creating and shaping texts ages 8-9

Contents Narrative Stories with historical settings A story in Ancient Egypt develop and refine ideas in writing; use settings and characterisation to engage Egyptian story cards develop

Ages 8–9 Christine Moorcroft

CREATING AND SHAPING TEXTS

A & C Black • London

Photocopiable teaching resources for literacy

Contents

Narrative

Stories with historical settings

A story in Ancient Egypt develop and refine ideas in writing; use settings and characterisation to engage

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

The alien: scene setter develop and refine ideas about a setting using planning and problem-solving

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

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

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

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

The pop festival: complaint choose and combine words for a particular effect; use adverbs and conjunctions

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

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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

by Jon Davis Reproduced by permission of Jon Davis; p.61

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.

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, someare more suitable for small groups and others are for individualwork It is important that the children are encouraged to enjoystories 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-fictiontexts for information and interest Many of the activities can beadapted for use at different levels, to suit the differing levels ofattainment 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 activitiesindependently but some of them might need help in readingsome of the instructions on the sheets It is expected thatsomeone 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 theTeachers’ notes on the pages: for example, fiction, poetry orinformation 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 Thesemore challenging activities might be appropriate for only a fewchildren; it is not expected that the whole class should completethem, although many more children might benefit from themwith appropriate assistance – possibly as a guided or sharedactivity On some pages there is space for the children tocomplete the extension activities, but others will require anotebook or a separate sheet of paper

Accompanying CD

The enclosed CD-ROM contains all the activity sheets from thebook and allows you to edit them for printing or saving Thismeans that modifications can be made to differentiate theactivities further to suit individual pupils’ needs See page 13 formore 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

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)

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 AlanBennett, 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 AlisonSage, Hutchinson)

The Kingfisher Book of Children’s Poetry (selected by MichaelRosen, Kingfisher)

The Puffin Book of Twentieth-Century Children’s Verse (edited byBrian 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 (TheRailway Children)

http://www.madeleinelindley.com/aboutus.aspx

Non-fiction

Newspapers and magazineshttp://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/uk/default.stm (a news sitefor children)

http://www.schoolnetglobal.com/introduction/gd.html (a site towhich children can contribute news or reports on issues)Usborne Newspaper History: The Egyptian Echo (PaulDowswell), The Roman Record (Paul Dowswell), The MedievalMessenger (Paul Dowswell), The Viking Invader (FergusFleming), The Greek Gazette (Paul Dowswell)

Notes on the activities

_

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 dothis through the use of detail from the picture and from othersources that feature Tudor towns Ask them to imagine walkingthrough this street What would they see, hear, feel and smell?How would all this affect their actions: for example, avoiding mudand dirt on the ground and slops being thrown out of windows,being tempted by the smell of pies? Discuss the action in thepicture: the work going on, such as fetching water, sellinggoods, removing vermin such as rats, mending shoes Also notethe 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-solvingstrategies to develop and refine their ideas for a story in ahistorical setting, and to organise text into paragraphs toseparate parts of the story They could use what they knowabout evacuation during the Second World War, and find outmore: for example, where children were evacuated from, wherethey were taken to, how, and why Discuss what might happen

to the evacuees: for example, meeting other children during thejourney, how they were allocated to households at the end oftheir journey, how they were treated, how they kept in touch withtheir families, what it was like in their new temporary schoolsand how the local children responded to them The secondactivity helps the children to develop the characters in theirstory They can name the evacuees in the picture, describe theirclothes, luggage and general appearance and say how theythink 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 powerfulverbs The idea for the market visit was inspired by the opening

of Across the Roman Wall by Theresa Breslin (A & C BlackFlashbacks series) The children could read the book and use it

to develop their own ideas Point out how the atmosphere of themarket 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 toinspire role-play and oral storytelling with a partner before theyplan a longer story Encourage them to use problem-solvingstrategies as they plan their story Ask them how the setting wouldaffect some of the actions they plan, and invite them to figure outways 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

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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 ownimaginary settings and characters through suggesting ideasfor imaginary settings, encouraging them to imagine howcharacters can cross from one setting into another, imaginaryone – and return from it, providing ideas for creating differentatmospheres and suggesting how to develop characters

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 andbehaves differently from the others Encourage the children to userole-play to explore these problems and to find solutions thatmake 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 herquestions What do they want to know? Encourage them to think

up interesting answers that show that the alien has a completelydifferent 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 asetting The children use imagination and their ideas frompage 24 to create a setting and to envisage the problems theymight face (through misunderstanding or ignorance) when they

go there Ask them to imagine the alien’s home and family (theycould make a labelled drawing of it) and to record their ideasand the problems or difficulties they face They can then writethe narrative and dialogue of the scene using the ‘starter’ onpage 26 as a model to help them to include details that help tocreate a realistic setting Make it clear that the description of theplanet on page 26 is just one version of what it could be like onthe 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 discussthe issue on their card with a partner and consider what thecharacter 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 ‘storymountain’ format helps the children to structure a story inparagraphs or chapters The story could develop from a card onpage 27 Encourage the children to make brief notes of what mighthappen and to build up tension by exploring the scenario on thecard 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 nothave completed that page or page 28 It will help them to writedialogue 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 ordilemmas a character might have to face and incorporatethem into stories They have opportunities to consider theconsequences of different choices You could link with thesewith work in citizenship on choices The activities could beused in sequence to help the children to plan and write astory based on one of the cards on page 27

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 factualrecount They support the children in planning this The boardgame (page 35) should be used with the cards (page 36) Thechildren will finish the game with a collection of random cards.They should all begin planning from ‘START’, in which theytravel by bus to the theme park, and should end with ‘FINISH’ inwhich they return by bus They choose how to order the othercards They could swap some cards with one another in order

to achieve a realistic structure for the day, especially if some ofthem 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 inthe past tense and the first person, since this is a personalrecount, as if they have visited the theme park They can findout more about a theme park and rides (including videos of therides and a pictorial map of the site on www.altontowers.comand www.atmania.com) Encourage them to make the recountinteresting 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 Itdevelops the children’s learning about journalistic writing inwhich 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 inanother subject) The conclusion can include a summary of theprovision for visitors to the theme park, the people it is likely toattract, 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 Itfocuses on the structure of a newspaper recount: a headline toprovide a brief indication of what a story is about and attractreaders; the introduction to orientate the reader, the main part ofthe story, which recounts the story; and the conclusion, whichsums it up and might add an opinion or a comment about whathas 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 tookplace and the people involved and the distinction betweenfact 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 presenttense, say sentences using the notes, in the past tense, such asKhalipathar was a village in Orissa It had a monsoon climateetc and then do something similar using the future tense or firstperson Invite children to comment on the effect/purpose

Report improver (page 44) This activity develops skills in

editing down and rewording sentences or paragraphs bydeleting the less important elements, such as repetition, andexplaining the editorial choices Ask the children whether theythink the report is split correctly into paragraphs and, if not,which sentences they would move to different paragraphs Afterthis they could go through a similar process in pairs or smallgroups with a piece of their own writing Model how to improvethe first two sentences by ‘thinking aloud’

Weather words glossary (page 45) This develops an

understanding of how to organise an alphabetically-ordered textand write brief definitions of words The children could writeglossaries 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 couldalso write questions for others to answer using the chart: forexample, Which villages should a tourist interested in Romanremains visit? Which villages might have developed becausethey were close to rivers? Which sites might have been chosenbecause 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 totexts: the children could use the chart to help them to analysetheir 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 isbased on fiction, but the children can invent explanations based

on what they can see and what they know the machine doesfrom the film They should use the present tense and begin with

a general statement: for example, This is a machine that makesshirts 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 TheShirt Machine by Jon Davis, which can be viewed on JonDavis’s website www.jonsmind.com The children can alsoexplore the website to find out how the idea arose, how thefilm was created and to look at still pictures from the film Thiscan 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 theanimal or not to treat it as a pest Help them to compile a list ofpersuasive 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 childrenare asked to identify the positive comments and to use thesenotes to help them to write persuasive sentences to convincereaders 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 ofthe introduction (to orientate readers and encourage them toread on) It also develops skills in using adverbs andconjunctions to establish cohesion within and betweenparagraphs

The pop festival: complaint (page 54) This helps the children

to choose and combine words for a particular effect It alsodevelops skills in using adverbs and conjunctions to establishcohesion within and between paragraphs Discuss how somearticles in newspapers do not simply describe events but alsotry to change people’s opinion Show examples of editorialsfrom 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 byreading the examples aloud and asking the children whichsounds the more persuasive Draw out that the first is too longand 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 longsentences, but short sharp exclamations and sentences areeffective because they give information quickly and soundinteresting

Poetry

Creating images

Your similes and Compare it (pages 56–57) These pages

develop the children’s skills in using imagination to createemphasis and choosing and combining words for particulareffects A comparison uses the word ‘like’ to compare oneperson, object, place or idea with another; a simile uses ‘as’ toliken 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 vividpicture for the reader They also have opportunities to writepoems 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

The children should first read poems containing similes and

notice how poets use them to create a vivid image You could

compare the similes used by poets to some of the standard

similes which have become clichés and which do not create

vivid images: for example, as right as rain, as heavy as lead, as

dull as ditchwater Encourage the children to note down all the

similes they can think of for each line They could work in

groups, taking turns to act as scribe and should read their

similes aloud to check their effects Examples (similes): A frown

as stern as a glaring sergeant-major/an ugly stone carving;

eyes as cold as splinters of lead/pencil points; hair as soft as a

curtain of velvet/a sheet of silk; a room as cold as a cave in a

cliff/a stone tomb; a house as cosy as a cat’s basket/Santa’s

kitchen; a quilt as colourful as a rainbow in the sky/a flock of

parrots; (comparisons): (narrow eyes) eyes like thin

letterboxes/slits in a castle wall; (fierce eyes) eyes like flashing

warning lights/headlights/glaring burners; (big long teeth) teeth

like tall milestones/slabs of stone; (big fierce teeth) teeth like

splinters/the edge of a giant saw; (small white teeth) teeth like

pearls/beads of dew; (rows of sharp fearsome teeth) teeth like

the blades of saws/an army with pikes; (short coarse brown hair

that stands up on end) hair like a scrubbing brush/a bristling

hedgehog; (long black silky hair with a slight wave) hair like

ripples in a deep pool/black silk ribbon; (very short blonde curly

hair) hair like golden bubbles/froth on custard; (short spiky

chestnut hair) hair like points (introduce ‘shards’) of brown

glass/spears of toffee

Coloured images (page 58) This develops an understanding of

how to choose and combine words for particular effects It also

deepens the children’s appreciation of the connotations of

words as they experiment with different adjectives to enhance

colours and compare the effects they create, for example: fresh,

moist green; dull, murky green; sharp, piercing green; fresh,

warm blue; frozen, shivering blue; merry, dancing blue; fresh,

living yellow; cracked, dusty yellow; stained, brownish yellow;

gleaming, burnished black; dank, gloomy black; opaque,

bottomless black

Model poem (page 59) This helps the children to write their

own simple poem based on one they have read and analysed

and to show imagination through language used to create

images Before they read the poem they could look at a

pictorial calendar showing a seasonal image for each month

and make notes about the main features of each month After

reading the poem they could use the calendar pictures and

their notes to help them to imagine each month: for example,

they might think of conkers in October, a bonfire in November

and a snowman in December They can then make notes of

useful rhyming words

An image in a verse (page 60) The focus here is on showing

imagination through language used to create the image of abird feeding In addition to reading the model poem the childrencould observe birds feeding (in the school grounds or on theInternet Bird Collection website http://ibc.hbw.com/ibc/) Theycould then enact the movement of a bird similar to the one inthe poem: for example, a wagtail, blackbird, starling or sparrow.They should notice how the poem captures its movement ofhurrying around, stopping, glancing about and feeding Then letthem observe a cow grazing (if there are none nearby, seewww.magheramore.com/farm.php,

www.ukagriculture.com/multimedia/farming pictures)

Exploring form

Poetic prayers (page 61) This presents a model on which the

children can base their own non-rhyming prayer poems It could

be linked with work in religious education: discuss the purposes

of prayers (for example, to thank, ask for something, ask forhelp or praise God) The children could read and classifyprayers from different religions and some from no specificreligion, according to their purposes After making notes aboutwhat they want to say thank you for, they can list useful wordsand phrases They should try to write a prayer poem with thesame rhythm as the original and starting each verse withThanks

Fairy-tale poem: 1 and 2 (pages 62–63) These pages provide

a model on which the children can base their own ballad, and astructure to help them to write their poem A well-known story issuggested (Little Red Riding Hood) so that the children canconcentrate on the form of the poem For a more challengingactivity you could delete some of the ‘line starters’

How many miles to Babylon? (page 64) This encourages the

children to show imagination through language used to createhumour It provides a model on which they can base their own

‘silly’ question-and-answer poem Suggestions to help them toget started on the extension activity: How many clouds in thesky? How many hairs on a dog? How many stars in theheavens? Encourage fantastical ideas as in the model poem:How many fish in the ocean? – Enough to fry for tea – Can Icatch them all in a net – Yes, and cook them for me

11

This section focuses on poetic form (arrangement, length andnumber of lines, rhyme pattern and rhythm) and providesmodels and ideas to help the children write poems withdifferent forms: prayers, a ballad with a repeated chorus and

a question-and-answer poem with lines 2 and 4 rhyming

_

Using the CD-ROM

12

The CD-ROM included with this book contains an

easy-to-use software program that allows you to print out

pages from the book, to view them (e.g on an interactive

whiteboard) or to customise the activities to suit the

needs of your pupils

Getting started

It's easy to run the software Simply insert the CD-ROM

into your CD drive and the disk should autorun and

launch the interface in your web browser

If the disk does not autorun, open 'My Computer' and

select the CD drive, then open the file 'start.html'

Please note: this CD-ROM is designed for use on a PC It

will also run on most Apple Macintosh computers in

Safari however, due to the differences between Mac and

PC fonts, you may experience some unavoidable

variations in the typography and page layouts of the

activity sheets

The Menu screen

Four options are available to you from the main menu

screen

The first option takes you to the Activity Sheets screen,

where you can choose an activity sheet to edit or print out

using Microsoft Word

(If you do not have the Microsoft Office suite, you might

like to consider using OpenOffice instead This is a

multi-platform and multi-lingual office suite, and an

'open-source' project It is compatible with all other major office

suites, and the product is free to download, use and

distribute The homepage for OpenOffice on the Internet

is: www.openoffice.org.)

The second option on the main menu screen opens a

PDF file of the entire book using Adobe Reader (see

below) This format is ideal for printing out copies of the

activity sheets or for displaying them, for example on an

interactive whiteboard

The third option allows you to choose a page to edit from

a text-only list of the activity sheets, as an alternative to

the graphical interface on the Activity Sheets screen

Adobe Reader is free to download and to use If it is notalready installed on your computer, the fourth link takesyou to the download page on the Adobe website

You can also navigate directly to any of the three screens

at any time by using the tabs at the top

The Activity Sheets screen

This screen shows thumbnails of all the activity sheets inthe book Rolling the mouse over a thumbnail highlightsthe page number and also brings up a preview image

of the page

Click on the thumbnail to open a version of the page inMicrosoft Word (or an equivalent software program, seeabove.) The full range of editing tools are available to youhere to customise the page to suit the needs of yourparticular pupils You can print out copies of the page orsave a copy of your edited version onto your computer

The Index screen

This is a text-only version of the Activity Sheets screendescribed above Choose an activity sheet and click onthe 'download' link to open a version of the page inMicrosoft Word to edit or print out

Technical support

If you have any questions regarding the 100% NewDeveloping Literacy or Developing Mathematics software,please email us at the address below We will get back toyou as quickly as possible

educationalsales@acblack.com

100% New Developing Literacy Creating and Shaping Texts:

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Teachers’ note Ask the children to imagine the scene Invite volunteers to talk about what is going

on in sections of the picture The children can then choose a main character and other characters in

the scene, give them names and make notes about their experiences and the events in the scene.

13

A story in Ancient Egypt

It is harvest time in the Nile Valley.

What might happen here?

• Write notes for a story.

Give the main characters names.

Weighing the grain

What if some has gone missing?

Why are the children fighting? What might happen next?

100% New Developing Literacy Creating and Shaping Texts: Ages 8–9

© A & C BLACK

Teachers’ note Copy a set 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

14

Egyptian story cards

Characters

A scribe named Soros

A rich girl named Teteimhotep

A peasant boy named

Nakhte

A cat named Nef

A peasant girl named Tefnakhte

A rich boy named Bakenptah

Settings

The Great Pyramid of Giza Soros the scribe’s house A vineyard

100% New Developing Literacy Creating and Shaping Texts:

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Teachers’ note Ask the children to imagine they are walking along this street and to describe what

they see, hear, feel and smell They could pick out and name a character from the scene, and talk

about what the character is doing Ask them to think about how he or she might respond to what is

going on They could even improvise dialogue. 15

Tudor story

• Discuss the picture with a friend.

• Write the opening paragraph of a story set here.

Which important person from history might appear on the scene? Why?

• Make notes about what happens.

100% New Developing Literacy Creating and Shaping Texts: Ages 8–9

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Teachers’ note The children could begin by discussing their characters with a partner 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

100% New Developing Literacy Creating and Shaping Texts:

Ages 8–9

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Teachers’ note It is useful, but not essential, for the children first to complete page 16 They could

begin by working in threes, each of them identifying with a child in the picture and talking about

what is going on, what they are doing, where they are going and how they feel about it.

17

Evacuation story: 2

• Act the scene with a friend.

• Write the dialogue.

Where are the children? When?

What is it like there? Where are they going?

How do they feel? What are they saying?

• Write the opening of a story.

Use the past tense.

Write in the third person (he or she).

Use describing words.

Use connectives: after that, first, next, then, when, while.

NOW TRY

THIS!

100% New Developing Literacy Creating and Shaping Texts: Ages 8–9

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Teachers’ note Encourage the children to 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.

• Write the new verbs in the gaps.

• Write the next four paragraphs.

• Use powerful verbs.

Verb-bank

arranged charged charging cracked dashed enjoyed flapped gazed hated noticed ran rolling rose running rushed saw searched sped spied spotted spread stood strolled thundered thundering

shopping trip, when she would look at all the goods that had

come from all over the Roman Empire.

In one stall, huge clay bottles of oil were in a

row along the wall; in another, beautiful glassware had been put

on a piece of silk.

before they sold out.

dusty street.The riders were in a hurry and used

into the air.

away She thought she knew one of them.

The verb-bank will help

NOW TRY

THIS!

100% New Developing Literacy Creating and Shaping Texts:

Ages 8–9

© A & C BLACK

Teachers’ note Copy and cut out the cards or display them on an interactive whiteboard The

children could print a card that gives the setting and scenario for a story (or, if using cut-out cards,

glue it on to a sheet of paper) They could then invent and key in (or, if using paper, write)

additional details about the setting and about what might happen there. 19

Imaginary worlds

The planet Heracles

The force of gravity is ten times

that of Earth Heracles is covered

with water, with four enormous

islands: Purpuris, where the

people have light purple skin and

dark purple eyes and hair;Verdis,

where they are green; Jaunus

(yellow) and Rufus (red).

Anumera

In the land of Anumera there are

no numbers No one counts anything.There is no money and

no way of measuring anything: for example, weight, length, temperature Instead the people

just describe things.

Wellfonda

Wellfonda is at the bottom of a

deep well.There is no water in

the well, just miles and miles of

tunnels going in all directions.

There are towns and villages in

the tunnels, and the people who

live there never see more than a

few beams of daylight.

Ephemeria

Ephemeria is a land that lasts only for a day Everything has to

be completed in twenty-four hours before it disappears and then reforms in a different way and in a different place Only a few people can travel from one Ephemeria to another.

Shadow people

The shadow people are the

shadows of humans.When human

shadows cannot be seen (at night

or even when the light is not

bright enough) the shadow

people come to life.The owners

of the shadows find strange

things happening around them.

Triplex

There are three ‘worlds’ that exist at the same time in the same places Most of the people

of these worlds cannot tell that the others are there.They know nothing about them, but

Crawford, Minetta, Saul and Tanya have discovered the secret.

Rhymeria

The people of Rhymeria always speak in rhymes.They cannot understand normal speech that does not rhyme.A character goes to Rhymeria and has to learn the language so that he can teach it to others and so that the Rhymerians cannot tell that he is a stranger.

Through the book case

In a secret compartment in the

bookcase is a small golden key

that opens a tiny door just ten

centimetres high.The door leads

to a beautiful land where the sun

always shines and no one ever

harms anyone But no one has

been able to get through the tiny

door.

Humanacats

Humanacats were once humans.

They look like ordinary cats and sound almost like them but their meows sound like some kind of language.They understand everything humans do Dr Phizz and his assistant,Tara, are trying

to find out more about them.

Trainline

A train stops at Platform 2 of Euston station in London It is supposed to be going to Liverpool but it never gets there.

It disappears but some of the people on it begin to send messages to their families and friends No one knows where the train is.

100% New Developing Literacy Creating and Shaping Texts: Ages 8–9

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20

Another world

Teachers’ note Discuss what might be meant by ‘another world’ with reference to stories in which

characters move from one ‘world’ to another – and how they do this (see Introduction page 6).

Encourage them to use the term transit for this movement The children could then think up ideas

for Crawford’s movements between the two worlds.

• Read the passage and imagine that Crawford can

move into another ‘world’ How does he do this?

• Write in the Transit box.

• Rewrite the passage to describe

what the other world is like.

• Make notes about what might happen in the other world and how Crawford could return to his own world.

Fifteen… sixteen… seventeen… eighteen….

nineteen… twenty pike jumps, one after the other.

That was a record He would get to thirty before

long Crawford practised on his trampoline every

afternoon after school, unless it rained too heavily.

He began to bounce again On each bounce he

caught a glimpse of the High Street He could hear

the rumble of traffic: the heavy lumbering sound of

a lorry, the grind of a bus, an impatient hoot In the garden, three shirts flapped on the rotary

clothesline – two white and one pale blue.The gate was open He could see his mother’s small

Volkswagen on the flagged driveway.The door was open and she was unloading blue and white striped carrier bags He could hear the thud of plastic bottles of spring water and the clank of a glass jar.

Transit

In the other world

The other world could be in the past

or in the future.

How does Crawford move into the other world?

NOW TRY

THIS!

100% New Developing Literacy Creating and Shaping Texts:

Ages 8–9

© A & C BLACK

Teachers’ note The children could work in pairs or in small groups split into two 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

Scene setters

• Complete the two scene setters.

• Make one house a happy place.

• Make the other one a creepy place.

Word-bank and phrase-bank

• Write the next paragraph.

Happy house

As Simon

filled the flowerbeds and

.

around.There were pictures of

on the walls and in the centre of the room

Creepy house

windows As Simon

filled the flowerbeds

around.There were pictures of

on the walls and in the centre of the room was

NOW TRY

THIS!

100% New Developing Literacy Creating and Shaping Texts: Ages 8–9

© A & C BLACK

Teachers’ note The 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.

22

Good and evil character builder

• Can you tell whether the character in the passage

is good or evil?

• Explain your answer.

• Rewrite the passage to

make the character good.

• Rewrite the passage to

make the character evil.

Word-bank

Nouns

eyes fingernails glance hair hands

Verbs

fiddled gazed glared hissed looked shifted smiled sniffed stepped shuffled sidled strode twitched

Adjectives

clear grimy mean-looking open

scruffy shifty shuffled sly still

Adverbs

briskly brusquely sideways slyly

A man came into the room and sat at the table He was about 30 years old and

wore a blue tweed jacket, dark blue trousers, a light blue shirt and a navy blue tie

with tiny white spots He sat in the armchair and turned to face me.

“Hello,” he said “My name is Charles Porterhouse I have some important news

for you.”

NTT a/w

You could change some of the words or add new ones

• Try to improve each passage by adding other words of your own.

NOW TRY

THIS!

100% New Developing Literacy Creating and Shaping Texts:

Ages 8–9

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Teachers’ note The children could begin by imagining the alien arriving in their classroom – 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. 23

• Plan the rest of the story.

What problems might there be?

How could they be resolved?

How might the story end?

• Write in note form.

An alien came to school

• Write the opening

Monday morning Children seated at tables.Teacher checks

register Door opens In walks alien.Teacher greets her & shows

her where to sit.Teacher doesn’t seem to notice alien looks

different from other children.

Think about the alien’s culture.

How might it be different from the children’s culture?

You could first act this with your group.

NOW TRY

THIS!

100% New Developing Literacy Creating and Shaping Texts: Ages 8–9

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Teachers’ note It is useful if the children have first completed page 23 They could first spend five

minutes or so talking to a partner about the alien Ask them to write three questions to ask, in

order to find out more about the alien and his or her home They could pass them to a partner to

answer or make up their own answers

24

Ask the alien

What do the children want to know about the alien’s

culture?

• Write their questions.

• Write the answers.

• Write the part of the story where the alien faces a problem.

NOW TRY

THIS!

100% New Developing Literacy Creating and Shaping Texts:

Ages 8–9

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Teachers’ note The children should first complete page 24 They could begin by making sketches of

the alien at home and, in groups, enact the journey to the alien’s home and the meeting with his or

her family Encourage them to describe the alien’s home They could enact the scene in which they

arrive there and meet the alien’s family 25

Going home with the alien

An alien invites some children from Earth

to her home.

• Imagine the scene when they arrive.

• Write notes about the scene.

• Write what happens: narrative and dialogue.

• Check the connectives

in your story.

• See if you can improve them.

Notes

Think about home life customs beliefs

What other connectives could you use?

NOW TRY

THIS!

100% New Developing Literacy Creating and Shaping Texts: Ages 8–9

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Teachers’ note The children should first complete pages 24–25 Reread their notes and recount of

their journey to the alien’s home and compare them with the opening passage on this page Discuss

how this helps the reader to picture the scene; focus on details that describe what can be seen and

heard and encourage them to continue in the same way.

26

The alien: scene setter

Continue the opening scene of the story.

What problem might the visitors face?

• Write the next part of the story.

Write some short and some long sentences.

“Look! There it is,” called Jellina “My home.”

All Simon and Hasanna could see were miles and miles of dust and rocks No houses,

no buildings of any kind.Then they noticed a few humps among the rocks – shaped humps, but still no buildings.

dome-There was a whirring sound, then a judder and a slight bump.The hatch of the

spaceship slid back A flight of steps slid down on to the dust and Jellina led the way.

Include dialogue.

Use

connectives.

Use interesting verbs.

Oh!

NOW TRY

THIS!

100% New Developing Literacy Creating and Shaping Texts:

Ages 8–9

© A & C BLACK

Teachers’ note You could ask the children to read a card aloud for the others to identify the issue A

different card could be given to each group for them to discuss what might happen next or to enact

and develop the scene for the others to watch Ask them about the choice the character made, and

the consequences of the choice See also page 28. 27

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

owner of the car is a friend

of Salim’s mother He hears

them talking about the

broken mirror.

On her way to the shops Rachel sees her next-door neighbour walking his dog.

He does not clean up when his dog fouls the pavement.

Rachel has seen this happen several times and the

pavement is becoming very dirty She sees him in the shop and they say hello.

Anna and Gemma take Gemma’s dog, Brock, for a walk Gemma tries to teach Brock some tricks but he does not understand what she wants him to do.

Gemma says he is being naughty and hits him with a stick.

James has been telling his friends that a famous footballer is his uncle.This is not true His friends are very impressed because James tells them all kinds of things they did not know about the footballer One day they see that the footballer is signing books in a local shop They ask James to introduce them

to him.

Lee does not want to go to

school on Monday because

two older boys have told

him to bring £5 for them

every Monday, or they will

‘get him’.This Monday he has

no money, so he is scared.

He pretends to be ill.

Three of Leah’s friends have new iPods Leah wants one but she knows her mother cannot afford it She sees one on a bench in the park.

The owner left it with a friend while he played football, but the friend has gone off and forgotten about

it No one would notice if Leah took it.

Asma has said that she will

go to her best friend Nina’s

party.Then she has the

chance to go to watch a

ballet with her auntie on the

same day She loves ballet

and really wants to go Her

auntie cannot get tickets for

another day.

Ben’s dad said that he will pay him £10 for delivering leaflets to houses in the neighbourhood His friend Jack asks him to join his football team Ben says he can’t because he has promised to deliver the leaflets Jack says,“Just dump them.Your dad won’t know.”

Janine has borrowed her mum’s favourite bag without asking her She takes it to her friend’s house On the way home she leaves it in a shop She goes back and searches for it but cannot find it.The next day, Janine hears her mum saying to her dad,“I have to find it.There

is £300 hidden in the lining.”

100% New Developing Literacy Creating and Shaping Texts: Ages 8–9

© A & C BLACK

Teachers’ note The children should first have chosen and discussed or enacted a scene from a card

from page 27 They can then use this ‘story mountain’ to make notes on the main events of the story

so far and to plan their own story in a way that builds up to a climax and resolves a problem They

then compare their ideas.

100% New Developing Literacy Creating and Shaping Texts:

Ages 8–9

© A & C BLACK

Teachers’ note Read the passage with the children and discuss the problem James has caused for

himself Ask why his hands felt very hot and damp and what he could choose to do Identify the

past tense verbs and the pronouns that indicate that the story is narrated in the third person Ask

The issue: story dialogue

• Continue the dialogue for

the start of the story.

Use the past tense.

What happened next?

• Write about a problem in the story.

James tells his friends that a famous footballer is his uncle.This is not true.

“Any swaps?” Runa asked James, as they came into the playground She had a box of football stickers James opened his schoolbag and pulled out a fat envelope Harry and Emma picked up the ball they were kicking about and came to look.

“I’ve got four of Mark MacTier,” he said “He gives them to my dad for me,” he added with a slight swagger.

“Who – Mark MacTier?” asked Runa, her eyes open wide.

“Yes – he’s my uncle,” said James.There was a slight smile on his face as the others gazed

at him with their mouths open.The palms of his hands felt very hot and damp.

NOW TRY

THIS!

100% New Developing Literacy Creating and Shaping Texts: Ages 8–9

© A & C BLACK

Teachers’ note The children 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

Teachers’ note Encourage the children to imagine a scene in which a teacher turns into a parrot.

Ask them to plan a play that begins with this scene They 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. 31

Characters and setting

• Plan a play about the day the

teacher turned into a parrot.

• List the characters’ names and

write some information about

each of them.

• Describe the setting of the play.

The day the teacher turned into a parrot

• Write notes about what might happen in the play.

NOW TRY

THIS!

100% New Developing Literacy Creating and Shaping Texts: Ages 8–9

© A & C BLACK

Teachers’ note The children should first complete page 31 Make notes about how the problem

grows and how it might be resolved Which characters might help? The children should refer to their

notes to consider the ending and the roles of the other characters (page 31) They might want to

alter or remove some of the characters they originally listed.