Lesson video

Hi everybody.

It's Ms. Gardner.

Welcome to your next lesson from our unit, "'The BFG' Reading and Narrative Writing." Today's a really exciting lesson because we're going to start planning our opening so that we can write our narrative version of the film of The BFG.

So for this lesson, you will need access to the 1989 film version of the BFG.

So if you need to, pause the video now, so you can make sure you've got access to this video.

Great.

Hopefully, we're all ready to go now.

So let's get started with today's lesson.

In today's lesson, from our unit, "'The BFG' Reading a Narrative Writing," we are going to be planning part one of the opening of a narrative based on "The BFG." So your learning outcome is I can plan the first part of an opening of a narrative based on "The BFG." Let's start by looking at the keywords.

We'll do my turn, your turn.

Plan.

A plan is a framework that writers create before they write a section or a whole text.

Notes.

Notes are written out of full sentences.

Ambitious vocabulary.

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

Fronted adverbial, that is a sentence starter followed by a comma.

So there are two sections of our lesson today.

In the first, we'll be preparing to plan.

We'll be generating vocabulary that we can include in our plan.

And then in the second part of the lesson, we'll be writing the plan.

So let's start with preparing to plan.

"The BFG" can be structured like this, an opening, a buildup, a climax, and then the resolution.

In this lesson, we are planning the opening, part one.

We are breaking up the opening into two parts.

And in today's lesson, we're looking just at part one.

The purpose of the opening is to do all of these, engage the reader, hook them in, make them want to carry on reading or watching, introduce the characters, and introduce the set.

In the opening of "The BFG," we are introduced to all of these.

The settings, so the orphanage at nighttime, the village where the orphanage is, and then the main characters.

So Sophie and the BFG.

We don't know who the BFG is at this moment.

He's this mysterious figure, but we do see him for the first time.

So just checking for understanding.

The purpose of the opening is, A, to solve a problem, B, to introduce the characters, C, to build up tension, or D, to introduce the setting.

Pause the video now.

The purpose of the opening is, B, to introduce the characters, and D, to introduce the setting.

Well done.

When we plan, we log precise and really ambitious vocabulary to help paint vivid pictures for our reader.

We must include precise verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and a range of nouns.

In the opening, we are setting the scene.

So we can also use fronted adverbials of place and time to help do this.

So just checking for understanding.

Which of these will not be in our plan? A, verbs and adverbs, B, adjectives and nouns, or C, a list of punctuation.

Pause the video now.

That's right, we don't need a list of punctuation in our plan.

What's more important is that we're including lots of ambitious vocabulary.

Well done.

So let's start now watching the opening that we are going to be describing in our narrative.

So you need to watch part one of the opening so that we know what this section of "The BFG" contains.

You'll need to watch from the beginning of the film to the end of the credits, the first moment the film begins to the moment Sophie put on her shoes.

So pause the video now and off you go.

Okay, I hope you enjoyed watching the first part of the opening.

Let's just review the key moments so that we're really sure of the key moments and the order that they take place in.

So firstly, number one, Sophie woke up.

The storm outside woke her up.

Number two, Sophie sat up.

She sat up in her bed.

Number three, Sophie picked up her glasses next to her bed and put them on.

Number four, Sophie looked at the owl.

And number five, Sophie sits at the edge of her bed and puts on her shoes.

So let's just check for understanding.

Put the key moments of the opening, part one, in order.

Here are the five moments.

You need to number them one, two, three, four, and five.

Pause the video now.

Okay, so number one, Sophie woke up.

Number two, Sophie sat up.

Number three, Sophie put her glasses on.

Number four, Sophie looked at the owl.

And number five, Sophie put on her shoes.

Well done.

So we need to generate precise and ambitious vocabulary to describe each moment in vivid detail to make it much more engaging and interesting for the reader and also so that they can create that picture in their head of what is happening.

So we want to think about including nouns, nouns of people, places, or things, adjectives to describe the nouns, verbs which are doing, being, or having words, and adverbs which describe the verbs.

So let's look at each moment in more detail then.

The first moment, Sophie awoke and she sat up.

We need to generate adjectives to describe these nouns in this moment.

So if you need to, you can watch the clip again, and I want you to be thinking about what you can see and also what you can hear.

Pause the video now, off you go.

Okay, so here are some of the ideas that I've come up with.

I described Sophie as a young orphan.

Where was she? She was in a silent dormitory.

The night sky outside was dark, so the dark sky.

Could also describe the room as the dim, dusty room.

It's an expanded noun phrase there, dim meaning dark, dusty to show that it's not looked after very well.

The dazzling moonbeam that was shining through waking her up.

And then also that booming thunder.

That's what I could hear.

So now let's think about generating verbs and adverbs to describe the action in this moment.

You might want to watch the clip again and focusing on what you can see.

And you can hear this time thinking about what the characters are doing, but also the weather, what's happening outside.

Can you hear thunder? Can you see moonbeams? But again, we're focusing on verbs and adverbs this time.

So pause the video now.

Off you go.

Okay, so here's some of the ideas that I've come up with.

The moonbeam was shining brightly.

The thunder was crashing loudly, the verb and adverb there.

Sophie suddenly bolted upright, and then the thunder raged wildly outside.

I really like the idea of describing the weather outside 'cause it helps to create that scary dramatic atmosphere and to create this vivid image in the reader's mind of the dark, scary night.

So check in for understanding.

Which adjective would you use to describe the dormitory in the opening scene? A, comfortable, B, silent, C, colourful, or D, dusty.

Can you choose two adjectives? Pause the video now.

Okay, so adjectives to describe the dormitory were, B, silent, and D, Dusty.

Well done.

So now let's look at the next moment in more detail.

This is the moment that Sophie looked at the owl.

We need to generate adjectives, verbs, and adverbs to describe this moment.

So if you need to, you can re-watch the clip again, thinking about what you can see and what you can hear at this moment.

Pause the video now.

Okay, so here are some of the ideas that I've come up with.

I describe Sophia as the sleepless girl.

She's sleepless because she can't sleep anymore.

She wore round, thick glasses.

The owl outside was the screeching owl.

Quite a scary sound that it's making.

The starry sky, that's where the owl is, the squeaking bed, and I described Sophie as staring nervously at the owl.

She's a bit nervous around it because it's making this screeching scary sound.

So checking for understanding.

Which verb adverb would you use to describe how Sophie looked at the owl? A, glanced excitedly, B, stared nervously, or C, glared angrily.

Pause video now.

That's right, she was staring nervously at this owl, wasn't she? Well done.

So now let's look at the next moment in more detail, and this is the moment that Sophie got out of bed.

Again, you can pause the video if you need to and re-watch the clip so that you can thinking about what you can see and what you can hear, and then you can be generating some adjectives, verbs, and adverbs to describe this moment in more detail.

Let's pause video now and off you go.

Okay, well done.

Here's some of the ideas that I came up with.

Describe Sophie as inquisitive child.

She's inquisitive 'cause she wants to know more.

She wants to know what's happening outside.

She slipped quietly out of bed, as quietly as possible because she doesn't want to wake anyone up.

She puts on the tattered, old shoes, an expanded noun phrase there to describe her shoes.

She sat on the edge of her creaky bed, and she stealthily put on her shoes.

Stealthily means quietly careful.

She didn't want anyone to hear her, so she really carefully and quietly put on those shoes.

So check for understanding.

Through or false.

This sentence would appear in the opening part one.

Sophie put her shoes on as loudly as possible.

Pause the video now.

That is false.

Can you use A or B to justify your answer? A, Sophie put on her shoes as quietly as possible, so it's not to wake anyone up, or B, Sophie didn't put on any shoes to walk across the room.

Pause the video now.

That is A.

She put them on really quietly to not wake anyone up.

Well done.

So we can use fronted adverbials to describe each moment in detail and add extra information for the reader.

In narrative writing, we can use these types of fronted adverbials, fronted adverbials of time, fronted adverbials of place, and fronted adverbials of manner.

Let's have a look at these in a bit more detail.

Fronted adverbials of time tell the reader when an action is taking place.

For example, in the middle of the night, during the witching time or one thundery dark night.

You notice that all of these fronted adverbials are followed by a comma.

That's right, well done.

Fronted adverbials of place.

Tell the reader where an action is taking place.

So for example, in the silent dormitory, next to her bed, or from outside the window.

And once again, all of them are followed by a comma.

Well done.

Finally, fronted adverbials of manner tell the reader how an action is taking place.

So for example, cautiously, so describing how Sophie sat on the edge of her bed, slowly, how she put on her shoes, or without making a sound.

All of these adding extra detail to how the action is taking place.

So just checking for understanding.

Which fronted adverbials would you find in narrative writing? A, fronted adverbials of cause.

B, fronted adverbials of time, place, and manner, C, formal adverbials, or D, viewpoint fronted adverbials.

Pause the video now.

That is B.

You wouldn't find fronted adverbials cause, formal fronted adverbials, or viewpoint fronted adverbials in narrative writing because those are more suited to formal nonfiction type of writing.

Well done.

So it's time for task A.

You need to fill in the blanks with the ambitious vocabulary listed below.

So here are the sentences and then your word bank, and the words in your word bank are, sleepless, dim, screeching, and tattered.

So I'm going to read the sentences now.

As I'm reading it, you can be thinking about which word would be the most appropriate to fill in the blanks.

One thundery night, a young orphan named Sophie woke up in her, blank, silent dormitory.

Slowly, the, blank, girl picked up her round glasses and she stared nervously at the, blank, owl.

Stealthily, the girl put on her, blank, old shoes as quietly as possible.

So pause video now and off you go filling in the missing blanks.

Well done everybody.

Welcome back.

Let's go through these.

As I say the sentences out loud, I want to be able to hear you saying each missing word.

One thundery night, a young orphan named Sophie woke up in her dim dormitory.

Slowly, the sleepless girl picked up her round glasses, and she stared nervously at the screeching owl.

Stealthily, the girl put on her tattered, old shoes as quietly as possible.

Great job.

Well done.

Okay, it's time for the second part of our lesson where we are going to be writing the plan.

When we write a plan, we use notes.

Notes are concise, so short, and capture the key vocabulary and information.

The purpose of notes is to help the writer to organise information easily for future use, which means we do not write full sentences on our plan.

Notes are not full sentences.

Instead, we use bullet points when note-taking and they look like this.

So checking for understanding.

What is in a plan? A, full sentences with capital letters and full stops, B, bullet points for notes, C, ambitious vocabulary, or D, unnecessary information.

Pause the video now.

So in a plan we need, B, bullet points for note, and C, ambitious vocabulary.

We don't need full sentences, capital letters, full stops, and we don't need to include any unnecessary information.

Well done.

So it's time for task B.

The first part of task B, you need to fill in the plan with fronted adverbials and ambitious vocabulary to describe the first key moment, which is Sophie awoke and she's set up in bed.

So fronted adverbials of time, place, or manner, you can include in your plan.

You can see in the example there I've used in the middle of the night, so fronted adverbial of time, but I'm sure you can use others that we looked at earlier in the lesson.

And also ambitious vocabulary.

I'm sure you've got loads of amazing ideas yourself, but also you can think about looking at, including some of the vocabulary that we looked at in the first part of the lesson.

So pause the video now and off you go.

Okay, well done everybody.

Welcome back.

As I said, I'm sure you've got lots of amazing ideas on your plan, but here are some of the vocabulary and fronted adverbials that I've generated.

And if you'd like to, you can add them to your plan too.

So fronted adverbials, in the middle of the night, during the witching time, one dark thundery night.

Ambitious vocabulary, the young orphan, the dazzling moonbeam, the raging thunder, and she bolted upright.

Remember that doesn't matter that these aren't in full sentences.

That's the point of a plan.

we're just including key and ambitious vocabulary.

Okay, well done.

Let's now describe the second moment in detail, which is when Sophie looked at the owl.

So again, think about including some fronted adverbials.

You could use from outside the window.

That's a fronted adverbial of place as an example, but also you could use other fronted adverbials of time, place, and manner, and then include some ambitious vocabulary to help describe this moment in more detail and create that vivid picture for the reader.

So pause the video now and off you go.

Okay, well done, everybody.

Welcome back.

Just like last time, if there are some ideas that I've written that you'd like to include in your plan, you absolutely can add them to your plan too.

So some fronted adverbials to describe this moment, from outside the window, nervously, how Sophie looked at the owl, and next to her bed, fronted adverbials of place.

Then ambitious vocabulary, the screeching owl, her thick, round glasses, which were next to her bed.

She stared with wide eyes, and then the squeaking bed that she was sitting up on.

Okay, if you need to, you can pause the video and add any of these ideas to your plan.

Otherwise, really well done.

And let's think about describing the third and final moment in more detail when she got out of bed and put on her shoes.

So some fronted adverbials of manner.

Maybe you could include stealthily, that's how she put on her shoes, but you can also use other fronted adverbials of time, place, and manner.

And then ambitious vocabulary, so nouns, adjectives, adverbs, verbs to describe this moment.

And like in the previous parts of this task, if you want to, you can include any of the vocabulary we looked at in the first part of this lesson.

So pause the video now and off you go.

Okay, well on, everybody.

Great job.

Here are some of the ideas that I've come up with.

Fronted up adverbials, stealthily, that's how she put on her shoes.

As quietly as possible, again, how she put on her shoes.

And fronted adverbial of place, at the edge of her creaky bed.

Then ambitious vocabulary, her tattered shoes.

Tattered mean old and worn out.

She slipped quietly.

The inquisitive child, she's curious, she wants to know more.

And curiously, an adverb there to describe Sophie.

Okay, so make sure you keep these plans safe because you're to need them in the next lesson when it comes to writing the opening part one.

Great job, everybody.

Well done.

Here is the summary of everything we've learned today.

The purpose of the opening is to engage the reader and to introduce the setting in characters.

When we plan, we log precise and ambitious vocabulary to help paint vivid pictures for our reader.

A fronted adverbial of time, place, or manner indicates when, where, or how, an action the rest of the sentence takes place.

And a plan includes, notes, a sequence of events, and ambitious vocabulary.

Well done, everybody, today.

Great job.