New
New
Year 1

Writing a character description of Paddington

I can use adjectives to describe Paddington's personality and appearance.

New
New
Year 1

Writing a character description of Paddington

I can use adjectives to describe Paddington's personality and appearance.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. An adjective describes a noun
  2. A character can feel different emotions at different points of a story
  3. Including a range of adjectives to describe the same feeling stops repetition and makes writing more interesting
  4. Two descriptions can be joined together to form one sentence using "and"
  5. An adverb describes or adds detail to a verb

Keywords

  • Character - a person or animal in a story

  • Description - using words to help someone imagine what something is like

  • Adjective - a word that describes a noun

  • Adverb - a word that describes a verb

  • Joining word - a word that joins words or ideas

Common misconception

Pupils may struggle to apply their knowledge of adverbs.

Adapt outcomes or increase the scaffolds where necessary. Word banks should assist in generating the vocabulary, but if necessary, remove the expectation of adverb use, such as "Paddington is a kind, friendly bear." to describe his personality.

Referring back to vocabulary from earlier in the unit and prior units helps children to produce richer descriptions. You could make use of other iterations of Paddington to develop descriptions and understanding of his personality further, such as the films, TV series or other books.
Teacher tip

Equipment

You will need a copy of the 2014 Harper Collins Children's Books edition of 'Paddington' by Michael Bond, illustrated by R. W. Alley for this lesson.

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
In the story 'Paddington', Paddington is the main ...
setting.
plot.
Correct answer: character.
Q2.
Which of these can be described in a character description?
what I did at the weekend
facts about animals
Correct answer: a character's personality
Correct answer: a character's appearance
Q3.
What is the verb in the following sentence? 'Paddington slipped on the soap.'
Paddington
Correct answer: slipped
the
soap
Q4.
What are the nouns in the following sentence? 'Paddington wears a red, floppy hat.'
Correct answer: Paddington
wears
red
floppy
Correct answer: hat
Q5.
What are the adjectives in the following sentence? 'Paddington wears a red, floppy hat.'
Paddington
wears
Correct answer: red
Correct answer: floppy
hat
Q6.
Which of these sentences is correctly punctuated?
My dog likes toys. and he likes food.
My dog likes toys. And he likes food.
My dog likes toys and He likes food.
Correct answer: My dog likes toys and he likes food.

6 Questions

Q1.
Match each term to the correct definition.
Correct Answer:character,a person or animal in a story

a person or animal in a story

Correct Answer:personality,what someone is like on the inside

what someone is like on the inside

Correct Answer:appearance,what someone or something looks like

what someone or something looks like

Q2.
Which of these expanded noun phrases might describe someone's appearance?
Correct answer: bright, blue coat
kind, friendly bear
Correct answer: brown, short fur
curious, excited bear
Q3.
Which of these expanded noun phrases might describe someone's personality?
Correct answer: clumsy, messy bear
black, wet nose
Correct answer: chatty, excited bear
brown, leather case
Q4.
Which of these words can replace 'Paddington Bear' to show you are talking about him?
Mr Brown
Judy
Correct answer: Paddington
Correct answer: he
Q5.
When you use the joining word 'and', what does 'and' replace?
Correct answer: the first full stop
the verb
the character's name
Correct answer: the capital letter starting the second idea
Q6.
Which of these sentences is punctuated correctly?
Paddington has a black, wet nose and he wears a red, floppy hat
Paddington has a black, wet nose. and he wears a red, floppy hat.
Paddington has a black, wet nose and He wears a red, floppy hat
Correct answer: Paddington has a black, wet nose and he wears a red, floppy hat.