Fun Stuff!

There is nothing more fun than writing about a really cunning 'bad guy'. Isn't Skeletor brilliant? See if you can invent your own brilliant bad guy!

Year 6 - Continuing a Passage

Your homework comes in three parts.

1. Please read again the information about 'continuing a passage'. Click here. We'll be doing a 'continuing the passage' story next Friday, and we won't have to time to go through all the questions again, so make sure you know what to do!

2. Redraft the 'Barnaby Grimes' continuation you wrote last in class. (Oh, and if you want to play the fab highstaking game? Click here.) You must include a character description. Revise character descriptions by clicking here.

Feeling clever? It won't surprise you to learn that I want you to include the three different comma types we've been studying (listing, joining and adverb starter). See if you can include them in the first 15 lines. You should also include a bracket.

Feeling really clever? Try and echo Paul Stewart's style. Think about how you can make your writing seem like a piece of Victorian fiction.

3. Complete paper 6 in your (green) Verbal reasoning book. We'll go through the answers together next week.

Want more? There are two optional tasks to prepare for our work next week. You may want to watch this video to prepare for our work on semi-colons:


VideoJug: How To Use Colons And Semi-Colons

Anyone who includes colons and semi-colons in their writing is going to be a superstar!

We are going to be studying Victorian fashion (this will help us make our Victorian stories more vivid). Google 'Victorian fashion' and see what you can find! Bring in any pictures or information on Monday for our History lesson.

Year Five - Trench Warfare Story

You visited the Imperial War Museum yesterday, and experienced 'life in the trenches'.



You can learn a little more about life in the trenches by clicking here. (WARNING: Contains gory descriptions that may be upsetting to some people)

In class, you began to a story about life in the trenches, based on the title 'The Day I Saved A Life.' Write 1 1/2 sides of A4. Don't forget to read it to someone at home, and write 'READ THROUGH' at the bottom of the page!

Feeling clever? Try to use suspense techniques to make the reader think your character's friend is not going to survive. Learn more about suspense by clicking here.

Year Six Fiction - Including character descriptions

On Monday, we revised character descriptions, focussing on 'zooming in', colour and the use of similes to describe a character. Revise that work by clicking here.

Today we revised including these character descriptions in the first 15 lines of a short story. Revise our work on story structure by clicking here.

Task: Write the first 1/2 page of a story entitled 'Halloween'. Follow our story structure. Finish the first 1/2 page with a character description.

Feeling clever? Use all three of the commas we've studied (listing, joining and abverb-starter) and include a bracket in the first seven lines!

Feeling really clever? Try to include personification when you set the scene.

Year 5 Non-fiction - The Devil's Advocate

We are going to learning how to write discursive essays - essays where you discuss two or more sides of an argument.

Some children find this hard, because they only want to argue for what they believe in. The game 'The Devil's Advocate' can help you learn to see both sides!

In class, we made arguments for statements that were plainly wrong, such as 'Boys are much more clever girls.' We had five minutes to construct an argument that supported these incorrect statements.

Your homework: Think of a statement that is clearly wrong, e.g. 'Children should eat McDonalds every night.' Brainstorm some ideas to support that argument, and then write 1/2 side of your book, making your case in full sentences, or as a bullet point list.

The cleverest people can make strong arguments for any idea - even one they may personally disagree with!

Year Six punctuation work: Writing a 'Bracket' rap!

VideoJug: How To Use Parentheses And Square Brackets

We are going to be learning about the trickiest comma - the bracketing commma. To understand the bracketing comma we need to be sure we know how to use brackets correctly.

Task: Write 'The bracket rap'. Last half-term we wrote a tune for 'The comma song'. This time, you are going to write both the words and the tune! We know that using sound and movement can help us learn tricky facts. You are going to write a 'bracket rap' to help you remember how to use this tricky beast.

Remember to use rhyme and rhythm in your bracket rap!

Include the following six 'brackets facts' in your rap:

Brackets
Brackets are used in written work to enclose an aside or an afterthought, or to add information or ideas which are not essential.

1. Brackets are used when you add something to your writing.
My pal Snozzy (who has red hair) is an Everton supporter.

2. The sentence should be complete, even if the contents of brackets are removed.

There are several ways of beginning to write an essay (all of them equally helpful) and it depends on writers which they prefer.

Remove the brackets and the sentence is still complete: There are several ways of beginning to write an essay and it depends on writers which they prefer

The suggestion that his secretary, Sally (now his wife), was a criminal genius seriously upset Bob.

The parenthesis now his wife can be removed from the sentences without damaging its meaning.

3. When brackets are used at the end of a sentence, the full stop falls outside the bracket (like this one).

4. The writing inside brackets should be as short as possible, so as not to interrupt the flow of the sentence.

5. You should only use brackets occasionally. If you use them too frequently, they create a choppy effect.

6. Brackets are often used to enclose dates:

James Dean (1931-1955) died tragically in a car crash, at the tender
age of twenty-four.

Oh, and if you've ever wondered why we need punctation, watch this:

Year 4 Creative Writing - Exciting Opening Lines

Look through your books at home/in the library, and find five brilliant opening lines (to either books or chapters), that use exciting direct speech. Bring the books into class next week!

Learn more about what makes for an exciting opening line by clicking here.

Before next week's lesson, please read this here, about the next 'ingredient' in a story.