Lesson video

Hi everyone.

My name's Mrs. Riley, and I'm here today to teach you this planning lesson for part of our Macbeth unit.

In our lesson today, we're going to be planning part of the opening for our narrative piece of writing based on Macbeth.

I hope you enjoy today's lesson.

The outcome of today's lesson is to use a wide range of vocabulary and grammatical features to plan a narrative opening of Macbeth.

These are the key words for our learning today.

I'm going to say each one, and I'd like you to repeat them back to me.

Are you ready? Senses, past tense, fronted adverbial, figurative language.

Well done, let's find out what they mean.

So senses are the physical abilities of sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste.

The past tense shows us action has happened before now.

A fronted adverbial is a sentence starter, followed by a comma.

And finally, figurative language is the use of simile, metaphor, and personification to create vivid imagery.

Now, hopefully you know what some of those words mean already.

Don't worry if any of it seems a bit new or unfamiliar, because we're going to go through what they all mean in more detail as the lesson progresses.

So in our lesson today, we have three learning cycles.

First, we're going to think about the elements of a setting description.

Then we're going to focus on front adverbials.

And finally, we'll focus on figurative language.

But before we think about those specific things we want to include, let's start thinking about elements of a setting description.

So we're going to write our opening scene as a narrative piece in two parts.

The first part will describe the setting, which is as we know, the heath.

Part two, we'll describe the characters, which are the witches.

But today we will plan part one.

So in our lesson today, we're not going to be thinking about those scary witches at all.

All we're going to be focusing on is the setting, is the heath.

We will write the opening in the past tense.

Here are some examples of sentences written in the past tense.

The moon shone dimly.

Ominous thunder rumbled in the distance.

Shrouds of mist suffocated the emaciated shrubs.

As you can see, the three verbs in these sentences, shone, rumbled, and suffocated, have all been written in the simple past tense.

In order to give our reader a complete picture of the setting, we want to describe using a range of our senses.

So we've just to remind ourselves we've got our smell, our sight, our touch, and our hearing.

So when we're thinking about that heath and describing it, we're not just going to describe what we could see.

We're going to try and describe what we would smell and hear, and maybe touch as well.

Let's check our understanding of past tense and senses.

Convert each present tense sentence into the past tense and identify the sense described.

As I read these sentences to you, maybe start hunting for the verbs, which are in the present tense, and think about how you could turn them into the past tense so the action has already happened.

And then be thinking, is that describing something I could see or smell or hear? So A is, claps of thunder, roll across the bleak sky.

B, ravenous crows desperately search for scraps of food.

C, the suffocating stench of decay hangs in the air.

Pause the video while you complete this now.

Well done.

So the first sentence, if we rewrote it in the past tense, would be, claps of thunder rolled across the bleak sky.

Roll is the verb, it's the action word.

So we're turning it from roll into rolled.

And this describes something we could hear.

Ravenous crows desperately search, there's our verb, for scraps of food.

Ravenous crows desperately searched for scraps of food.

And this is something we would see.

The suffocating stench of decay hangs in the air would become the suffocating stench of decay hung in the air.

And this is something we would smell.

So we've decided we're going to write our sentences describing the setting in the past tense using our senses.

Now let's think about what kind of atmosphere are we trying to create? How do we want our readers to feel when they read our setting description of that spooky heath? Pause the video and perhaps have a little discussion with someone who's close by with you now, what you want your reader to feel and what kind of atmosphere we're trying to create.

Pause the video now.

Well done.

We want to create a gloomy and bleak atmosphere.

We want it to be eerie and frightening.

We want there to be a sense of impending doom.

That means impending means it's about to come.

A sense of confusion and unease.

So do you agree with Laura or Jacob? Laura says, I'm going to describe threatening thunder and eerie shadows cast by thick grey clouds.

Jacob says, I'm going to describe a warm sea breeze and birds cheerfully singing on the marsh.

Who do you agree with? And importantly, why do you agree with them? Pause the video now.

Okay, well hopefully you agree with Laura.

And here's a possible answer.

I agree with Laura.

We want to create an eerie, spooky atmosphere that makes our readers feel uneasy as if something bad is about to happen.

So we've thought about our atmosphere, the tense.

We're gonna try and include the senses.

Now we're thinking about the structure.

We will use this structure in our narrative opening.

We're going to start describing the sky above, and we're going to work our way down.

So for example, you might start with the sky, and then you might describe the landscape.

Then you might describe what's on the ground.

And then we're going to eventually describe the witches.

But that's obviously in the second part of our opening.

So we're not worrying about the witches today.

So today we might think about this kind of order, the sky, the moon, the thunder, the clouds.

We might start by describing them.

Then we might move down to describe the mist, the air, the wind, the trees.

And finally, we might end up describing the path, the heather, which is a shrub, or the grass.

So you can see the way we're starting up and working our way down.

That's a really nice way to order our setting description, which is part of our opening.

So here's an example of an opening that starts from a bird's eye view.

Bird's eye view, because it's as if a bird is looking at it 'cause it was starting up in the sky and it ends up on the ground.

So as I'm reading this to you, listen carefully.

What do you think of this setting description as part of an opening? In the sky, bright white clouds scurried across the blanket of blue.

The salty sea breeze came in waves, mimicking the sea that could be heard in the distance.

Below, delicate fragrant heather gently tickled the meandering path with shimmering pools of water peppered along its way.

Hmm, now I can tell that I thought about this structure.

I've started with the sky.

You can see those words in purple, sky.

Then I moved down to the breeze, then I moved down to the heather, which is a type of plant.

And finally I end up on the path.

So I have used the right structure for my writing, but something doesn't seem right.

Could you shout out what do you think is not quite right to me? Hmm, let's see.

Does this example set the right atmosphere? Did it make you feel scared or uneasy? No, it didn't, did it? All of these things sound too positive and pleasant.

They didn't create the right atmosphere.

So here's another example of an opening.

Again, it starts from a bird's eye view and ends up on the ground.

Let's hope this time I've got the atmosphere right.

What do you think? Listen, as I read.

In the ragged sky, ominous clouds hung suffocatingly above the heath.

The stagnant, salty mist with its acidic stench smothered the emaciated plants that struggled to grow in the harsh conditions.

An eerie stillness meant that even the few crows that lurked on the ragged earth stood silent like statues, sensing sinister things to come.

So we know we've got, again, that bird's eye view working down to the ground.

Does this example set the right atmosphere? Did you feel scared or uneasy reading it? Pause the video while you discuss that now.

Well, hopefully you said you did feel scared reading that example of an opening.

So we still described the similar same things like the sky, the clouds, the plants, the earth.

But this time we've used really negative language and negative imagery to create this sort of spooky, quite sort of, it made me feel a bit almost suffocated, this idea that this sort of mist is hanging over and that there's this eerie silence.

So hopefully it made you feel that as well.

So it's time for your first task.

In this task, we're just focusing on the left column, the column which is labelled nouns.

You will just think about the nouns you're going to describe in your opening.

So just ignore that column that said fronted adverbial.

We haven't spoken about those yet.

We're going to do that in our next learning cycle.

We're just focusing on the nouns, the things that we're going to describe.

So you're going to remember to start from the top of the setting and work your way down.

So I'm not going to write in the first box.

Oh, I'm gonna describe the grass.

And then in the next one, oh, I'm gonna describe the grass, and I'm gonna describe the trees.

And then next, oh, I think I might describe the puddles because I'm kind of going up and down and up and down.

So the first thing I'm going to write about, I'm gonna choose a noun, a thing which is high up.

It might be the clouds, it might be the moon, it might be the sky.

And then I'm gonna think about the next thing down I'm gonna describe.

Think carefully about what you want to describe.

We're not just picking random nouns, we're not just gonna say, oh, then I'll choose birds.

And then I'm gonna choose, oh, the heather.

Think what have I, what would I like to describe? Would I like to describe the moon? Oh yeah, I think I've got some good ideas to describe the moon.

So I'm gonna go for the moon.

Or maybe you might think, hmm, I don't, I think I've got really good ideas of how I'm gonna describe the clouds.

So I'm gonna choose the clouds.

So we're not just plucking random ideas, we're thinking about what we want to include in our opening, because this plan we can use when we write our opening.

Okay, so can you pause the video while you, in that first column, write down which things or nouns you are going to describe starting from the top and working your way down.

Pause the video now.

Okay, well done.

Let's look at an example.

So you might have started with the sky, then you might have decided you're going to describe the fog and the smell.

Then you might have decided to describe the trees and the shadows, maybe the trees, and then the shadows that they're casting on the ground.

And finally, you might describe the terrain and the heather.

So those are the things that were in my example.

I wonder what was in yours.

Okay, we're moving on to our second learning cycle.

We've thought about the different aspects of our setting description, and now we're focusing on fronted adverbials which is a specific feature we're going to try and include in our setting, in our opening or our setting description.

So an opening is likely to include fronted adverbials of place to tell the reader where things are.

In the ragged sky, ominous clouds hung suffocatingly above the heath.

Below, the stagnant, salty mist with its acidic stench, smothered the emaciated plants that struggled to grow in the harsh conditions.

In each case, the fronted adverbial of place says where the rest of the sentence is occurring.

Can you see the two fronted adverbials of place in my example? They're both in that kind of greeny, jadey colour.

The first one is, in the ragged sky, and the second one is, below.

Both of them are followed by a comma.

What comes after the comma could be a sentence on its own.

Let's just check.

So, in the ragged sky, so let's just imagine I take that away for a second.

Ominous clouds hung suffocatingly above the heath.

Yes, that makes sense by itself.

But I've added in that fronted adverbial, in the ragged sky, to tell me where the rest of the sentence is occurring.

So pause the video quickly and see if you can tell someone next to you, what fronted adverbials of place do you know? Do you know any others? Pause the video now.

Well done, I heard so many fronted adverbials of place being called out at me.

Well done.

So there are many different fronted adverbials of place.

There are phrases like, in the distance, above the heath, far away, below the rugged sky.

There are just words, just one word, inside, everywhere, there, below.

And there are clauses, which are like phrases.

But the big difference is that they include a verb.

As far as the eye could see, there's the verb.

Hiding, there's the verb, behind the clouds.

Wherever you cast, there's the verb, your eyes.

So let's just read those again without me interrupting, describing the verbs.

As far as the eye could see, hiding behind the clouds, and wherever you cast your eyes.

We can also create specific fronted adverbials that reflect our setting, which is the heath.

In the dark sky, below the ominous clouds, all around the desolate landscape, beneath the withered trees, in stagnant, murky puddles.

So all of these examples start with a capital letter, because they come at the start of our sentences, they end with a comma, and they tell us where the rest of the sentence is happening.

So let's check what we've just learned.

Choose an appropriate fronted adverbial of place from the list to match each sentence.

The fronted adverbials are: across the rugged sky, in the stagnant puddles, and below.

The rest of the sentences are: clusters of dead insects decayed slowly.

The heath lay silent and desolate, its barren expanse stretching into the unknown.

Dark clouds drifted ominously, casting eerie shadows below.

So we could see each of those did make sense, but we're gonna make them even better by popping one of those fronted adverbials of place at the beginning.

But which one works the best in each example? Pause the video now.

Amazing, well done.

Let's go through the answers.

So the first one is, in the stagnant puddles, clusters of dead insects decayed slowly.

Ugh, imagine that.

The next one is, below, the heath lay silent and desolate.

It's barren expanse stretching into the unknown.

And finally, across the rugged sky, dark clouds drifted ominously, casting eerie shadows below.

So it's time for your second task.

This time focusing on fronted adverbials.

So now we are going to look at that second column, fronted adverbials.

And we're going to think of a fronted adverbial that could introduce one of the nouns from your first column.

So again, we're not just randomly filling in the sections.

We're not just gonna think, okay, fronted adverbial, above, comma.

Next one, below the sky, comma.

Next one, between the trees, comma.

Because that's not gonna help us when we come to writing our opening.

We're going to think about what we've chosen to describe.

So the first one, for example, is the sky.

So I might think, right, when I do my, when I write my opening, what fronted adverbial would be really good to go with the sky? Maybe I can say something like, maybe I could describe below the dark or below the jet black sky or below.

Am I gonna describe the below? Maybe the next thing I'm describing is the fog.

So yeah, I could say, below the jet black sky, the fog hung heavily.

Something like that, okay? So really thinking about what we're going, what we want to eventually end up in our final piece of writing.

So, in each box, write one fronted adverbial.

Remember, they need to start with a capital letter.

They need to have a comma after them.

And remember, they need to link up with one of those nouns from the column to the left of it, because this is going to be in our final piece, in our final narrative opening.

Pause the video now.

Okay, well done.

Here are some examples.

So we could have, above the desolate heath, comma, the sky, and then we could describe it.

Above the desolate heath, the dark sky hung like a thick blanket.

That might be my final sentence that's going to go in my opening.

We've got, all around, to describe the fog or the smell.

We've got so this idea of the trees and the shadows.

So, beneath the withered trees, comma.

And then maybe I could say something about shadows lurking on the ground.

And as far as the eye could see, and then I could describe the terrain.

So, there are my fronted adverbials.

They've got capital letters and commas.

They match up with those nouns that I'm going to describe in my final piece of writing.

Okay, so we've thought about what we want to include in this first part of our opening, which is the setting description.

We've thought about those fronted adverbials, which is gonna make our writing incredible.

And now we're going to think about something else that's going to make our writing incredible, which is figurative language.

Before we move on to this final learning cycle, I want you to have a quick shuffle on your seat because you might be feeling a little bit sleepy.

Have a shuffle.

Maybe breathe in and lift your shoulders up to your ears.

(Mrs. Riley inhales) And drop, breathe out.

Are you ready? So throughout our opening, we will use a range of figurative language to hook the reader in and build atmosphere.

There are many types of figurative language.

The first one is personification.

It's a really fun word to say.

Should we say it? What should, my turn, your turn? Personification, well done.

It gives human characteristics to non-human things.

Here's an example.

Battered plants begged for mercy from the raging tempest.

Now, plants can't actually beg for mercy.

Please, raging tempest, stop battering us.

They can't actually do that.

But that is an example of personification because it's a human characteristic.

It's the kind of thing a human would do.

But we're saying that the plants did that.

A simile involves comparing two things, using like or as.

The storm raged across the heath, like a violent predator on the rampage.

I'm comparing the heath to a violent predator using the word like, or I could also use as.

A metaphor, compares two things, so like a simile, by saying one thing is another.

Metaphors quite often are a bit, they're a bit more difficult to come up with.

But actually, they're quite simple.

A simile is saying, this did, this was like this, or it did this as this.

But a metaphor is just saying it is something.

For example, now the heath was a barren wasteland.

I'm not saying the heath was like a barren wasteland, I'm just saying it was a barren wasteland.

Everything in a storm's wake had gone.

So that's what a metaphor is.

If I said, the fog hung like a blanket, it's a simile because I'm comparing it using the word like.

But if I just said a thick blanket of fog hung above the heath, that would be a metaphor because I'm just calling it a blanket of a blanket.

I'm not saying it's like blanket, I'm just saying it is a blanket.

Alliteration, another fun word.

Say my turn, your turn, alliteration.

Alliteration is when many words start with the same sound.

Okay? Here's an example.

Whispering winds wove their eerie melody, echoing through the eerie expanse.

So as you can see, we've got lots of words there that start with the letter W.

Whispering winds wove their eerie melody.

And then we've got two starting with the eh sound.

Echoing through the eerie expanse.

So we don't want to go ov- We don't wanna do too much of this.

We can't write a sentence where every single word starts with the same letter 'cause that would be a little bit silly.

But it's a really nice, it's a really nice thing we can include in our writing again, to just kind of create that atmosphere to hook our reader in.

Okay, let's check what we've just learned.

Could you match the figurative language type to its definition? So we've got a metaphor, a simile, personification, and alliteration.

And the options are: one of these compares two things by saying one thing is another.

It's not like, it's not as, it is.

The next one assigns human characteristics to non-human things, like those plants begging for mercy.

One of them is when many words begin with the same word, like whispering winds.

And the last one compares two things using like or as.

Pause the video while you match these up now.

Well done.

So, a metaphor compares two things by saying one thing is another.

A simile compares two things using like or as.

Personification assigns human characteristics to non-human things, like those plants begging for mercy.

And alliteration is when many words begin with the same sound, like whispering winds.

We can use figurative language to make our writing more exciting.

Can you think of a simile, remember that uses like or as, to describe the heath or the wind? Pause the video now.

Well done, I heard some amazing examples.

Here's one of them.

The wild heath stretched out like a vast quilt of tangled threads.

There's my simile.

I'm comparing the heath to a quilt using the word like.

Can you use personification to describe the thorns or the fog? So what might the thorns do that you would usually link with a person doing? Or what might the fog do that you might associate with a person normally doing? Pause the video now.

Okay, well done.

Here's an example I heard.

Each thorn seems to claw at the ragged earth.

Imagine that, the thorns as if they're actually clawing at the ragged earth, as if they're almost trying to escape.

There we go, to claw.

So your final task for today's lesson is to choose a noun from your first column.

Then you're going to write a sentence that includes one type of figurative language to describe it.

I want you to remember to use one of your fronted adverbials to start your sentence.

So you might pick, or let's do the first one, above the desolate heath.

So I'm gonna start my sentence with that fronted adverbial of place.

Above the desolate heath, comma.

Now I'm going to describe the sky and I'm going to include figurative language.

Above the desolate heath, the sky.

I could use personification and say it was doing something that we'd normally think a human or a person would do.

I could use a simile and compare it.

It did this like this.

What could it be like? Or I could use a metaphor, where I say it is something, it is a thick blanket.

Or I could use alliteration and I could use, try and think of starting a few of my words with the same letter to try and build effect.

So you're going to have a go at this now.

Can you pause the video while you complete this task? Okay, well done.

Let's have a look at an example together.

So in this example, I've picked the smell, starting it with my fronted adverbial, all around.

So here's my sentence.

All around, comma, the stench suffocated every living thing in its grasp.

I've used personification there.

A stench can't actually suffocate or sort of smother something, but it's as if that's, it's as if it's a person.

So it's personification.

Okay, it's your turn to do one more of these.

So you're writing another sentence to describe a different noun.

So if last time you did the sky, maybe this time you could do the trees and the shadows.

Remember to start it with your fronted adverbial.

So I'd be starting with, beneath the withered trees, the shadows.

Hmm, what could the shadows do? Maybe they could do something that a human would do and use personification.

Maybe I could say the shadows loomed like, and I could compare its thing in a simile.

Maybe I could use alliteration and I could use some words which start with the same letter.

Pause the video while you write another sentence now.

Incredible work, well done.

Let's look at one more example.

So here I've used the shadows.

There's my fronted adverbial.

Beneath the withered trees, comma, there's my fronted adverbial, shadows appeared like watchmen.

So there's my, I've got just shadows.

It's what I'm describing.

They appeared, and there's my simile, like watchmen.

As if they were watchmen watching something.

So well done.

You should feel so proud of yourselves.

You have got so many incredible ideas when you come to write your own opening.

You know which order you're going to write 'cause you've got your nouns written down you're going to describe.

You've got your sentence starters, your fronted adverbials.

And now you've got a couple of really rich examples of figurative language that you can include in your opening.

It's gonna be so good.

Well done guys.

Okay, so let's summarise what we've learned today.

We've learned that we should always think about the atmosphere we want to create when setting the scene of an opening.

Ours is going to be a spooky atmosphere.

So we don't want sweet singing birds and blue skies.

We want something eerie and spooky.

We can start from a bird's eye view and zoom down to the ground to describe the setting.

Fronted adverbials of place tell the reader where things are in a setting.

And different types of figurative language, like similes or alliteration, build atmosphere in a descriptive opening.

So we have learned so many different things today and I hope you're feeling really prepared for when you write the first part of your opening, which is gonna describe that spooky heath, that setting.

So well done for working so hard today.

And hopefully I'll see you for some more learning another time.