Hello, and thank you for joining me in today's English lesson.

My name is Mrs. Butterworth and in today's lesson we will focus on planning an open letter using single paragraph outlines.

Now, I know some of you may not like planning or think planning's a waste of time.

However, with the right strategies, I'm going to show you that planning is such an important part of the writing process and an effective plan can really elevate your writing.

So we're gonna go through that today, and I promise you're gonna finish this lesson with loads of really great strategies for a really great plan to really improve your writing.

So let's get started.

So in this lesson, you will plan a letter using single paragraph outlines with a focus on using credible statistics, direct address and figurative language.

But before we delve into the main part of the lesson, let's look at those all important key words.

And you may spot these popping up throughout the lesson.

Now these words are open letter, tenacious, credible, figurative language, and meticulously.

Now an open letter is a form of writing, and this is a letter that is written to or addressed to a particular person or group, but which is published in a newspaper or journal so the public can read it.

So it's almost like it has two audiences or a dual reader because we get the person that is is being addressed to and written to, but then also the general public or readers of the publication.

Then we have this lovely word tenacious, which means to not give up easily.

So you might describe someone as having a tenacious attitude towards work.

Then we have credible, which means convincing, trustworthy, and reliable.

And this is what we are aiming for with our writing.

We want it to be credible.

And then we've got figurative language.

And figurative language is all those uses of language that are non-literal words and phrases.

And these really help us to develop our own writing and help writers develop their own meanings.

And then meticulously means we are going through something really thoroughly with a real attention to every single detail.

So the outline of our lesson looks like this.

We're going to start by exploring a model of an open letter so we know what we're aiming for, and then we're going to move on to that planning process using those single paragraph outlines.

So let's begin by exploring that model letter.

Now "A letter to.

." which is what we're going to be thinking about today, it was part of a series in the Guardian newspaper.

So in this series people wrote letters that they wish they had sent to a significant person in their life but hadn't.

So these letters appeared in the Guardian and followed the same kind of format.

So here was some of the examples.

So one is "A letter to.

My son, who is a drug addict." We also have "A letter to.

My dog, A letter to.

The teacher who inspired my son." So very different types of letters here.

And "A letter to.

My life long sidekick, A letter to.

Gramps, A letter to.

The woman I shouted at in the supermarket queue." That one sounds interesting, doesn't it? And "A letter to.

My mom who refuses to be old even though she's 94." So a real range there of people that these letters are directed to.

So all the letters in the Guardian's series "A letter to.

." were open letters.

So we've got that key word there, open letter, which refers to the form that we are looking at today.

Now, as I said previously, but just to remind you, an open letter is a letter written to a particular person or group, but which is published in a newspaper or journal so the public can read it.

So we really need to think about this having kind of dual audiences or multiple readers.

So the person that is being or group that is being written to, and then the people that also get to read that letter in the publication.

And another key point about open letters is it really balances the private with the public.

So if we think letters are very often associated with private feelings and messages from one individual to another, so the personal, private contents of the letter is written knowing that the public will read it so that slight alters the type of language that might be used.

So today, you are going to write an open, you are going to plan to write an open letter as part of the Guardian's "A letter to.

." series.

So first we need to think about who we are going to write our letters to.

And we have our Oak pupils here, Alex, Lucas and Izzy, all discussing who are they would like to write their open letter to.

So let's look.

So Alex says he's going to write his open letter to my dad who helped me learn how to read.

Lucas says, "I'm going to write my open letter to my older sister who has just bought her first car.

I'm so proud of her." And Izzy is said, "I'm inspired by one of the titles of the open letters." Oh great, and is going to write, "'A letter to.

my lifelong sidekick' so I'm going to write an open letter to my best friend and explain why she is so special." So again, a real range of ideas there of the types of people that you could write to in your open letter.

So now it's time for you to think about who you want your open letter to be addressed to and why.

So pause the video so you've got time to discuss your ideas, or you may wish to sit quietly, think to yourself or even jot down some ideas.

So who do you want your open letter to be to and why? Pause the video to get those answers going.

Off you go.

Great, some really lovely thoughtful suggestions there.

And again, such a range of different people that we are going to write our letters to.

So well done.

Now, when planning to write an open letter, you should prepare to include some of the following methods.

So let's look at those specifically.

So you may want to prepare to include some credible statistics.

So remember statistics which seem reliable because they have a date, source and realistic set of numbers.

So when we are using statistics, we want them to be credible.

Direct address is very important to the letter form.

So words and phrases which directly address your audience.

For example, you, we or us or even a name or term of endearment.

So if you've got for example, a nickname for your best friend, you may want to include that as part of your direct address.

And then figurative language.

And remember that figurative language is non-literal words and phrases which develop a writer's meaning.

So we want to try and find opportunities to include these methods in our own planning and writing.

Depending on your letter, it might not be appropriate to include credible statistics.

So you need to think about this as well.

This is all part of the planning process about thinking what is appropriate for your own writing.

So you will have to decide if they enhance the letter.

So Lucas has written a first paragraph and here it is.

Let's read it through together, "A letter to.

My sister, who has just bought her first car.

Dear Keeley, I just have to say how proud I am of you for getting your first set of wheels.

You've unlocked a new level in this game called life, and I'm in awe of how far you've come.

You earn the money to buy your car meticulously and with determination.

You gained the confidence to drive the tenacious hard work.

You've turned the key on a new chapter.

Watching you take this big step is like witnessing a sunrise bright, full of promise and absolutely beautiful.

Keeley, well done!" So let's just look at what Lucas has done effectively.

He's included direct address, so you can see that highlighted there, you and your, and he's also included some really fantastic uses of figurative language.

So this idea of unlocking a new level of a game, that idea of turning the key on a new chapter and the idea that it's almost like witnessing a sunrise.

So he's really successfully used that figurative language there.

I'd like you to discuss, please, which example do you think is the most successful and why? So pause the video so you've got time to discuss that question or think quietly to yourself, which example do you think is the most successful and why? Pause the video now.

And then I'd also like you to discuss now you have considered what has worked well.

Do you think using statistics could be helpful to Lucas in his open letter? And I want you to consider why or why not, this maybe.

So pause the video to give yourself time to discuss or think about your answers to those questions.

Off you go.

Thank you for your thoughtful discussions.

So some of you said that actually it may not be appropriate for Lucas to use statistics because actually this is quite a personal letter and it might feel a bit odd or inappropriate to be using statistics to write to your sister.

So perhaps in this instance using statistics may not be appropriate.

However, some of you did perhaps suggest that maybe there could be some statistics about how many young people own a car and maybe that could work in this letter.

So I think it's about really thinking about this use of statistics and whether it is appropriate or whether you can make it appropriate.

But we don't just want to put them in for the sake of it because we don't want the letter to be not quite right for the audience.

So really think about it.

Is it appropriate? Is it gonna make the letter better? We don't just want to use them for the sake of it.

Okay, so A, B, or C, which of the following are examples of figurative language? You need to come up with your answers now.

Okay, let's see, how many of you got the right answer? Ready? It is actually A and C.

So well done to everyone that figured out that it's A and C.

Let's just read those through.

So A is, "But as your brother, I can't help but feel a few clouds of worry drift in." So really lovely use of figurative language there.

You know, using the the image of clouds to link to how he's feeling.

And then, "You've got the world at your feet.

I know you'll navigate it with grace and strength." And again, this idea of using this image of the world and his sister standing on top of it, really helps to explain how he is feeling to the reader.

Okay, so what I would like you to do now is we have Lucas' open letter in full and this can be found in the additional materials.

So what I would like you to do is I'd like you to read that through first, and then as you read, I would like you to identify each example of the following methods.

So where Lucas has used credible statistics, where he has used direct address and where he has used figurative language.

Once you have read that and annotated it and identified those methods, I'd like you to discuss please the following two questions.

One, "Which do you think is the most successful use of figurative language and why?" And number two, "Do you think Lucas' use of statistics is appropriate for his open letter? Consider its tone and audience." Okay, so lots for you to be getting on with, make sure you have everything you need to complete this task and we'll come back together in a moment and feedback some ideas, okay? Get ready to pause the video to complete this task.

Off you go.

Okay, great.

Isn't that a really good example of an open letter? So let's just come together and feedback some ideas.

So we have our two pupils here, Aisha and Sofia.

And these two pupils are discussing what they think was Lucas' most successful use of figurative language.

So let's read those.

So Aisha said, "For me, it was when Lucas writes about the clouds of worry, it develops the sense that his worries are large, visible and threaten to overwhelm him." That's a really lovely explanation from Aisha there.

She's really explained why she thinks it's so successful.

And Sofia says, "For me, it's when Lucas says Keeley is about to start a new adventure.

It expresses that life can be thrilling, unusual, and scary." And again, a really lovely explanation there as to why that figurative language is successful.

And it's really specific, isn't it, that the feeling and the ideas that Lucas is putting forward.

So now I want you to discuss what do you think Lucas' most successful use of figurative language was and why? Okay, pause the video.

So you've got time to discuss your answer to this question.

Off you go.

Okay, great work everyone.

We are doing so well, but we need to keep that up because we're getting onto the second part of our lesson.

So we've explored a model open letter, we know what we're aiming for, but now we need to think about how we plan our letter using single paragraph outlines.

So let's carry on.

So to plan each paragraph of his letter, Lucas used single paragraph outlines.

Now what this is, is it looks like this, we've got the outline of our paragraph, so you can see that the first section there is a topic sentence.

Now a topic sentence will introduce the main ideas in your paragraph.

So it'll be a full sentence.

And then we've got the second section here, which is all about supporting details.

So this might be the ideas, methods, and vocabulary you will include.

So it's like notes about what you will include in that main body of your paragraph.

And then finally you will have your concluding sentence.

And this concludes the main ideas in your paragraph.

And this will be a full sentence.

So you'll that the topic sentence and the concluding sentences are full sentences, but in the middle it's only note form.

We only want to think about the methods we're going to use, any key vocabulary and key ideas.

So here is what Lucas' first single paragraph outline looked like.

So remember what his first paragraph was like in the model that we looked at, and this is what he did to plan for it, "I just have to say how proud I am of you for getting your first set of wheels!" So we've got the topic sentence there.

Then we've got the supporting detail, "unlocked a new level in game called life, earned pound sign, meticulously / tenacious hard work, big step equals sunrise bright, promise, beautiful." So you can see there how Lucas, when he was planning, he did it all in note form in that supporting detail.

So he's added in any figurative language, he's put in those key ideas and added in that key vocabulary too.

And then his concluding sentence is, "Keeley, well done!" So you can see here that his topic sentence has a really clear focus, "how proud I am of you." We can see that the supporting detail has those ideas, methods, and vocabulary selected.

And we can see that that concluding sentence really linked to that topic sentence.

So this is a really clear way to plan a paragraph for your writing.

Okay, so see what you remember.

Which aspect of a single paragraph outline should you write in note form? Is it A, B, C, or D? Select your answer now.

Okay, I can hear lots of you shouting the right answer, shall we see if we've got it right? B, it's the supporting detail that should be in note form.

Well done everyone.

Let's keep going.

Okay, so now it's over to you to plan, start planning your own letter.

So you are going to plan an open letter that will be part of the Guardian's "A letter to.

." series.

You can decide who you want to write to and why.

So think back to those earlier discussions that we had in the lesson about potential people to write to.

Or if you're struggling to come up with the own idea, you can use one of the following titles from previous open letters.

So you could use, "A letter to.

My lifelong sidekick" or "A letter to.

The woman I shouted at in the supermarket queue." And you can get a bit creative with that.

You don't have to draw on real life experiences.

You can make up some of those in order to write this letter.

And then what I would like you to do is I'd like you to plan four paragraphs using single paragraph outlines.

So remember that your single paragraph outlines look like this.

You've got your topic sentence with its clear focus, so a feeling or event, you've got that supporting detail, maybe three or four bits of supporting detail which outlines ideas, vocabulary and methods.

And then the concluding sentence, which links to your topic sentence.

Now, if you're struggling to think about what to include in those four paragraphs or how to structure it, go back to that model we looked at, at the first part of the lesson.

And that will give you some ideas as to what to include in each of those paragraphs.

So you should have everything you need to complete this task really well, okay? So when you are ready, pause the video so you can get those four paragraph planned using those single paragraph outlines.

Pause the video and off you go.

Okay, so a very well done.

And I think most of you are starting to realise how great planning is, right? It's fantastic.

And these single paragraph outlines just make it so clear.

So when you go to do future pieces of writing, be sure to use these paragraph outlines to really help make your planning nice and concise and efficient.

Okay, so what I would like you to do now is we have our checklist, and I would like you to identify where your plan has met the checklist by answering each of the questions with either a yes, with a tick, or a no, with a cross.

So let's read that checklist together first, and then it's over to you to check your own work.

So, "Do I have four single paragraph outlines? Is each of my topic sentences and concluding sentences written in full? Do I have three to four pieces of supporting detail in each paragraph?" And, "Have I included direct address and figurative language? Have I included credible statistics, if appropriate?" Okay, so pause video, use that checklist to see what you have done and maybe what you need to include in future.

Pause the video and off you go.

Okay, well done everyone.

You've done it.

You've planned for a piece of writing.

And like I said, I feel pretty confident that you are all now convinced that planning is an excellent thing to do, and I look forward to seeing future pieces of writing accompanied by a really good efficient plan.

Okay, so let's recap everything we've looked at.

An open letter is written to a particular person or group that published so that the public can read it.

Using single paragraph outlines is a good way to plan each paragraph in an extended piece of writing.

Single paragraph outlines include a topic and concluding sentence, written in full, and supporting detail in note form.

And then finally, when planning a piece of extended writing, you should consider which methods are most appropriate to convey your ideas.

So well done, my planners of writing (chuckles) and I look forward to doing this all again soon in another lesson.

Thanks for joining me and I'll see you soon.

Bye-Bye.