Lesson video

Hi there, I'm Mr. Buckingham, and it's so good to see you here for today's lesson.

Today, we're gonna be taking the next steps towards writing a really dramatic and exciting version of the climax and resolution of "Beowulf and the dragon." And we're going to combine our storytelling skills with the rich vocabulary we've learned to help us create a detailed plan for our writing.

Let's get going.

Today's lesson is called planning the climax and resolution of "Beowulf and the dragon," and it comes from my unit called 'Beowulf': narrative writing.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll have planned the structure and content of the climax and resolution of "Beowulf and the dragon." And for this lesson you will need to have with you the text map that we produced earlier in this unit.

If you're ready, let's begin.

Here are our keywords for today's lesson.

The climax is the point in the narrative where the suspense and excitement reaches its highest point.

The resolution is the point in the narrative where problems are resolved.

A text map is a visual representation of a series of events, where pictures represent events.

Rich vocabulary refers to words chosen intentionally to convey a certain impression to the reader of a place, person, or thing.

And narrative developments are the content of a narrative, often including action, description, dialogue, and emotions.

Here's our lesson outline for today.

We're going to start off by rehearsing our text map using rich vocabulary, and then we'll move on to planning the climax and resolution of "Beowulf and the dragon." So as you know, we are preparing to write the climax and resolution of the story "Beowulf and the dragon." And the climax is, of course, a high-point of the action in the story and the resolution is where the problems are resolved.

And in our case, the problem is, of course, the existence of the dragon.

We've practised already storytelling with a text map that covers these events.

We started when Beowulf tries to stab the dragon and we ended when the dragon is killed.

And we've also generated some rich vocabulary to add descriptive detail and show characters' emotions.

So here's some examples of the rich vocabulary we can use to add descriptive detail.

We can describe items in the battle.

We could talk about an impenetrable shield, an ornate sword, a burnished helmet, or a sharp-tipped dagger.

We can also describe actions taken in the battle.

So we could talk about someone having slashed wildly.

We could say they stabbed brutally, they struck desperately, or they deathly dodged.

And we can use similes and metaphors to add detail as well.

We could say the dragon scales were impenetrable shields, a metaphor.

We could say its fire was as hot as the midday sun, a simile.

We could say Beowulf's sword crumpled like paper, another simile.

Or we could say the dragon's teeth were sharp-tipped daggers, another metaphor.

And we've chosen this rich vocabulary specifically because all of it builds towards the impressions we're trying to create for our reader that the battle is fierce and brutal and that the dragon is a really fearsome opponent for Beowulf.

When we were thinking about vocabulary, we also talked about how important it is to show characters' emotions during these scenes.

And we said that one way of doing that was to show-not-tell their emotions, where we describe their actions and their body language in such a way that it's clear what emotion they're feeling.

So if the character is angry, we could say that they bellowed or narrowed their eyes or brutally stabbed the dragon or leapt forward, and all of those show their anger without saying they were angry.

If they're shocked, we could say that they watched open-mouthed or gasped or gulped or their eyes widened.

So we've used show-not-tell to show that they're shocked without saying or telling that they're shocked.

For pain, we could use writhed or screamed or winced or squeezed his eyes shut as ways of showing that the person is in pain without telling it.

But it's also fine just a state or tell the emotions characters feel.

So we could say "Beowulf was full of rage," for anger, or "Beowulf was stunned," for shock, or "Beowulf was in agony," for pain.

It's not better to do one or the other.

We want to use a mixture of these things, and it might depend whether we're trying to move the action forward, in which case we might just tell, or if we want to really zoom in on emotions, in which case we might use show-not-tell to really give a really intense description of what that emotion looks like as the person experiences it.

It's up to us as a writer to choose what's appropriate in that particular place.

So we've got all this rich vocabulary now, and we can use this vocabulary when we are storytelling from our text map.

So here's the climax and resolution of my text map.

And you can see the events there from they were first trying to stop the dragon to the dragon being dead.

So if I take these first two events, I could use storytelling to say them out loud like this.

"Beowulf tried to stab the dragon with its ornate sword, but it scales were impenetrable shields.

The dragon opened his mouth and it breathed out a jet of fire as hot as the midday sun.

Quickly, Beowulf hid behind his burnished shield." So notice there, I've said this out loud, so I'm storytelling using my text map to help, but I've added in that rich vocabulary, ornate impenetrable shield, as hot as the midday sun, and burnished.

I've used similes and metaphors, but I've also just described items from that battle, and adding those details in and that rich vocabulary in paints a much clearer picture for my reader of what's going on.

So I've used my storytelling skills, I've added in the rich vocabulary, and I'm practising saying it out loud.

So which section of my text map has been told using storytelling in the box below? Let me read it to you.

It says, "The Geat warriors gasped as they watched the dragon's fiery breath.

Dropping their weapons, they ran away.

Wiglaf bellowed angrily after them, shaking his fist.

Then, he ran towards Beowulf." So which section of my text map have I told there using my storytelling skills and my rich vocabulary? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done.

It's these events, isn't it? We've got the Geat shocked at the dragon's fire and running away, Beowulf angry at them and running towards Beowulf.

So you notice in this section, I tried to tell those events using my storytelling skills, but this time, I used show-not-tell for the characters' emotions.

I've said that they dropped their weapons and ran away to show the Geats' fear, and I've got Wiglaf angrily shaking his fist after them.

So I've tried to use some of those vocabulary ideas when I was storytelling.

So now it's your turn.

Using your own text map, I'd like you to practise storytelling the events of the climax and the resolution using some of that rich vocabulary we learned in the previous lesson.

So refer to that rich vocabulary and point to each event as you tell the story.

You might pause on one event for quite a while as you add in some of those descriptive details we've learned, and you might be able to add details that aren't shown on your text map.

And of course, if you finish, repeat, because every time you do this, you're going to get better and better and your story will be more detailed and more descriptive for your reader.

So pause the video and have a go at storytelling aloud using your text map and your rich vocabulary.

Have a go.

Fantastic job.

Well done.

So here's how I use storytelling for parts of my text map.

I've got these events where Beowulf is trying to stab the dragon in the head, but his sword snaps, then he's bitten by the dragon, and his blood soaks him.

So I said, "Beowulf raised his trusty sword and he thrust it violently into the dragon's skull.

He gasped as it crumpled like paper and his jaw dropped as pieces of metal fell to the ground.

Instantly, the dragon seized him in its gaping maw.

Beowulf screamed and writhed in agony as blood poured over him." So you can see there's some descriptions like trusty sword.

I've got him thrusting it violently.

That adverb there is helpful.

I've got a simile, crumpled like paper, to show how this sword is broken.

And I've got some show-not-tell at the end there, where be off is screaming and writhing.

But notice, I've also said in agony.

So I've actually told the emotion of pain as well, which, as I said, is absolutely fine.

So I've had a go at storytelling there, adding in my rich vocabulary, and now I feel really ready to start planning my piece of writing.

I hope you feel the same.

So we've rehearsed our text map with our rich vocabulary, now let's move on to our planning.

So as we've said, we've now used our storytelling skills to say our climax and resolution aloud using our rich vocabulary.

So we can now use our storytelling as the basis for our detailed plan.

We've made it so much easier for ourselves.

Writing is most effective when we plan it carefully, and our plan should include the following things.

We want a clear structure, showing how our climax will be organised into separate paragraphs.

We want to include notes about the rich vocabulary we might include in the writing and notes about the content we'll write.

Now, some of that is already in our text map and in our storytelling that we've done.

But we want to make sure we're including a range of narrative elements, a range of action, description, emotions, and dialogue.

And we'll talk more about that as we go on.

So let's first of all talk about the structure of our plan.

I'm gonna to structure our writing into four sections so that it'll have four clear paragraphs.

So in Paragraph 1, we'll have Beowulf's first attack fails and the dragon attacks.

So this is a Beowulf trying to stab the dragon, but it doesn't work, and the dragon turns on him with its fiery breath.

Paragraph 2 will be the Geats flee and Wiglaf comes to help.

So this will be where the gees are terrified, they run away.

Wiglaf comes over to Beowulf, his shield is burn, he has to hide by Beowulf's shield as well.

Paragraph 3 will be Beowulf attacks again and the dragon bites him.

So this is where Beowulf tries to stab the dragon in the head, his sword breaks, and the dragon ends up grabbing him in its teeth.

And then Paragraph 4 will be Wiglaf and Beowulf defeat the dragon together.

So this is where Wiglaf stabs the dragon in the belly, it drops Beowulf, Beowulf grabs his dagger, slits the dragon's throat, and the dragon falls down dead.

So we've covered all these events already in our text map, and this is just about grouping them into logical paragraphs.

So we've created the structure of our plan.

So look at your own text map, can you find the events for each paragraph? You might want to circle them and write the numbers next to them.

So can you find paragraph 1, 2, 3, and 4 in your text map? Pause the video and have a go.

Well done.

Fantastic job.

Event 1 is Beowulf first attack fails and the dragon attacks.

So first paragraph I've got here.

So you can see, I've got Beowulf trying to attack the dragon, it doesn't work.

Then, the dragon's breathing fire on him and Beowulf hides behind his metal shield.

Paragraph 2 is the Geats flee and Wiglaf comes to help.

So for me, that's these events.

I've got the Geats being scared, Wiglaf being angry, running towards Beowulf, his shield catching fire, and him hiding behind Beowulf's shield.

For Paragraph 3, we've said Beowulf attacks again and the dragon bites.

So for me, that's this section, which we've already talked about where Beowulf stabs the dragon, his sword breaks, he gets bitten, and he's covered in blood.

So that means the final paragraph of the whole piece of writing is going to be Paragraph 4 here, where we've got Wiglaf stabbing the dragon, the dragon dropping Beowulf, Beowulf using his dagger to slit the dragon's throat, and the dragon lying still because it's dead.

So hopefully you've managed to group the drawings in your text map in the same way.

So now, we can clearly see the structure of the story we're going to write, and you can see what you're going to be including in each paragraph.

Good job.

So which of these paragraphs shows the resolution of the story and how do you know? Pause the video and decide.

Well done.

Good job.

It is, of course, Paragraph 4.

And we know that because this is where the problem is resolved.

Wiglaf and Beowulf defeat the dragon.

The dragon and his existence in Geatland was the problem.

That problem is now finished.

So this is the resolution of the story of "Beowulf from the dragon." Well done.

So we now know the structure of our plan, covering these four paragraphs, and we need to think now about the content.

What are we going to write in each of those paragraphs? And considering different narrative elements can really help us to generate our content for our paragraphs.

So we know that one of those is action.

What are characters doing and what's happening? We also have emotion.

Why are they feeling? And how are they showing it? We have description.

What can we describe? And what do different things look like? That could be settings or characters.

And we have dialogue.

So what are people saying? And if we think about each narrative element for each point or paragraph from the story, we'll have loads to write about 'cause we can always think, well, what are people feeling here? What might people be saying here? What could we describe here? So by thinking through these four filters, or lenses, if you like, it helps us to generate loads of ideas for our planning.

So within each paragraph, we'll plan to include a range of these narrative elements.

So what could we include? Well, let's zoom in on Paragraph 1, Beowulf first attack fails and the dragon attacks.

So for action, what could we have? Well, we could show Beowulf trying to stab the dragon and the dragon breathing fire.

Those are both actions.

What about description? Well, we could talk about Beowulf's sword, and then really importantly, the intense heat of the dragon's fire because you want to show a reader this is a terrible dramatic situation that he's in.

What about emotion? Well, we could show Beowulf's anger and determination as he tries to stab the dragon.

So we've covered action, description, and emotion.

We could also include some dialogue here, perhaps Beowulf could be goading the dragon or we could shout an insult tactic in order to rile it up even further.

So we could have some dialogue here too.

It's up to us as the author to decide what's appropriate.

But you see how looking through the lens of these narrative elements helps us to come up with lots of ideas for what we'd like to write.

So let's think now about Paragraph 2, where the Geats flea and Wiglaf comes to help.

What actions, descriptions, emotions, and dialogue could we be including here? Pause the video and have a think what we might include for each narrative element for Paragraph 2.

Have a go.

Well done.

Great job.

For action, we could talk about the Geats dropping their weapons and running away, and Wiglaf running towards Beowulf, and the dragon breathing fire.

Now notice some of that also shows emotion, doesn't it? Dropping their weapons, running away shows the Geats' fear, even though it's also an action.

And we've said before, these categories often overlap like this.

For description, we could talk about the heat of the dragon's fire again and maybe Wiglaf's shield being on fire as well.

For emotion, we can show the Geats' fear after seeing the dragon's fire, and we can show Wiglaf's fury or anger at them for being so cowardly.

And for dialogue, we could show Wiglaf shouting at the Geats as they leave, and maybe also telling Beowulf that he's coming to help him.

So looking at this through the lens of these narrative elements has given us loads of ideas for what we could include in this paragraph.

Really good ideas, well done.

So thinking about these different narrative elements can really help us to write detailed notes for our plan.

So let's zoom in on Paragraph 1 again, Beowulf's first attack fails and the dragon attacks.

I've got my text map there so I know the events I'm telling from my storytelling, and I also have that rich vocabulary that I've learned previously.

So I'm gonna try and use that as well as my narrative elements to write a really detailed plan here.

So here's how it might look.

Beowulf gritted teeth and narrowed eyes, I'm showing his determination.

Leapt forward, brandishing ornate sword.

Dragon's scales hard as steel.

So he can't penetrate them with his sword.

Dragon opened gaping maw, it's about to breathe fire.

Jet fire hot is midday sun.

Beowulf raised metal shield, he's protecting himself.

And panted as sweat formed on brow.

So if you use some of my rich vocabulary there, you'll see ornate sword and my show-not-tell, gritted teeth, narrowed eyes, and I've got some similes there, hard as steel, hot as the midday sun.

So all of that came from my rich vocabulary.

I've used my storytelling skills to get those events in a sensible order based on what I've said before in my storytelling.

And I've also now got my narrative elements in there too.

You might see emotion there, my show-not-tell in that first note.

I've got some description of the dragon scales and of the heat of that fire.

I've got some action, dragon opening its maw and Beowulf raising his shield.

And I don't have dialogue at this point, but you could add in some if you wanted to.

I've just made the writer's choice not to do that at this stage, but it's up to you.

Can you see how using these different narrative elements, my storytelling skills, and my rich vocabulary helps me to create a really detailed interesting plan in this way.

So where can you see those different narrative elements in Alex's plan for the second paragraph? It says this, Geats watched open-mouthed, dropped weapons and turned and ran, Wiglaf shook fist and bellowed after them, "Come back you cowards!" Gritted teeth and rushed towards Beowulf, shield engulfed in a scalding hurricane, leapt behind Beowulf, "I'm here my king." So where have we use this narrative elements in this plan for Paragraph 2? Pause the video and have a go.

Well done.

Great job.

So maybe you saw here some action, they dropped their weapons and turned and ran.

We've got an emotion here with show-not-tell.

We're showing that Wiglaf is angry 'cause he shook his fist and bellowed after them.

We've got some dialogue.

This is what Wiglaf is shouting at the Geats.

And we've got some description, it was a scalding hurricane.

That's describing the fire again.

So you'll notice again, I've used my storytelling skills to get used in the right order.

I've got my rich vocabulary, like that scalding hurricane, that's simile there, like my show-not-tell, and I've added in now my narrative elements to make sure I've covered lots of those details so that I'm sure my reader's gonna have a really clear picture of what's going on.

So let's begin writing our plan using that same idea.

So going to write our notes to plan our first two paragraphs now.

We're gonna try and include the rich vocabulary we've learned and to use a range of narrative elements, including action, description, dialogue, and emotion.

And of course, you can use a text map and I'm gonna show you some prompts to help you as well.

So we know we've got Paragraph 1, where the first attack fails and the dragon attacks.

So what could we refer to there? We could say what did Beowulf do and did it work? Can we describe the dragon scales? And what did the dragon do? Can we describe the fire? Just some ideas there.

You've got your text map to help you as well.

We know that Paragraph 2 is gonna show the Geats fleeing and Wiglaf coming to help.

So what could we add there? We could talk about the Geats' emotions.

What do they do that shows that motion? Can we show Wiglaf's emotions towards them? And what did Wiglaf do? What did he say to them maybe? And can we describe the fire that he experiences as well? So can you pause the video, have a go at writing your notes separately for those two paragraphs.

Make sure you organise them really clearly so it's easy when you come to write, including your rich vocabulary, your narrative elements, and of course, your storytelling skills, using your text map if you need to.

Pause the video and have a go writing in the notes for those two paragraphs.

Well done.

Brilliant job.

Here's an example of how your notes for these paragraphs might look.

For Paragraph 1, I've got gripped ornate sword, watched dragon approach.

Yelled in anger, "Come here!", swung sharp-tipped blade.

Scales were hard as diamond, an impenetrable shield.

Dragon breathed jet of fire, hot as midday sun.

Raised trusty metallic shield, felt sweat on face.

So you'll see there load to that rich vocabulary, sharp-tipped blade, impenetrable shield, hot as the midday sun, trusty metallic shield.

And I've combined my different narrative elements, I can see some dialogue from, "Come here!" I can see I've got some actions like gripping the sword and watched the dragon.

And I've got some emotions.

I've got the sweat on the face, showing the heat that he feels.

And I've got that anger, and I've just told that he's angry.

I've said yelled in anger, which, as I said, is fine.

Let's look at some notes for Paragraph 2.

I've written other Geats gasped in fear, drop weapons, fled.

Well, that's definitely emotion and action isn't it.

Then I've got Wiglaf bellowed, "Cowards! This is your king!" So he's showing anger and emotion, but also dialogue.

Then I've got shook his fist and scowled, grabbed wooden shield and ran.

There we've got some emotion and action again.

A scalding hurricane turned shield into ash.

That's some description with some action.

And then leapt behind Beowulf, "I'm here my good king!" So I've got some action at the start there and some dialogue.

So you can see, we had lots of different narrative elements there, and we've added in our rich vocabulary as well, along with, of course, my storytelling skills to get those events in the right order.

Really well done for your effort there.

Great job.

Now, let's write notes to plan our final two paragraphs.

So remember, Paragraph 3 is where Beowulf attacks again and the dragon bites him.

And then Paragraph 4, our resolution, here's where Wiglaf and Beowulf defeat the dragon.

So these are two really, really dramatic paragraphs.

So we want really clear notes.

We want to include our rich vocabulary, our range of narrative elements, and, of course, our storytelling skills to get these events in the right order.

Here's gonna text map if we'd like.

Here are some prompts to help you.

For Paragraph 3, we could talk about what happened when Beowulf attacked, described the sword breaking and his emotions in response to that.

And then describe the dragon's bite and really try and show Beowulf's intense pain that he'd be experiencing here.

For Paragraph 4, we've got loads to say, haven't we? We want to show Wiglaf's emotions seeing Beowulf in the dragon's grit, what does he do? What does the dragon then do when he drops Beowulf? And can we show Beowulf's desperation? And of course, the dragon's death as a result of what Beowulf does.

So pause the video here and try and use all your skills, your narrative elements, your rich vocabulary, and your storytelling to try and write some really detailed notes for these two paragraphs.

Have a go.

Fantastic job.

Well done.

So here is an example of how your notice for these paragraphs may look.

For Paragraph 3, I've written gritted teeth, swung heavy sword, powerful blow to ahead.

So I've got some emotion there, the gritting of the teeth, some show-not-tell of the determination, but I've also got some actions, swinging with that powerful blow.

I've got the sword stuck in thick skull and shattered like glass.

There's my rich vocabulary.

Jaw dropped, staggered backwards, show-not-tell.

And dragon seized him, an action.

Teeth like daggers ripped into flesh.

There, I've got my simile again, like daggers, and it's an action, isn't it? They're ripping into the flesh.

Then I've got some show-not-tell for emotions, writhing in pain, eyes squeezed shut.

And the reason is 'cause he's being drenched in blood.

So I've used my narrative elements and my rich vocabulary.

Really well done.

For Paragraph 4, here's what I put.

Wiglaf bellowed in rage, leapt at dragon.

I'm showing his emotions.

Plunged ornate sword into soft belly.

Got some description there, ornate and soft, but it's an action really, isn't it, going on here, plunging that sword in.

Then dragon roared in agony, dropped Beowulf.

So we shown the dragon's emotion and what it did in response, it dropped Beowulf.

Then I said, Beowulf, grabbed trusty dagger, reached up, slit throat.

Lots of action there.

And finally, blood poured out, it stopped moving, and it was dead.

So finishing with some action and description there.

So we've really tried here to combine our narrative elements, rich vocabulary, and storytelling skills create really detailed plans.

The fact that we've already done all of our storytelling means that when we come to write using these plans, our job is going to be so much easier.

Really well done for how well you've worked on making such a detailed plan, and really well done for including all of these features that we've been talking about.

Great job.

Let's summarise our learning in this lesson.

We're preparing to write the climax and resolution of "Beowulf and the dragon." And a good way of doing this is to practise storytelling using our text map.

We also prepare write by planning carefully the structure and content of our writing and any rich vocabulary we wish to use.

When we plan the content of our writing, we can consider different narrative elements, action, description, emotion, and dialogue.

You've done a fantastic job with your planning today.

It's gonna be so useful to you when you come to write.

So I'd love to see you in the next session where we'll begin writing this climax and resolution together.

I'll see you there.

Goodbye.