Lesson video

Hello everyone.

My name is Miss Weerasekera and welcome to lesson 10 in our unit about "The Little Bird and the Forest Fire." In the last few lessons, we have been writing our middle of our story and making it super dramatic and full of twists and turns and suspense.

You've done a fantastic job so far.

So today we're going to be writing those final two events in our middle to really build that drama one last time.

I've got lots of exciting writing to do.

So let's get started.

In today's lesson, you're going to need your story.

So try and find the middle that you've already written.

If you don't have it, you're just joining now don't worry you can start a new piece of paper today, that is fine.

You're also going to need a pen or pencil to write with and your amazing brain to finish off this middle in the best way possible.

So if you don't have your piece of writing or a piece of paper to write on, or a pen or pencil, pause here, go and get it and then press play when you're ready to continue.

We are going to start off with a spelling activity today.

we're going to be looking at our rule one last time to try to remember it.

We are going to recap our story map and look at those final two events to remind ourselves what happens but also what moods do we want to create for that reader.

We are then going to write the conclusion so I will model it and then you will have a go at doing it.

And then finally, we're going to focus on performing today as well.

Can you remember our spelling rule? Can you remember? it's a bit a strange one.

It was this, wasn't it? That /s/ sound can be spelled with a C when it comes before an E and I or a Y.

We had some words, didn't we? can you think of any of the words that this applied to? We had some tricky words where we had two Cs in them but those Cs were pronounced in different ways.

Now, I had a go at spelling some of these words but I think I might have made a few mistakes.

So I'm really hoping that you can correct them for me.

I would like you to pause here, use your pen and pencil to write down these spellings by applying this spelling rule and fixing all of my mistakes and then press play when you think you have done them.

Fantastic.

Thank you for helping me.

Let's have a look together.

Did you manage to change it? So I had heard that /s/ sound and I thought because it's that /s/ sound it must be spelled with an S, but I had forgotten about us spelling rule which was, but if it's a C makes a /s/ sound if it's before an E, I or Y.

So hopefully you guys helped me to find all of these.

So it should be a C and race and ice because it's before E.

Again a C in cell at the beginning because it's before an E as well.

In city it's before an I and in fancy it's before a Y.

so well done for fixing those mistakes and thank you for helping me out.

I really appreciate it.

As an extra challenge I would like you to use each of these words in a sentence.

We've talked about before how we really learned spellings by reading them but also by writing them.

So you can pause here, have a go at writing each of these words in a sentence and then press play when you are done.

We are now go to review our boxing up to make sure we know exactly what we need to include in this final part of our middle.

We are going to quickly look at our boxing up plan to remind us of what we need to include.

So, so far in our middle, we've written about the bird warning her animal friends about what was coming, the fire, and then they run away.

Elephant asked her to come with.

She says, no I've got to stay.

I love my home and I want to protect it.

She comes up with her plan to carry water from the stream or the river up to the tree and the fire to try and put it out but it wasn't really working.

And then the last bit we described in the previous lesson was the Sky Gods being little bit mean and laughing at her and saying she would never succeed as she was going to fail.

In the last two events that we are going to write here in our middle.

We've got the Eagle God.

And he looks down in admiration of the bird bravery and he's really impressed.

And then goes down to the bird to try and warn her that she was too small.

The Eagle God was impressed by the bird's actions but still thinks you're not going to be able to do it.

But the bird says, no, I love my rain forest, I've got to keep going, I'll do everything I can, even if that means I have to die.

Okay, so we've got a bit of hope here.

I'd say that we only read it for hope when we see that the Eagle God is on the bird side.

Perhaps a little bit of frustration here.

Yeah.

That the Eagle God, either isn't helping her.

He should say the same thing as the animals but also that the little Bird isn't listening.

We don't want our main character to die.

And perhaps she should listen if everyone's telling her that she can't do it by herself.

Let's have a look at our toolkits again then before we start writing.

So we need to think about the new events and the setbacks.

We want to think about slowing down time and building anticipation.

Using vagueness, and hinting, and empty words.

I think questioning to build suspense is huge part of this story.

We definitely also need to.

The uncertainties and expectations of the characters.

So in these last two sections that's going to be the Eagle God and the bird.

And I think we can really play with that, which is going to be fantastic.

So what do we need to include? So it's our middle.

We want to build tension, add mystery, include those setbacks.

So we're going to use that mixture of short-dramatic sentences and longer sentences, vagueness and hinting.

We want to use rhetorical questions to create that sense of uncertainty.

We want to slow down time in some areas and speed up in others.

We want to use really powerful vocabulary too.

We're going to write the final two events, one at a time, I'm going to model it and then I'll give you a chance to do yours as well.

For event five, we are going to be looking at when the Eagle God looks down and sees what the bird is doing and has admiration for her.

And talking about him flying down to the bird to speak to them.

And then events six is going to be that conversation between the Eagle God and the bird.

I'm going to model event five for you first and then it will be your turn.

Let's get started on the last two events in our middle.

Before we do that let's write our unit number So we are in unit 16 and lesson 10, and our learning objective is, to write a story with a dramatic middle.

Okay.

Sorry about my cross by the way, I got cut.

So I'm just trying to protect it.

So I'm going to just remind myself that I am doing this bit here.

The Eagle God.

Okay.

I'm a good to start here.

But one Eagle God felt, how did he feel? Felt very different.

Felt sympathy.

Felt admiration.

It's up to you, I'm going to say felt very different to the others.

He watched the little Bird's efforts.

Or actions you could say or plan.

With admiration.

To admirer admire to have been impressed by that.

Despite this.

So that kind of means like you could put, although, yeah, Or however, so despite this, although, however even if he felt this he was also on the way to talk back in being worried.

Despite this he was, we can say worried or concerned, it's up to you.

Worried that the fire was not, what was not happening to the fire? Was not disappearing, lessening, going out; up to you.

Was not going out.

He flew down.

We need an adverb here, what do we think? He flew down quickly, frantically, in a panic.

I would say, in a panic to try and, what? What is he going to do? Tell the bird, helps the bird, warn the bird, advise the bird, what do you think? And we know actually really he doesn't help but he kind of wants to talk to her, advice her what to do.

I want to say, he flew down in a panic to try and advice the bird to leave the forest before, before what? Before she got hurt, before it was too late, before time run out.

I'm going to say, before it was too late.

Okay.

So that's our fist you section.

Fantastic.

Your turn to go give this a go then using the sentence stems if you want to.

Pause here and then press play when you are done.

Okay.

I'm going to model this conversation between the Eagle Gods and the little Bird now and then you can have a go afterwards.

Now it's time for our next section.

So if he's just, "Birds to leave the forest before it's too late." We're going to say, As soon as the Eagle God, now we can say, spotted, saw, found, it's up to you.

I'm going to say, spotted the bird dipping, what's there? Dipping its wings into the fire.

Yeah.

Dipping down towards the stream.

It's up to you, dipping its wings into the river, he flew over to talk to her.

It's up to you.

Now the conversation they are going to have.

Will start with the Eagle God saying, listen little Bird, what he going to warn her? Yeah.

This isn't a good ideas.

So say you need to come with me away from the fire before it is too late, you need to leave the forest behind.

Before you get bunt, you can chose something.

Listen little Bird, you, I'd say something nice, you are very brave, or you can say not afraid, courageous or kind.

You are very brave, but you must leave this fire before you get hurt.

I close my inverted commas.

And I'm going to think about how he said it.

Sorry.

He warned, warned the Eagle God.

How am I to say this, think of a adverb, warned our Eagle God.

Kindly.

I might say, he's trying to be kind as he is not saying it in the mean and you se that's why.

He's not doing it in a mean way, to say.

Now the little Bird is going to reply.

So we are going to start a new line, put inverted commas because it's a new character speaking.

I don't care if, don't care if what? If I get hurt? If I don't survive, ops? If I don't survive, I will never, I will never want? I will never stop trying.

I will never leave my home to burn.

Yeah.

I will never, going to say that one, leave my home to burn.

I will do everything it takes, or everything I can, or everything in my power, everything I can to save it.

Even if that means, I mean, sacrificing myself, getting injured, getting hurt, dying.

It's up to you.

Even if that means sacrificing my own life.

I mean to say, replied How should I say it? I'm going to say seriously.

Emotionally, it's up to you.

Brilliant your turn.

Remember to use your inverted commas to tell me which character was speaking and to try and maybe include an adverb.

Tell us how they were speaking.

Also to start a new line for each different character that talks too.

Pause here and then press play when you are done.

Brilliant.

Now is a chance for you just to have a look through what you've written.

In fact have a look through your whole middle 'cause we've finished writing our middle now and check that you're really happy with it.

Can you use that toolkit at any more setbacks moments of drama or questions, it's up to you.

Read out loud 'cause that's going to help you to spot where things might be missing and also to spot your spelling, punctuation and grammar, if you've made any mistakes there.

So pause here, read out loud, add anything you want to, and edit anything you need to and then press play when you are done.

You have done brilliantly in this unit and I have been so impressed.

I know Mr. Sathnam is going to be so impressed with your writing too.

I think that we have really done this story justice and perhaps even written the middle a little better than the original author.

If you would like to share your work with me, and I would love to see it.

Please ask your parents or carer to share it on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.

You can tag @OakNational and use #learnwithOak.