Lesson video

Hi everyone.

My name is Miss Boyle, and welcome to today's lesson, where you are going to be writing the opening of your narrative based on "The Iron Man." You have already written a plan for your opening, and it is important you use this to support you with your writing today.

Pause the video, and make sure you have your plan with you now.

Great, now I know you have your plan with you.

During this lesson, you'll need to be listening and looking carefully.

There'll be tasks where you need somebody to talk to.

And you will also need a piece of paper and pen or pencil for writing your opening.

I hope you are feeling excited and ready to learn.

Let's get started.

The learning outcome for today's lesson is I can write the opening of "The Iron Man." Here are our key words for today's lesson.

Let's practise saying them.

My turn, your turn.

Opening, atmosphere, ambitious vocabulary, fronted adverbials.

Great job, well done.

Let's look at their definitions.

The opening is the first section of a story where the writer describes the setting and the main characters.

The atmosphere refers to the mood created in a section or whole of a text.

Ambitious vocabulary is high level language in writing that meets the text's purpose.

And fronted adverbials are sentence starters that are followed by a comma.

There are two parts to today's lesson.

In the first part, we will be preparing to write.

And in the second part, you will be writing the opening.

So let's begin with preparing to write.

"The Iron Man" can be structured like this: opening, buildup, climax, resolution.

The main purpose of the opening is to engage the reader.

You will achieve this by introducing the protagonist and conveying a mysterious atmosphere within the setting.

You have already written a plan to support you with this.

Your narrative opening needs to include the following linguistic features.

Precise and ambitious vocabulary that conveys a mysterious atmosphere, this should include a range of verbs, adjectives, adverbs and nouns.

You also need to include a range of sentence types in your writing, and the use of fronted adverbials.

You should use fronted adverbials of time, place and manner.

Linguistic features are types of words and language that a writer chooses carefully.

We can use the notes from our plan to form full sentences.

These notes contain precise and ambitious vocabulary for the key moments in the opening, and fronted adverbials.

Make sure you use your notes to support you.

The following model contains a range of fronted adverbials.

I will read this to you, listen carefully.

"In the dusk of night, "a gigantic, strange life form "appeared on the very edge of a sheer cliff.

"As strong gusts of wind howled, "his iron body swayed.

"The Iron Man curiously gazed out "at the vast, restless ocean, "and he silently took a step forward.

"Fiercely, he plunged towards the ground.

"Across the rocky beach, "the Iron Giant's body lay spread out in broken pieces." A fronted adverbial is a sentence starter followed by a comma.

Can you spot the fronted adverbials in this model? Pause the video and see if you can find them.

Hopefully, you spotted, "In the dusk of night." This is a fronted adverbial of time.

And fiercely, this is a fronted adverbial of manner.

And, "Across the rocky beach," this is a fronted adverbial of place.

Fronted adverbials provide greater detail about the main clause that follows, and they support text flow.

Here are some examples of fronted adverbials of time.

In the middle of night, just then, at sunrise.

Here are some examples of fronted adverbials of place.

On top of a cliff, across the rocky beach, in the depths of the sea.

And here are some examples of fronted adverbials of manner.

Curiously, without sound or warning, fiercely.

All of these will be helpful for your writing today.

Let's check your understanding.

Match the fronted adverbial to the appropriate main clause.

The fronted adverbials are A, "At dusk," B, "With a crashing sound," and C, "In the depths of the sea." The main clauses are, "His great iron body landed on the rocky beach below," "the great Iron Man disappeared," and, "A mysterious colossal figure emerged "on top of a steep cliff." Pause the video and match the fronted adverbial to the correct main clause now.

Let's take a look at the answers together.

A, "At dusk, a mysterious colossal figure emerged "on top of a steep cliff." B, "With a crashing sound, "his great iron body landed on the rocky beach below." And C, "In the depths of the sea, "the great Iron Man disappeared." Well done for demonstrating your understanding of how to use different fronted adverbials.

Using a range of sentences in our writing helps with text flow.

I will read this model to you again.

"In the dusk of night, "a gigantic, strange life form appeared "on the very edge of a sheer cliff.

"As strong gusts of wind howled, "his iron body swayed.

"The Iron Man curiously gazed out at the vast restless ocean "and he silently took a step forward.

"Fiercely, he plunged towards the ground.

"Across the rocky beach, "the iron giant's body lays spread out in broken pieces." Let's take a look at the different types of sentences in this model.

The first sentence is an example of a simple sentence because it contains one main clause.

The next sentence is an example of an adverbial complex sentence because it begins with an adverbial clause, "As strong gusts of wind howled." And because the adverbial clause comes first, there is a comma to separate it from the main clause.

And a bit further down, we can see a sentence containing the coordinating conjunction and, which means this is a compound sentence.

Let's remind ourselves of the rules for simple and compound sentences.

A sentence made of just one main clause with just one idea is called a simple sentence.

It contains one main clause.

A compound sentence is a sentence formed of two main clauses and a coordinating conjunction.

Main clause, coordinating conjunction, and, or or but, followed by another main clause.

Let's now remind ourselves of the rules for an adverbial complex sentence.

When an adverbial subordinates clause is joined to a main clause, it makes an adverbial complex sentence.

The main clause can come first and then be followed by the subordinate clause, or the subordinate clause can come at the beginning of the sentence with a comma to separate it from the main clause that follows.

An adverbial clause must begin with a subordinating conjunction.

For example, as, when or so.

These subordinating conjunctions will be useful for your narrative opening.

Let's check your understanding.

Match the sentence types to the correct example.

Our sentence types are A, simple sentence, B, compound sentence, C, adverbial complex sentence.

The sentence examples are, "When morning came, "the Iron Man mustered the strength to reassemble himself." "His body broke apart, "and the pieces lay spread across the rocky beach." "Fiercely, he plunged towards the ground." Pause the video, and match the sentence type to the correct example now.

Let's take a look at the answers together.

The simple sentence is, "Fiercely, he plunged towards the ground." This contains just one main clause.

The compound sentence is, "His body broke apart, "and the pieces lay spread across the rocky beach." This contains two main clauses with the coordinating conjunction and to join them.

And the adverbial complex sentence is, "When morning came, "the Iron Man mustered the strength to reassemble himself." This sentence begins with an adverbial subordinate clause, "When morning came." Well done for demonstrating your understanding of the different sentence types.

It's now time for your first task, and it is a talk task.

Say the first few sentences of your narrative opening.

Make sure you use your plan, and include the following.

Introduce the protagonist and set the scene.

Make sure you include precise and ambitious vocabulary, conveying a mysterious atmosphere.

And make sure you use a range of sentence types, including the use of fronted adverbials.

You can use these sentence starters to help you.

You could begin with a fronted adverbial, followed by, "A colossal unknown creature emerged." The next sentence could begin, "His iron body seemed unsteady, as," and here, you can complete the adverbial subordinate clause.

Pause the video and orally rehearse your sentences now.

Welcome back.

I really enjoyed listening to you orally rehearsing your sentences for your opening.

Let's take a look at a good example together.

"On the edge of a jagged cliff, "a colossal unknown creature emerged.

"His iron body seemed unsteady "as he swayed in the sea breeze.

"Curiously, his eyes were transfixed "on the wild, vast ocean below.

"Without warning, the Iron Man stepped one foot forward, "and he hurtled downwards.

"When his body hit the ground, "it broke into fragments across the rocky beach." Let's take a look at how the linguistic features we have discussed appear.

So the first sentence introduces the protagonist and sets the scene.

"On the edge of a jagged cliff, "a colossal unknown creature emerged." For precise and ambitious vocabulary conveying a mysterious atmosphere, we can see that the creature is referred to as colossal and unknown.

It says that, "He seemed unsteady as he swayed.

"His eyes were transfixed on the wild, vast ocean below." And for a range of sentence types, including the use of fronted adverbials.

The first sentence is an example of a simple sentence.

The second sentence is an example of an adverbial complex sentence.

"His iron body seemed unsteady "as he swayed in the sea breeze." As is the subordinating conjunction used to begin the adverbial clause.

And then a bit further down, we can also see an example of a compound sentence.

"Without warning, the Iron Man stepped one foot forward, "and he hurtled downwards." Here, the coordinating conjunction, and, was used to join two main clauses.

And for the use of fronted adverbials, we can see, "On the edge of a jagged cliff." That's a fronted adverbial of place.

We can see curiously, which is a fronted adverbial of manner.

And we can see without warning, which is another fronted adverbial of manner.

Well done for orally rehearsing your sentences for your opening.

We've now come to the second and most exciting part of the lesson, where you will be writing the opening.

When we write, we always try to do these things.

Plan and say each sentence before we write it.

Use punctuation where we know the rules.

Vary our sentence types.

Write letters neatly on the line in joined handwriting.

Sound out words to spell them accurately.

And read our sentences out loud to check they make sense, and edit to improve our writing if necessary.

Here is the success criteria for your writing today.

Listen carefully, I will read it to you.

I have introduced the protagonist and set the scene in the opening.

I have used precise and ambitious vocabulary from my plan to convey a mysterious atmosphere.

I have used at least two fronted adverbials.

And I have written a range of sentence types, simple, compound and complex, to improve text flow.

You'll use the notes from your plan for writing today.

Pause the video now, and make sure you have these with you.

Great, now I know you have your notes ready.

I am now going to share with you a model of the first few sentences of the opening.

And then I'm going to need your help checking my writing against the success criteria.

"One dusky evening, "a towering, unfamiliar life form "appeared on the very edge of a sharp cliff.

"As his huge iron body rocked back and forth, "he gazed out at the expansive, wild sea.

"In a silent and sudden movement, "the Iron Man took a step into the open air." Can you now check my writing against the success criteria? Can you spot where I've met each point? Pause the video and discuss with your partner.

You were fantastic at spotting how I had met the success criteria, well done.

Let's go through the answers together.

For I have introduced the protagonist and set the scene in the opening, the very first sentence does this.

"One dusky evening, "a towering, unfamiliar life form "appeared on the very edge of a sharp cliff." So I can tick that.

For I have used precise and ambitious vocabulary from my plan, we can see, "One dusky evening, "a towering, unfamiliar life form.

"His body rocked back and forth.

"He gazed out at the expansive wild sea." So we can tick that.

For I have used at least two fronted adverbials, we can see, "One dusky evening, and we can also see, "In a silent and sudden movement." So we can tick that.

And for I have written a range of sentence types, the first sentence is an example of a simple sentence containing one main clause.

The next sentence begins with an adverbial subordinate clause, "As his huge iron body rocked back and forth." So that is an adverbial complex sentence.

And the final sentence is another simple sentence.

So I do have a range of sentence types, and I can tick this, but you were great at spotting that I haven't yet included a compound sentence, so I would want to make sure I do that next.

I hope you are feeling ready and excited because it is now your turn to write the opening.

Remember to indent the first sentence, and use the success criteria and your plan to help you structure your paragraph.

I will read the success criteria one more time.

I have introduced the protagonist and set the scene in the opening.

I have used precise and ambitious vocabulary from my plan to convey a mysterious atmosphere.

I have used at least two fronted adverbials.

And I have written a range of sentence types, simple, compound and complex, to improve text flow.

Pause the video and write the opening of your narrative now.

Welcome back.

Well done for concentrating so hard on writing your opening.

It's now time for you to read your writing back, to check it to make sense and edit any punctuation errors.

You should also check your writing against the success criteria, and tick each box when you are sure you have met it.

Pause the video and do this now.

Well done for reflecting on your writing and making any edits necessary.

I am sure you did a great job at meeting the success criteria.

Let's now take a look at a good example of the opening together.

"In the dusk of night, "a colossal, unusual life form emerged "on the edge of a steep cliff.

"Curiously, he gazed out at the vast, restless ocean.

"Without warning, the great Iron Man "stepped out into the open air, "and he plummeted to the ground below.

"Smash, across the rocky beach, "the giant robot's body parts lay scattered.

"When the sun rose, "the Iron Man finally gathered the strength "to locate the parts of his body "and piece himself back together.

"Captivated by the waves, "the mysterious Iron Man "gradually walked into the deep ocean "until he disappeared under the surface of the water." Let's now check this against the success criteria.

For introducing the protagonist and setting the scene in the opening, the first two sentences do this well.

"In the dusk of night, "a colossal, unusual life form "emerged on the edge of a steep cliff.

"Curiously, he gazed out at the vast, restless ocean." So we can tick that first point.

For precise and ambitious vocabulary, we can see it says, "He gazed out at the vast, restless ocean." "He plummeted," that's a really precise verb.

Smash is also a precise verb that's in capitals and grabs the reader's attention.

We can see the adjective rocky used to describe the beach.

It says, "His body parts lay scattered." And we can also see a really ambitious piece of vocabulary, captivated, to describe how the Iron Man's attention was taken by the sea.

So we can tick that point.

For at least two fronted adverbials, we can spot quite a few here.

We have, "In the dusk of night," which is a fronted adverbial of time.

Curiously and without warning are fronted adverbials of manner.

"Across the rocky beach," which is a fronted adverbial of place.

And, "Captivated by the waves," which is another fronted at burial of manner.

So we can tick that.

And for a range of sentence types, we can see that there is a sentence with the coordinating conjunction and.

"Without warning, the great Iron Man "stepped out into the open air, "and he plummeted to the ground below." So that is an example of a compound sentence.

We can see below that, an example of a simple sentence.

"Across the rocky beach, "the giant robot's body parts lay scattered." This contains just one main clause.

We can then see an example of an adverbial complex sentence.

"When the sun rose, "the Iron Man finally gathered the strength "to locate the parts of his body "and piece himself back together." And another adverbial complex sentence, this time with the adverbial clause coming second.

"Captivated by the waves, "the mysterious Iron Man "gradually walked into the deep ocean, "until he disappeared under the surface of the water." So we can tick that final point.

We've now come to the end of our lesson, so let's go over a summary together.

The opening of "The Iron Man" introduces the protagonist and conveys a mysterious atmosphere within the setting.

The use of precise and ambitious vocabulary engages the reader and conveys the mysterious atmosphere.

Using a range of sentence types supports text flow.

And fronted adverbials of time, place and manner add greater detail to a sentence and help convey the desired atmosphere.

Well done again for all of your hard work writing the opening of your narrative based on "The Iron Man." I have really enjoyed teaching you.