Lesson video

Hello everybody, it is me, Miss McCartney.

How are you today? Fantastic.

Well, hopefully you will be even happier because in today's lesson we are going to be thinking about how we can show characters' emotions through actions rather than just telling our listener or our reader to make our stories really interesting, and to make sure that our listener or reader really understands the problem.

And then the world can learn from our really important problem.

I cannot wait to get started.

Shall we have a look at we are going to be learning today? For our lesson today you will need a piece of paper or something to write on, a pencil or something to write with, and your wonderful, creative brain.

If you need to go and collect anything, pause your video now.

Fantastic.

Let's have a look at what we are going to be learning today.

We are going to start with a spelling activity.

Then we are going to recap the problems in our recycled stories.

Then we are going to do some reading and have a look at writer's using show don't tell, and then you are going to have a go all by yourself.

I cannot wait to see what you come up with.

Let's get started with our spelling.

For our spelling activity today, we are going to be looking at contractions.

My turn, your turn.

Contractions.

Your turn.

Brilliant.

Now contractions are shortened versions of words that are used informally.

So you might use them if you were talking to your friend, or if you were writing a story.

But you wouldn't use them if you were writing a very important formal letter.

Now contractions have apostrophes to show where a letter or letters would be if the words were written in full.

Shall we have a little look? Okay I have got the word could, and I can combine that with the word have.

So I have the phrase could have.

So I could use could have in a sentence.

Yesterday I could have gone for a run, but it was raining.

Let's have a look at how we can turn the phrase could have into one word that is a contraction.

I can turn it into could've.

Now I would like you to pause your video now and have a look at which letters the apostrophe has replaced.

Excellent.

Can you whisper them to your screen? Brilliant.

The apostrophe has replaced the letters H and A.

So my sentence would now be yesterday I could've gone for a run, but it was raining.

Fantastic work everybody.

Let's have a look at our next example.

I've got the word should, and I can have the phrase should have.

I could say this morning I should have made myself some eggs.

How could I turn should have into a contraction? Hmm, it is should've.

This morning I should've made myself some yummy eggs.

Again, I would like you to pause the video and hunt for the missing letters that the apostrophe has replaced.

Pause your video now.

Brilliant.

I can see lots of our learners noticing a pattern.

The apostrophe again has replaced the letters H and A.

My turn, your turn.

Could've.

Your turn.

Should've.

Your turn.

Brilliant.

Let's have a look at some examples that are similar, but a little bit different.

I have got the word must.

And I can have the phrase must have.

Hmm, how am I going to turn that into a contraction? Now before I show you I would like you to pause the video, and have a go at writing down must have as a contraction.

Pause your video now.

Okay.

Let's see if you were successful.

And if you weren't, then I can help you to learn from your mistake.

We have got the contraction must've.

And again the apostrophe has replaced the H and the A.

So now we don't have two words, must and have, we have one contraction, must've.

Fantastic.

Let's look at our next example.

I've got the word might, and the phrase might have.

Now the apostrophe replaces the same two letters.

So pause your video now and have a go at writing down your contraction.

Brilliant.

The contraction is might've.

Give yourself a big tick if you got that correct.

And if you didn't, you can fix it and learn from your mistake.

That's the wonderful thing about learning.

My turn, your turn.

Must've.

Your turn.

Might've.

Your turn.

Fantastic pronunciation.

Okay, can you create three contractions in three sentences about our story? Miss McCartney's example is the chick might've fallen to the ground.

Luckily our chick did not.

He actually was an Eagle so he learned how to fly.

I would like you to create your three sentences now.

You have got your contractions at the bottom to help you.

Pause your video now.

Excellent.

Can you whisper your favourite sentence with your contraction that you created? Come a little bit closer and whisper it to me.

Ah, I really liked one of the sentences I heard from one or our wonderful learners.

They said "the owl should've explained "to the Eagle more kindly." "I think he should have been a bit kinder "rather than laughing." Great learning everybody.

You have done such a great job at learning about contractions.

We are now going to recap the problem of our story because in lesson two of unit eight we created our very own recycled story.

I'm going to tell you Miss McCartney's problem in the story, and then I would like you to tell me your problem.

So in my story I have a baby shark who thinks she is a fish.

And she has a big problem because she's noticed that she cannot play the same games and she's not as fast, and she's a little bit smaller, so she's starting to question who she is.

And she's a bit worried about her identity.

And then the starfish comes along and tells the baby shark that she is actually a fish.

And that's a big problem because she's very worried about it.

She's worried that if she really is a fish then her shark family might not accept her, and actually they might eat her.

Now, I would like you to think about the problem in your story.

Can you pause your video now and practise your problem out loud? And then in a second you're going to tell me.

So pause your video now to practise telling your problem.

Fantastic everybody.

I could see some really eloquent learners, and that means they were speaking really clearly, and really understanding their problem.

Can you now explain to me on the screen what the problem in your story is.

I've noticed a little bit of a pattern.

In all of our stories, even though we have different animals, we all have the same problem.

Our animal is very confused about who they are.

And then another character comes and tells them that they are something different, and they have to investigate.

I cannot wait to start thinking a little bit more deeply today about how we can show our problem to our reader, or our listener.

Let's get started.

I have written three extracts from my story about my baby shark.

And I am showing three different emotions through actions rather than just telling my reader.

And that means that they can really understand the problem.

Now I'm going to read my first extract.

I would like you to follow along with your finger and with your magnet eyes.

Whilst I'm reading, I would like you to hunt for our first emotion.

And the baby shark feels self-conscious.

Now self conscious is when you are really worried about who you are, or maybe what you look like.

So I want you to hunt through as I'm reading to see if you can see that.

The baby shark had tried to gnash her teeth and scare away the sea creatures just like her shark brothers and sisters.

It was no use, the sea creatures just laughed at her.

Swimming rapidly, she hid underneath a large rock.

She didn't want anyone to see that her eyes were becoming red and wet.

She tried to feel her teeth with her tongue, but they just weren't there.

She decided to collect some sharp rocks and make her own sharp teeth.

It was no good.

They kept falling out of her mouth.

No one would believe these were real.

Why did everyone else in the family have sharp teeth and she didn't? Okay.

I would like you to use a sentence stem.

The writer has shown the fish is self-conscious by.

So hunt through and have a look at some actions that I have used to show that the fish is self conscious.

Pause your video now to have a go.

Okay fantastic.

One of our learners said the writer has shown the fish is self-conscious because she's trying to make herself look different.

That is an action that somebody might do if they were feeling self conscious.

Can you whisper some more ideas to the screen? Ah, fantastic.

Somebody else said she was feeling self conscious so she hid underneath the large rock.

And that is an action that shows she's self-conscious.

Well done.

And I heard another person say she asked herself a rhetorical question because she was doubting who she was.

Brilliant.

So we're showing her thoughts and her feelings.

Let's have a look at some strategies that you could use.

You can show that a character is self conscious by: They might hide.

They might laugh nervously.

They might look at the ground.

They might ask themselves lots of rhetorical questions.

They might compare themselves to somebody else.

May baby shark is comparing herself to her brothers and sisters and what they look like.

And the final one is they might wish that they looked differently.

Now I would like you to use the sentence stem.

I could show that my character is self-conscious by showing them.

And then you're going to choose one of the strategies.

Pause your video now to choose your strategy.

Brilliant.

I had one of our learners use the sentence stem and say I could show that my character is self-conscious by showing them laughing nervously when the other character suggests they are someone else.

So in my story, when the starfish suggests that the baby shark is actually a fish, she might laugh nervously.

Fantastic everybody.

Let's read about our next emotion.

Now, I am trying to show through actions or thoughts and feelings that my character is nervous.

When the starfish had told the baby shark that she was actually a fish, she couldn't believe it.

Oh I saw someone with their hand up there.

And I think they might be trying to say that they noticed a contraction.

Brilliant.

Well done you.

You might notice a few more today.

No way, it was impossible.

She knew she was a shark, didn't she? The starfish had told her that if she were really a fish she would be able to swim in a school with the other fish, and they wouldn't run away.

The baby shark decided to try and swim with the other fish.

As she hunted for the school of fish, she slowed down.

She looked down at her body.

What if she really was, what if she really were a fish? Could she be a fish and still live with the sharks? Wouldn't they eat her? She slowed her swimming even further.

Okay, it is over to you with the sentence stem now.

The writer has shown the fish is nervous by.

Pause your video now, and hunt for the actions that show the fish is nervous.

Brilliant.

Can you shout them at me so I can collect all your different ideas? Go.

Ooh, excellent.

So we have got some of our learners saying that actually she slowed down, and that showed she was really nervous.

She was nervous to find out the truth so she slowed down.

Again, she is asking herself lots of questions because she is nervous.

Fantastic.

She is also worried about the consequences, so she's thinking what might happen if she really were a fish.

Excellent strategy finding everybody.

Let's have a look at some more strategies that you could use in your story to show your character is nervous.

Okay your character might shake.

They might stutter.

Stuttering is when you find it difficult to get your words out.

Miss McCartney actually stuttered a few times when she was reading.

Not because she was nervous, because she was so excited.

Your character might move really quickly, or they might move really slowly.

They might ask lots of questions.

And they might pace.

So if somebody is nervous they might walk up and down.

If somebody is nervous in the sea, they might swim up and down.

I want you to think how you're going to show that your character is nervous.

You have the sentence stem I could show that my character is nervous by showing them.

And then you're going to choose your action.

Pause your video now to choose your strategy.

Brilliant everybody.

I heard one of our learners say I could show that my character is nervous by sowing them shaking when they're reunited with their family.

They don't know if their family is going to accept them or not.

Fantastic learning.

Okay shall we read about our third emotion, and have a little think how Miss McCartney, the writer, has shown the emotion rather than just telling our reader.

Brilliant.

Our third emotion is relief.

So that is when you have been really nervous and really worried, and your problem is solved, and your body relaxes, and you start to feel a bit more at ease, a bit happier.

Make sure you've got your magnet eyes, and you are following along with your reading finger as I read Miss McCartney's writing.

She was swimming with the other fish, and they weren't running away.

Actually, they were smiling, and high fiving her with their fins.

She loved getting high fives.

She looked at the beautiful colourful fish, and realised for the first time she looked at herself and thought that she was beautiful too.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed her shark family.

At first she stopped swimming, and she started to shake.

Would they eat her? Would they eat her new friends? But her shark family was smiling and waving.

"Phew," said the little baby shark.

She smiled at her family, and swam towards them with her fins stretched out for a family cuddle.

Now, as I was reading my writing, I was also being an editor, and I spotted the sentence, would they eat her new friends, which is definitely a question, and Miss McCartney forgot her question mark.

So I just wanted to point that out.

Everybody when they write needs to make sure that they edit and they check their writing, so I do need a question mark there.

But let's go back to thinking about our show, don't tell of the feeling of relief.

I want you to hunt through Miss McCartney's writing, and find how I have shown through action that my fish is relieved.

You can use the sentence stem the writer has shown the fish is relieved by.

Pause your video now to hunt for relief actions.

Excellent.

One of our learners has said I know that she was relieved because she said phew.

And I say that if I'm running late or if I have a problem, and then I make it on time or I solve my problem.

I say phew.

Another learner said that she smiled.

She was smiling at her family because she felt relieved.

And she had her fins stretched out for a hug.

So that shows she was relieved too.

Let's have a look at how you can show that your character's relieved.

You can show relief by having your character laugh or smile, or they might take a long deep breath.

They might go , and release all of that tension from their body.

They might say phew, or they might say another short phrase to show that they are really relieved.

They might be really thankful.

Or they might cry, but in a happy and a joyful way.

I want you to think about, in your story, how you are going to show that your character is relieved when their problem is solved.

You have got the sentence stem.

I can show that my character is relieved by showing them.

And then choose your action.

Pause your video now to complete your task.

Excellent learning everybody.

I heard somebody say I could show that my character is relieved by showing them being really thankful, and actually thanking the character who said that's not who you really are.

They might say thank you for making them realise who they really are.

I cannot wait to use the ideas that we have created for our three emotions to show our reader rather than telling them.

And we will put them into practise in the rest of unit eight, when we start to write our recycled story.

You have done such a great job today.

I would like you to give yourself some story telling shine because you are such a good storyteller.

Make yourself feel all warm and happy because you have done a brilliant job.

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

I will see you really soon for some more excellent learning.