Lesson video

Hello, and welcome to this English lesson.

My name is Ms. Cashin, and this lesson is Unit 5, Lesson 1.

In this unit, we are going to be writing our very own recycled story.

We're going to use the story of "Baba Yaga" that we looked at in Unit 4, and we're going to make our own story where we create a character who has something taken from them and they need to go and get it back from a monster.

I cannot wait to get started and I cannot wait to see the amazing stories that you're going to come up with.

So let's see what we're going to be doing in our very first lesson.

We're going to start today's lesson by looking at a spelling activity.

Then we're going to start to think about some ideas for our very own story based on "Baba Yaga." Then we're going to put those ideas into a story matrix.

These are the things that you're going to need in our lesson today.

You need an exercise book or a piece of paper, and it'd be brilliant if you had a plain piece of paper for a story matrix.

You're going to need some things write with, so a pen or a pencil, and you're going to need your brilliant brain.

So let's get started with our spellings.

We are looking at this spelling, the uhl sound as L-E.

Let's do that sound.

Uhl, uhl, uhl.

Amazing.

Let's have a look at our first word.

Ooh, what could this be? Can you say it? Apple.

Let's have a think about how we would spell that.

There it is, A-P-P-L-E, apple.

And the uhl is made with the L-E at the end of the word.

Let's have a look at our next word.

Ooh, what could that be? Can't be stone, that doesn't have an uhl sound in it.

Can't be rock, that doesn't have a uhl sound in it.

Do you know what the word is? Can you tell me if you do? It's pebble.

There it is, P-E-B-B-L-E, pebble, and our uhl sound is spelled L-E.

Ooh, now this one was a bit tricky to find a picture for.

I want you to think about the size of the hedgehog.

Can't be small, that doesn't have a uhl sound.

Can't be tiny, that doesn't have an uhl sound.

Do you know what the word is? It's little.

L-I-T-T-L-E, little, and the uhl sound is spelled L-E.

Here's what you are going to do for your spelling activity.

I have got three pictures.

I want you to see if you can figure out what word is in each picture with an uhl sound at the end.

The one with the chairs and the TV is a bit of a tricky one because there are lots of things in that picture so you have to look carefully to find the thing with the uhl sound.

When you found them, write them down with your L-E at the end.

And your challenge is to write a sentence with each of those words to see if you can figure out what the spellings are.

Well done, super-spellers.

Let's have a look at what those words were.

Marble, bubble, and table, and all those words have got the L-E at the end to make the uhl sound.

You can pause the video now to check your spellings, and you can correct the ones that you did if you got any wrong.

Fantastic.

Let's have a look at what we're going to do next.

We're going to be thinking of ideas for our own story, and then we're going to do a story matrix as we go.

So the first thing that we need to do is get our story matrix ready, and our story matrix has got nine boxes.

So you need to get your piece of paper and split it into nine boxes.

You could do that by folding it in three one way and then in three the other way.

And then when you open it up, you will have your nine boxes.

So you could do it like that or you could do it with a ruler.

So go and make sure that you've got your story matrix ready.

So pause the video and then come back when you've done that.

Well done for getting your story matrix ready.

We are all ready to start thinking of some ideas.

So remember, this is a recycled story, so we're going to think about the story of Baba Yaga and what happens in it, but we're going to change some things to make it our very own story.

So we're going to start with where is it set.

Now we know that the story of "Baba Yaga" from Unit 4, that was set in the forest.

You could set your story in a forest, or you could set it in a jungle, you could set it in the desert, you could set it in the Antarctica.

You could set it anywhere that you want.

So I'm now going to show you what I choose for my story.

My story is going to be set in the Antarctica.

I've got an igloo, I've got the snowflakes, I've got the snow on the ground.

So you can choose absolutely anywhere that you would like to set your story.

Make sure it's a place that you think would be a really exciting place to have a story.

So pause the video and go and fill in your where box.

Well done, super-storytellers.

I would love to know where you have set your story.

I bet it's somewhere very exciting.

Right, let's have a look at our next box.

Who, who is going to be the main character in our story? We know that in "Baba Yaga," the main character was Olga.

You could have a boy, you could have a girl, I've got an old lady here.

You could have anyone that you want for your story.

I'm going to show you who I chose for my story.

So my character is called Elly.

And Elly, as you can see, is dressed up for the snow.

She's got a snow suit on and she's got her ice pick.

So you can have a think about who would live in your setting, what their name is, and anything else that you want to add about them.

So now you can pause the video and go and fill in your who box.

Well done, super-storytellers.

We already know where our story is going to be set and who our main character is going to be.

Now we're going to think about the precious thing that our character is going to have stolen from them.

Remember, in "Baba Yaga," Sergei is Olga's precious thing that is snatched away by those three big, black geese who'd take him to Baba Yaga's cottage.

So there are a few different ideas.

You could have a baby brother or a baby sister in your story if you would like to, but there are some other ideas here as well.

I've got here a big diamond.

I thought you could have something very, very valuable, maybe something very expensive, some jewellery or some gold or something like that.

I've also got here a dog, so I thought you could have a pet that is stolen.

I've got a teddy bear because I thought you could have a toy that is stolen.

And I've also got some photos that represent things that are sentimental to us, things that are really important because of who gave them to us or what they remind us of.

So there might be something really precious of sentimental value that you don't want to have stolen either.

So there are a few different ideas there for things that could be your character's precious thing.

Here's what I chose.

I chose to give Elly a pet.

She's got a wolf pup called Buster, and he is going to be snatched away.

So that's my precious thing.

So you can now pause the video and have a think about what does your character own, what is their precious thing that they're going to go and get back when it is stolen? Well done for filling in what your precious thing is going to be.

So we already know where our story is going to be set, who our main character is going to be, and what their precious object is.

Now we're going to move on to my favourite bit of our story matrix.

We get to think about our monster.

Who are we going to have as our monster? We know that in "Baba Yaga," the monster is a witch, and you could have a witch as well, maybe a different sort of witch.

I've got some other ideas here, but just like with everything on our story matrix, it is completely up to you and your amazing imagination.

So I've got a bat here.

I thought you could have a vampire or another kind of scary animal.

I've got a dragon who breathes fire, maybe he'd lived in a cage.

I've got an alien here as well.

So those are three ideas.

I'm really excited now to show you the monster that I'm going to have.

So I've got a Yeti.

And I thought that a Yeti, enormous and tall and covered in hair, would be a really great monster to have in my snowy setting.

And I've given him some very sharp teeth as well and some sharp claws.

So it's now time for you to think about the monster that you would like.

You could think about where your story is set and the monster that would go really well in that setting.

So you can pause the video now and put your monster in the box.

Well done, super-storytellers.

I'm sure that you have got a really terrifying monster now.

Our next box is a little bit different.

We are looking at the problem in the story.

Remember, the problem in "Baba Yaga" is how Sergei is stolen.

That's the problem, that those three big, black geese come and get him and take him all the way to Baba Yaga's cottage.

The problem in this story is how your precious thing is going to be stolen.

So for my problem, I had actually stolen something from Baba Yaga.

I really liked the idea of the bird picking up the precious object.

So I've got an owl here, and the owl is going to sweep down out of the sky, pick up Buster and take him all the way to the Yeti's cave.

So you need to think about how is your precious thing going to be stolen? It might be stolen by the monster itself.

So you can have a think about that for your story.

So pause the video now so you can fill in your problem box.

Well done, super-storytellers.

Let's have a look at our next part of our story matrix.

Oh, it's the animals.

We know that in "Baba Yaga," Olga meets three animals.

She meets a squirrel, a fish, and a mouse, and they each give her something.

I've got some ideas for you here, but you can choose absolutely any animal, especially if you've looked at your setting, you can think about what animals would go really well in my setting.

So I've got here a parrot, a kitten, and an elephant, but you can choose any animal that you like.

These are the animals that I've chosen, and I've also thought about how they are trapped or what problem they have that my main character is going to help them with.

I've also thought about what they're going to give to my main character, Elly.

And I've stolen a few ideas from "Baba Yaga" to help me out here.

So you could do that too if you would like to.

I've thought about animals that I would find in my scenario setting.

So I've got a polar bear trapped in a cage, and when he is let out, he's going to give a stone.

I've got a walrus, who is stuck in a hole in the ice, and when he gets out, he's going to go down and pick up a shell and give that to Elly.

And I've got an Arctic hare with lots of question marks around him, because my hare is lost and Elly is going to let them know which direction to go in.

And when they figure out where they're going and they get that help, they're going to give Elly some berries.

So I've got my polar bear with a stone, walrus and a shell, and my hare and some delicious berries.

So you can have a think now about what three animals would you like your character to meet? How are they going to be stuck? What would their problem be? And what gift are they going to give? So you can pause the video now to have a think about that.

We are just doing so brilliantly.

Not only do we have where our story's going to be set, who it's going to be about, what our precious thing is.

We've now got our monster, our three animals, and we know how our precious thing's going to to be stolen.

Fantastic.

Right, we now need to think about the solution in the story.

We know that in "Baba Yaga," when Olga has collected Sergei, she's running and running and running, and she's able to use all of those gifts to stop Baba Yaga.

So the shell becomes a lake which stops her for a bit before she drinks it up, the acorn becomes the trees, which she eats, but that mountain that comes out of the stone, she can't get through, and that's what stops her completely.

In my story, after Elly has found the Yeti and she has collected back her ice pick, she's going to run and run and run, and she's going to throw her stone over the shoulder and it will become a brick wall, but the Yeti's going to smash through it.

Then she's going to throw her shell over her shoulder, and that will become ice.

The Yeti's going to slip but he can get back up again and keep running.

Then she's going to throw her berries over her shoulder, and the berries are going to become a wall of thorned branches so thick and so spiky that the Yeti can't get through, and that's going to be the solution to our story.

So now you can have a think about those three objects that the animals gave to your main character and think about what could they turn into and how is that going to stop your monster.

So you can pause the video now to do this box.

Well done for filling in your solution.

We have almost completed our whole story matrix.

You have come up with so many amazing ideas for your story already.

It's now time for us to think about the ending.

And this is what I've put for my ending.

I've really made it similar to "Baba Yaga" here 'cause "Baba Yaga" has a happy ending.

At the end of my story, Elly is back in her igloo with Buster and her parents.

But just like Olga, she hasn't told them what she's been up to that day.

So it's now time for you to think about the ending of your story.

Think about how are they going to get home after the monster has been defeated and have they got their precious thing back.

Well done, super-storytellers! There's only one bit left of our story matrix, and that is to think about the learning.

What do you think your readers going to learn from your story? I think this is really similar to "Baba Yaga" in my story.

I think that we can learn the importance of kindness, being kind to other people, so I've put a heart here for us to remember that.

So you can have a think about the learning in your story now.

Well done! You have completed your story matrix.

I've got a challenge.

Your challenge is to see if you can label your story matrix.

So are there any parts of your story matrix that you would like to label? You could label your main character, you could label your animals, you could label your precious thing, and maybe even describe it using some adjectives.

So you can go and have a think about that now and remember to use your sounds to help you spell out any words.

So you can pause the video now to do your challenge.

Oh my goodness! I cannot believe you had all the energy left for that challenge.

You are just such an amazing storyteller.

I would love see some of your story matrix work, especially to see which animals you've chosen and what monster you've created.

So remember, you can share your work with Oak National.

If you'd like to, please ask your parents or carer to share your work on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, tagging @OakNational and #LearnwithOak.

Well done, super-storytellers! I hope to see you for our next lesson in this unit where are we going to be learning to tell our story to other people by mapping it, stepping it, and speaking it.

I can't wait.

So I hope to see you then.