Hi there, Mr. Barnsley here.

Fantastic to see you today.

Thank you so much for joining me as we continue to look at the endings of stories, and today it is your time to get creative.

I'm really excited to see you craft your own endings.

We're gonna be looking at four different ending types and you are then gonna select the one that you think works best for a story of yours.

All right, really excited to see what you do today.

Let's get started.

Okay, so let's have a look at the outcome of today's lesson.

By the end of the lesson, you are gonna be able to select and write an effective ending for a fictional story.

Now, let's look at some of our keywords that are gonna appear in today's lesson.

All of these words relate to the impact an ending of a story might have on a reader.

So to reassure means to say or do something to remove doubts or fears that someone might have.

If someone is unsettled, they're gonna feel nervous or worried.

They're probably gonna be very unable to relax.

The verb to subvert means to criticise or to undermine the usual way of doing something or common values to flip something on its head.

And tension is a feeling of nervousness that it makes you really unable to relax.

So as we think about different types of endings that we could use in our writing, let's think about the impact these might have on our reader and let's see if we use some of these keywords.

All right, so today we're focusing on crafting endings to our own writing, and there are two learning cycles in today's lesson.

First, we are gonna be considering different types of endings and then you are gonna write your effective ending.

You are gonna select the ending that you think works best for the piece of writing that you want to do.

Let's start then by considering different endings.

First, let's start with a discussion.

Over to you, why do you think the ending of a story is so important? All right, pause the video.

If you've got a partner, you can discuss with them.

Otherwise you can work through this independently.

All right, pause the video and press play when you're ready to continue.

Welcome back.

I heard some really great ideas there and some people really passionate about the importance of the ending of the story.

Now, I heard lots of you saying that it really affects how we interpret the story.

The ending can often change the meaning, particularly that ending comes out the blue and is not what we were expecting.

It can really impact our meaning and our interpretation and our understanding of a story.

And I heard some of you saying actually it can change our emotional response.

It can really alter how we feel about the characters in that story and ultimately the way it has been resolved.

Well done if you've said anything similar to what you can see on screen, and of course you may have had some different ideas as well that were also perfectly valid.

All right, let's think about the different ways that we can end our stories.

The first way is a resolution.

And a resolution is where any unanswered questions are answered and all of those loose ends are tied up.

For example, if we were reading a crime fiction text, a resolution might be that the crime has been solved and that criminal has been apprehended.

They've been punished for their crimes.

So why might a writer choose to end their story with a resolution? What might the impact on the reader be? Over to you for this one.

Discuss in pairs or think through these questions by yourself, but pause the video to give yourself some time to think and press play when you are done.

Welcome back.

Some really great ideas there.

I heard lots of you saying, and well done if you use this keyword, that the reader might feel reassured, everything works out.

It really portrays life as being something that's stable and secure, kind of almost slightly predictable.

And it makes us as a reader feel safe.

It makes us feel safe about the world around us and the society around us perhaps.

Great job if you said something similar to those ideas that you can see on screen.

But another way that we might choose to end a text is by using a cliffhanger.

Now a cliffhanger is a plot device and this is where an element of the story is left unresolved.

So almost the opposite of a resolution.

Now, for example, a cliffhanger might be where the main character is left in a deadly situation, but we never find out what happens to them.

Over to you for these questions here.

Why do you think a writer might choose to use a cliffhanger? And what might the impact on us as a reader be? Okay, again, I want you to pause the video.

And if you have a partner, please discuss it with them.

But don't worry if you're working by yourself.

You can take a few moments to think through these questions.

Make a few notes if you wish.

So over to you now to pause the video and press play when you've got some ideas.

Welcome back.

This is a bit of a trickier one.

It's not quite as simple as a resolution to think about why a writer might do it, although you probably felt quite comfortable talking about the impact it might have on you.

So, well done if you use some of these keywords, tension or unsettled emotions.

It doesn't make us as the reader feel very comfortable.

But why? Why would a writer want to make their readers feel uncomfortable? Well, it might make us have to accept these really uncomfortable ideas that actually not everything in life gets revolved.

Sometimes we have to accept that we have to live with the unknown however uncomfortable and unsettling that feels for us as readers.

That is the reality of life and perhaps that's what the writer is alluding to or wanting to make us think about.

Great job if you've said anything like that.

And of course you might had slightly different ideas and they are all perfectly valid too.

So a third technique that we could use is an anti-climax.

Now an anti-climax is where something is much less exciting, much less dramatic than we were expecting it to be.

For example, we might expect to see a final battle between two characters, but instead they simply choose to walk away from each other rather than engaging in battle.

Over to you for this one.

Why might a writer choose to use an anti-climax? And what's the impact going to be on a reader? Pause the video.

Think in pairs or by yourself and press play when you've got some ideas.

Welcome back.

Again, a tricky one to work through here.

I heard some really great ideas and I loved, loved, loved it when I heard people use that verb to subvert.

So it subverts people's expectations about what an ending looks like.

It can also challenge these dominant narratives, these ideas that we expect about what a happy ending is or about what winning looks like.

And it could really challenge us to question those expectations that we have.

Really well done if you said something similar to what you can see on screen.

These are quite complex ideas, but actually we do see writers use anti-climax and we should always be thinking about why.

What's the purpose there? Well done if you said anything that you can see on the screen there.

And our final technique that we'll be looking at in today's lesson that we might choose to use is a plot twist.

And a plot twist is a radical change in direction or expected outcome to the plot of that text.

Okay, so we might have expected it to end in a certain way, but suddenly everything is flipped around and something that we did not see coming appears.

So for example, a plot twist might be where we think a couple is gonna live happily ever after.

But then we discover that that was not real and that's not what happened.

Over to you for this one then.

Why do you think a writer might choose to end with a plot twist? And what is the impact on readers? Pause the video.

Think with your partner or think by yourself and press play when you are ready to move on.

Some great interesting discussions going on there.

I heard lots of you using that verb to subvert again, subverting our expectations and actually creating this unsettled feeling.

It realises that life isn't predictable and we can't assume everything is as it appears.

And I think that's a really important message that some writers are going to want their readers to understand and to feel.

Well done if you said anything similar.

And of course you might have had different ideas as well and that's okay.

All right, let's check our understanding of these four different types of endings that we could use.

On the screen, you've got a gap fill, four sentences with the technique missing.

Can you add the correct technique into each of these gaps? Pause the video.

If you want to do this verbally with a partner, you can.

Otherwise you could just jot down some ideas if you are working by yourself.

Pause the video.

Give this a go.

And press play when you are ready to find out if you've got the answers correct.

Welcome back.

Some really great work there and sometimes you're having to do some deductions work out which were the easiest ones to fill in first and then try and work out what might fit where.

Let's see how you did then, shall we? So a resolution is where any unanswered questions are answered and any loose ends are tied up.

A cliffhanger is a plot device in which an element of a story is left unresolved.

And anti-climax is where something is much less exciting or dramatic than it was expected to be.

And a plot twist is a radical change in the direction or unexpected outcome of the plot in a work of fiction.

Well done if you've got those correct.

So now, we are going to look at a story and think about how the different endings are going, could impact the overall plot of this story.

So here is a summary of a story that I have created.

So I want you to imagine that we are living in a society where honour and reputation are everything.

And there is a lord of an estate, very powerful person who owns a great amount of land, but he is killed by an intruder who takes over the estate and turns out all of the lord's family onto the streets, casts them out from their estate.

Now the lord's son vows revenge and he spends his life dedicating himself to becoming a great warrior.

Have a think.

What are the different ways that you could end this story? What are the different ways that you could end this story? Pause the video, have a discuss with your partner or think about this by yourself.

What are the different ways you could end this story? Pause the video, get creative, and press play when you are ready to share your answers.

Welcome back.

I heard some really creative ideas there.

Really, really well done.

Here are some of the things that you might have said.

So you might have talked about a resolution, something where all the loose ends are tied up.

Maybe the son returns to his former family estate.

He challenges the intruder to a duel and he wins.

And in doing so, he restores his family's position and honour.

You might have talked about that technique of a cliffhanger.

So the son does become this great warrior and he returns to the family estate.

He challenges the intruder to a duel.

But maybe we don't see the end of the fight.

We don't see who wins.

We don't get that resolution.

I heard some of you talking about anti-climax.

And so perhaps the son spends this time becoming a great warrior.

He goes back to his family estate, but actually he chooses not to go in.

He chooses not to fight.

And I heard some of you talking about a plot twist and there were lots of different ideas you might have had for a plot twist, but I really liked what I heard some of you saying that actually maybe the lord wasn't dead at all.

Maybe he and the intruder were working together because the lord wants to get rid of his family.

What a plot twist that would be.

We don't think we would've expected to see that one coming.

Now I want you to think about how all of these different endings might influence how we interpret or respond to the story.

So how might, you know, why might a writer choose to have that resolution where the intruder is defeated and the family restored? What lessons are we learning there? What about the cliffhanger, the unknown outcome to the fight? How are we gonna respond to that? What about the anti-climax of the son walking away or the plot twist of the lord planning the whole thing themselves? All right, over to you for this one.

With a partner or by yourself, think about the impact these different endings might have.

How are we as a reader gonna interpret or respond to the story? All right, pause the video.

Have a think.

And press play when you've got some ideas.

Welcome back.

Some really, really interesting ideas are about the impact that these different endings might have.

So I heard plenty of people talking about the resolution being, you know, one that, as a reader, might feel the most comfortable towards.

It tells us that if we work hard we can right any wrongs that have happened to us and we can restore society to order.

A cliffhanger, however, might link to this idea that there never is actually an end and actually there's always gonna be another problem in people's lives.

So even if the son does manage to get the estate back under his control, that doesn't mean that there's gonna be a happy ending for all.

The anti-climax subverts our ideas about what is important in life and actually perhaps this makes us think, is owning all of this land and being all powerful actually that important to this young man? Or was it the process of becoming a brave warrior and what he learned along the way actually the importance and the things that would bring satisfaction to him? And finally, a plot twist is really unsettling to us as a reader.

It's something unexpected.

It implies that actually we don't truly know the motivations or the desires of people around us and even people we think we should trust like family might be really difficult for us to know exactly what is going on in their mind.

Very unsettling.

Well done if you said something similar to what you can see on screen.

Of course there are many different interpretations that readers might have had and you might have discussed different ideas and that's great as well.

All right, let's do a check to see how we're getting on then.

True or false.

Having a resolution where the intruder is defeated and the family estate is restored, that might be a reassuring end.

Is that true or false? What do you think? Pause the video.

Have a think and also have a think about why.

Well done if you said true.

And why? Why is this true? Well, you might have said, "Well, arguably, a resolution where the antagonist is defeated and the hero is restored to their rightful place in society makes us feel really comforted that rights can be wronged and justice can be done." And that's really reassuring.

Well done if you said something similar.

All right, over to you for our first task in today's lesson.

Let's remind ourselves of the summary of the story.

We are living in a society where honour and reputation is everything.

The lord of an estate is killed by the intruder and he takes over the estate, turning the lord's family out onto the street and the lord's son vows revenge and spends his life dedicating himself to becoming a great warrior.

I want you to answer the following questions.

What type of ending are you gonna choose to end this story? And what specifically is going to happen in the ending? Remember there are four different endings that you could use.

These are resolution, a cliffhanger, an anti-climax, or a plot twist.

All right, pause the video and get thinking, get planning.

How are you gonna end this story? Remember to press play when you are done.

Welcome back.

It was great to see you thinking so creatively there about how you might choose to end those stories.

Before we move on to the next part of today's lesson, I want to take a moment to stop and reflect on the work that we've done so far.

So I want you to read back over your answers and I want you to reflect using the following questions.

Why have you chosen that particular ending type? And what impact do you think your ending will have on the reader? All right, pause the video and take a moment to reflect now.

All right, welcome back.

Great reflections there.

Let's compare the reflective work that we've done to one of our Oak pupils.

Izzy reflected on the ending.

She chose and she said, "I chose to write an anti-climax where the protagonist walks away because I think it would redefine how we measure success and achieving our goals.

I think the protagonist would realise that actually they have become good enough through their hard work and they don't need their family estate to complete them." She also said, "I think maybe it might make the reader consider something that they are holding onto as a goal and whether achieving it will actually make them satisfied." If Izzy chose that ending, how would you feel about that? Why don't you pause the video, have a quick think with your partner or independently, and press play when you're ready to move on.

Okay.

Welcome back.

It is now time for us to write our own effective endings.

So we might summarise what we've thought about today, the potential impact of each ending like this.

Resolutions, leaving the reader feeling reassured, optimistic.

They give us ideas of safety, security, stability.

Cliffhangers create tension.

They leave the reader feeling unsettled and perhaps unsure.

Anti-climax as they will, they subvert expectations.

Perhaps the connotations have changed.

They're less intense than some other endings.

And a plot twist could also subvert expectations.

They perhaps leave the reader feeling unsettled that things aren't what they expected.

Over to you now to think about how if whichever ending that you want to pick, how might you craft those endings to have those impacts that we want to have on the reader? What techniques or words might you choose to use? Pause the video.

Have a think.

If you've got a partner, please discuss with them.

Otherwise, just think through this independently.

Remember to press play when you are done.

All right, let's see some of the things that you might have said then.

So you might have said that if you want a resolution, it's gonna be quite calming.

You might have optimistic.

You might use light imagery.

Light imagery can often represent optimism.

You want things that symbolise safety.

For a cliffhanger, you might want some short sentences, fragments of sentences.

You might want onomatopoeia or plosive sounds to make it feel quite unsettling.

Of course, these are just some techniques that you might use.

Of course you could use any that you feel are suitable.

For anti-climax, you might have said things like water symbolism.

You might have talked about semantic fields of unbalance, that things not being balanced 'cause, you know, things don't quite work out how you expect.

You might have verbs that imply leaving.

Okay? Because we're leaving things unsaid.

And a plot twist.

A plot twist is juxtaposition we might want to use.

We might want to use some figurative language.

We might want to use repetition.

So here are just some of the ideas that you might want to use when crafting an ending.

But of course you can use the techniques that you feel comfortable with and fit and work with the ideas that you are trying to present.

So, which of the following then might you use to show a really reassuring resolution? Is it A, plosive sounds, B, short sentences, or C, light imagery? What do you think? Pause the video.

Have a think and press play when you've got an idea.

Yeah, great work if you said light imagery.

That can be really reassuring and hopeful.

Okay, then onto our final task in today's lesson.

Reminder of the summary of our story.

We live in a society where honour and reputation is everything.

The lord of an estate is killed by an intruder who takes over and turns the lord's family onto the street and the lord's son vows revenge and spends his life dedicating himself to becoming a great warrior.

You are now gonna write the ending of the story.

Remember to choose either a resolution, a cliffhanger, an anti-climax, or a plot twist.

All right, over to you.

I'm really excited to see what you create here.

Pause the video.

Give yourself plenty of time to write.

And press play when you are done.

Good luck.

Welcome back.

It was fantastic to see you being so creative there.

I'm really, really, really impressed and a special well done to anyone who checked their spelling, punctuation, and grammar before they put their pen down.

Great job.

That's what we like to see.

All right, before we finish today's lesson, let's take one final moment to reflect on the work that we've done so far.

If you've got a partner, I would like you to share your work with them and I want you to consider the following questions.

How did they choose to end the story? What impact do you think the ending had on the story? And does it change your interpretation of the story and the characters? If you're working by yourself, you can just use these questions to analyse your own work.

All right, pause the video.

Take a moment to reflect and press play when you are done.

All right, that's it.

Well done.

You've reached the end of today's lesson.

What fantastic job you have done being so creative with your story endings there.

On the screen, you can see a summary of everything that we have learned in today's lesson.

Let's quickly go through this together so you can feel really confident before you move on.

We've learned that potentially we might find a resolution reassuring because it teaches us that society can return to order and justice.

We've learned a cliffhanger ending may create tension because it could imply that there will never be a satisfying ending to problems. We've learned that we may find that an anti-climax subverts our expectations of what a happy ending or winning looks like.

We've also learned that plot twist might be unsettling, as it could imply that we cannot predict outcomes or other people's behaviour.

All right, it's been an absolute pleasure having you in today's lesson.

I really hope that you can join me for another lesson in the future.

Have a great day and see you all soon.

Bye-Bye.