences of different choices. You could link with these with work in citizenship on choices. The activities could be used in sequence to help the children to plan and write a story based on one of the cards on page 27. 8 effective use of dialogue. Note that it begins with a question that is understood by the story characters but not (yet) by the reader. This invites the reader to read on in order to find the answer; the reader is thus drawn into the story. Choices map (page 30) This develops an issue introduced in the cards on page 27 but the children need not have completed that page. It helps them to develop and refine ideas using planning and problem-solving strategies by focusing on the consequences of choices made by a story character. When planning a story they consider the consequences of Rachel’s choice and decide which would make the best story. They could also consider the ‘message’ they want their story to give. Plays Characters and setting (page 31) This activity supports the use of characterisation and setting to engage readers’ interest. It provides the scenario for a play and supports the creation of characters. The children need to think up characters/teachers and to make notes about them: appearance, age, clothes, characteristics, mannerisms (especially humorous ones). They should make notes about the setting: the type of classroom, furniture, equipment and so on. Scene planner (page 32) This activity provides a format to help the children to refine and develop their ideas for a play and to make notes about how it opens, the build-up of tension after the teacher turns into a parrot, the climax and then the resolution. The resolution might involve a new character (perhaps an animal or a magical character) or a surprise event. Link this with the children’s previous work on imaginary settings: the setting itself is an everyday one but what happens is fantastical. Dialogue planner: 1 and 2 (pages 33–34) These help the children to show imagination through language used to create humour. The first activity presents a picture story, with speech bubbles, based on the action of a scene in a play. The children read the story and then enact it. This helps them to identify the spoken words and the action. They can then set out the spoken words in a playscript format that shows which characters speak them. You could also demonstrate how to include stage directions to tell the actors what to do. They should be written in brackets in the appropriate places, for example: Mr Macaw: ( opening door and entering classroom ) Good morning, Class 4. Where’s Miss Grey? Gary: (putting up his hand) Good morning, Sir. She’s up there (pointing to the top of the interactive whiteboard). Non-fiction Recounts: newspapers and magazines Theme park recount route and Theme park recount cards (pages 35–36) These pages focus on the sequence of a factual recount. They support the children in planning this. The board game (page 35) should be used with the cards (page 36). The children will finish the game with a collection of random cards. They should all begin planning from ‘START’, in which they travel by bus to the theme park, and should end with ‘FINISH’ in which they return by bus. They choose how to order the other cards. They could swap some cards with one another in order to achieve a realistic structure for the day, especially if some of them have no ‘café’ cards and others have several. Theme park paragraph writer (page 37) This activity focuses on shaping material for a recount. The children should write in the past tense and the first person, since this is a personal recount, as if they have visited the theme park. They can find out more about a theme park and rides (including videos of the rides and a pictorial map of the site on www.altontowers.com and www.atmania.com). Encourage them to make the recount interesting and appealing to the reader by including descriptions of the rides that create a vivid picture of the speed, movement and height and the feelings of the riders. Theme park recount writer (page 38) This page focuses on engaging the readers’ interest and summarising a recount. It develops the children’s learning about journalistic writing in which they consider how a recount answers the questions Who? What? Where? When? and Why? It also focuses on the distinction between fact and opinion in a recount. The Introduction should inform the reader what the recount is about (a trip to a theme park, which also says where it happened); it should say who went (the children’s class), when (the date and perhaps say that it was in a particular school term) and why (perhaps it was arranged as a treat or to help with work in another subject). The conclusion can include a summary of the provision for visitors to the theme park, the people it is likely to attract, and why, and the writer’s opinion of the day. In the news (page 39) This provides a format for refining ideas in writing using planning and problem-solving strategies. It focuses on the structure of a newspaper recount: a headline to provide a brief indication of what a story is about and attract readers; the introduction to orientate the reader, the main part of the story, which recounts the story; and the conclusion, which sums it up and might add an opinion or a comment about what has happened and what might (or should) happen in the future. The children should first have read some news stories and These activities develop the children’s understanding of the characteristics of playscripts and help them to plan their own to tell a story. The activities provide starting points and formats to help in the planning of plays and help the children to plan and write the dialogue. They should be used in sequence in order to support the writing of a short humorous play. This section has links with speaking and listening (drama). This section focuses on the features of non-fiction recounts, including the sequence of events, details of where they took place and the people involved and the distinction between fact and opinion. It provides opportunities for links with work in citizenship (In the media – what’s the news?) know about the main features of their layout and structure. They should read the reporter’s notes and decide in which order to present the information, how to introduce it, how to attract readers’ attention through an eye-catching headline and engaging introduction and how to sum it up, rather than letting it end abruptly or tail off. History in the news (page 40) This activity helps the children to develop and refine ideas in writing and to use information from different sources. Provide football match recounts from newspapers for them to read. They could list the main events on a timeline. (Note that the writer might not begin the recount with the first event, but open with something to engage the readers’ attention). See page 5 for books on historical issues and stories presented in newspaper form. A different view (page 41) This develops skills in using language imaginatively to express an opinion while recounting facts. The children identify words and phrases to express either a favourable or an unfavourable opinion of a new library. Their recount should tell the same facts as the original but use language to create an impression. You could display the recount on an interactive whiteboard so that the children can alter the text in different ways and evaluate the effects of their choices. Discuss the place of pieces such as this in newspapers; explain that newspapers do not give only objective or factual recounts. Information texts Finding out (page 42) This develops skills in using information texts quickly and efficiently and writing brief, accurate notes. The children develop an understanding of how information texts are structured to help readers to find information. How did the children find the information they wanted? For example, by scanning the contents pages website map, links, index, headings and captions and by using alphabetically-ordered texts. Notes to information report (page 43) This activity develops skills in filling out brief notes into connected prose and organising a text into paragraphs to distinguish between different pieces of information. Point out that the children should write in the present tense and use impersonal, fairly formal language in the third person. You could give examples of styles of language and ask the children which they think is the most suitable, and why: for example, The climate there is monsoon. This means heavy rainfall in the summer months of June to September and a dry winter or It’s a monsoon climate. That’s heavy rain in summer (June to September) and it’s very dry in the winter . They can find out more about Khalipathar from the Global Links website www .globallinks.org.uk/liveto india/khalipathar.html. In order to reinforce the reasons why information like this, about a place, ought to be in the third person and in the present tense, say sentences using the notes, in the past tense, such as Khalipathar was a village in Orissa. It had a monsoon climate etc. and then do something similar using the future tense or first person. Invite children to comment on the effect/purpose. Report improver (page 44) This activity develops skills in editing down and rewording sentences or paragraphs by deleting the less important elements, such as repetition, and explaining the editorial choices. Ask the children whether they think the report is split correctly into paragraphs and, if not, which sentences they would move to different paragraphs. After this they could go through a similar process in pairs or small groups with a piece of their own writing. Model how to improve the first two sentences by ‘thinking aloud’ . Weather words glossary (page 45) This develops an understanding of how to organise an alphabetically-ordered text and write brief definitions of words. The children could write glossaries for topics they study in different subjects. Village notes to chart (page 46) This helps the children to understand how a chart can be useful in recording information in an organised way so that it can be easily located. They could also write questions for others to answer using the chart: for example, Which villages should a tourist interested in Roman remains visit? Which villages might have developed because they were close to rivers? Which sites might have been chosen because they were on hilltops and so were easy to defend? Which ones might have grown when railways were built? Cartoon characters chart (page 47) This activity shows how to present information from a variety of sources in a simple format. It can also support work in understanding and responding to texts: the children could use the chart to help them to analyse their responses to fictional characters. Explanation The Shirt Machine (page 48) This provides an opportunity to plan and orally rehearse an explanation using a picture. It is based on fiction, but the children can invent explanations based on what they can see and what they know the machine does from the film. They should use the present tense and begin with a general statement: for example, This is a machine that makes shirts and packs them ready to post. The operator has to 9 These activities develop the children’s skills in collecting information from texts and writing their own information texts. They summarise material and ideas from different sources to write their own interesting and informative information texts, using appropriate organisation structures. The activities in this section are based on the short film The Shirt Machine by Jon Davis, which can be viewed on Jon Davis’s website www .jonsmind.com. The children can also explore the website to find out how the idea arose, how the film was created and to look at still pictures from the film. This can also be linked with work in narrative on how authors work. There is a link to contact Jon Davis by email. _ programme in the design, using the computer so that it knows what to make. He also has to put in all the materials it will need: cloth, thread, buttons and so on so that it has everything it needs. Ask them to compare this with the language of the film, which tells a story in the past tense and is organised in the order in which the events happened. Note that the paragraphs of an explanation are in an order that helps the reader to understand what is happening in the machine. Also point out the different types of connectives that are useful in each text type. In narrative, time connectives are useful: first, then, next, after that . In an explanation the connectives are logical: so that, because, in case . There will be some use of time connectives if a sequence is explained: for example, the order in which the processes take place in the Shirt Machine. Once the children have given an outline of what the machine does, ask them to choose a numbered part, to name it according to what they think it does, to explain what it does, and how . Focusing on how it works helps to avoid giving a recount of what happens: for example, The thread goes in here; it is woven to make the cloth here, then this part stitches it . Instead, the children should be encouraged to imagine how the processes are carried out. The Shirt Machine flowchart (page 49) This helps in organising text into paragraphs to distinguish between different sections of information. It provides a flowchart to help the children to organise and sequence paragraphs for a brief explanation of what happens in the machine. They will add details when they write the explanation (page 50). The flowchart has six sections although twelve parts of the machine are numbered in the diagram on page 48, but some of these parts will be grouped because they carry out similar functions: for example, weaving (stripes, plain, spots, other patterns); different colours; cutting (some might cut out collars, some might cut out sleeves, others might cut out the right-hand or left-hand front or the back of the shirt); stitching (seams, hems, buttons). The children should consider each section as a paragraph. The Shirt Machine explanation (page 50) This helps to develop and refine ideas in writing using planning and problem- solving strategies. Children could work in small groups (three to four); each group could focus on part of the machine, agree what it does and then share ideas about how it works. You could use the explanation of the ‘Packing Drum’ as a model. Remind them of the connectives that will be useful: because, for, in order to, so that, to . Persuasive texts Animal persuaders (page 51) This helps the children to choose words for a particular effect (to write a persuasive sentence) and to use conjunctions to establish cohesion within paragraphs. They should fill out the notes on their card to write a sentence to persuade the audience not to be afraid of the animal or not to treat it as a pest. Help them to compile a list of persuasive words and phrases: You may think that… but…, Have you ever considered what/why…, Many people think… but…, This animal may seem… but, in fact,…. The pop festival: notes (page 52) This helps the children to develop ideas for writing. It presents notes on what people said to a newspaper reporter about a local pop festival. The children are asked to identify the positive comments and to use these notes to help them to write persuasive sentences to convince readers that the pop festival was good for the local area. The pop festival: persuasion (page 53) This activity helps the children to choose and combine words for a particular effect. They should think of a positive-sounding headline (for example, Pop festival brings boom in trade ), and discuss the purpose of the introduction (to orientate readers and encourage them to read on). It also develops skills in using adverbs and conjunctions to establish cohesion within and between paragraphs. The pop festival: complaint (page 54) This helps the children to choose and combine words for a particular effect. It also develops skills in using adverbs and conjunctions to establish cohesion within and between paragraphs. Discuss how some articles in newspapers do not simply describe events but also try to change people’s opinion. Show examples of editorials from different newspapers to demonstrate this. Persuaders (page 55) In this activity the children choose and combine words in order to create an effect. You could begin by reading the examples aloud and asking the children which sounds the more persuasive. Draw out that the first is too long and that people will not listen to more than the first few words. Which one will attract the attention of people in the market? Point out that people in a hurry are unlikely to listen to long sentences, but short sharp exclamations and sentences are effective because they give information quickly and sound interesting. Poetry Creating images Your similes and Compare it (pages 56–57) These pages develop the children’s skills in using imagination to create emphasis and choosing and combining words for particular effects. A comparison uses the word ‘like’ to compare one person, object, place or idea with another; a simile uses ‘as’ to liken an attribute of one of these to a known attribute of another. 10 Here the children use language containing similes, comparisons and other poetic features to create a vivid picture for the reader. They also have opportunities to write poems using others as models.This section develops skills in using key features of language to convince readers of an opinion or to persuade them to do something. [...]... of characters and settings cards (each set on a differently coloured paper) for each group of children Cut out the cards and turn them face down The children should then pick up a character card and a setting card They can then talk to a friend and make notes about what might happen and what the character might do in that setting 100% New Developing Literacy Creating and Shaping Texts: Ages 8–9 © A... imagine the market place: the sights, smells and so on – also what Flavia and Marina might be wearing and their actions as they talk to traders and make purchases The children could make notes of words to use for setting the scene and consider how to recount the change in the scene when the chariots arrive 100% New Developing Literacy Creating and Shaping Texts: Ages 8–9 © A & C BLACK Imaginary worlds The... arrive there and meet the alien’s family 100% New Developing Literacy Creating and Shaping Texts: Ages 8–9 © A & C BLACK 25 The alien: scene setter Continue the opening scene of the story Use connectives Use interesting verbs Write some short and some long sentences Include dialogue “Look! There it is,” called Jellina.“My home.” All Simon and Hasanna could see were miles and miles of dust and rocks No... or you could help them to enact the scene (with another adult disguised as the alien) and to improvise on it If necessary, introduce a problem, for example, a misunderstanding caused by the alien’s lack of understanding of the children’s culture and customs 100% New Developing Literacy Creating and Shaping Texts: Ages 8–9 © A & C BLACK 23 Ask the alien What do the children want to know about the alien’s... sets – one describing the ‘Happy house’ and one the ‘Creepy house’ They could also create images of the two houses, starting with two copies of the same photograph of a house and altering the colours and adding drawn details 100% New Developing Literacy Creating and Shaping Texts: Ages 8–9 © A & C BLACK 21 Good and evil character builder • Can you tell whether the character in the passage is good or... that describe what can be seen and heard and encourage them to continue in the same way Oh! 100% New Developing Literacy Creating and Shaping Texts: Ages 8–9 © A & C BLACK The issue: cards Salim sees his friend Rohan deliberately break the mirror of a car parked in a quiet road.The car cannot be seen easily from the houses nearby and no one else is around Rohan runs off and does not notice Salim.The... should list, and make notes about, the main characters Ask them to picture the setting and to make notes about what it looks like so that someone else could set it up on stage 100% New Developing Literacy Creating and Shaping Texts: Ages 8–9 © A & C BLACK 31 Scene planner • Continue the play plan Build-up and problem Shriek from group working with teacher Teacher has disappeared Climax and resolution... Ask them to discuss what life might be like for their characters, what they look like, what they might wear, their home and school life and how the Second World War might affect them, their families and their neighbourhood 100% New Developing Literacy Creating and Shaping Texts: Ages 8–9 © A & C BLACK Evacuation story: 2 Where are the children? When? What is it like there? Where are they going? How... children could first compare passages from stories in which a character is introduced Ask them what the character is like and how they can tell They could identify the key words Discuss why it is difficult to tell what Charles Porterhouse is like and how the description can be altered Adverbs briskly brusquely sideways slyly 100% New Developing Literacy Creating and Shaping Texts: Ages 8–9 © A & C BLACK An... discuss Rachel’s choices with a partner and make notes about them Then ask them to think about the consequences of each choice They could develop one of these into a story that draws in Rachel’s family, friends and the local community Page 28 could be used to help to plan the story 100% New Developing Literacy Creating and Shaping Texts: Ages 8–9 © A & C BLACK Characters and setting • Plan a play about the . Developing Literacy: Creating and Shaping Texts Ages 8–9 addresses the following learning objectives from the Primary Framework for Literacy: 7 Creating and shaping texts • Develop and refine ideas. types of texts. The books provide learning activities to support strands 7 and 8 of the literacy objectives of the Primary Framework for Literacy: Creating and shaping texts and Text structure and. Developing Literacy: Creating and Shaping Texts Ages 8–9 is designed to complement the objectives of the Primary Framework and include the range of text types suggested in the planning for Ages 8–9. 100%