New
New
Year 6

Writing the second half of the build-up of 'Beowulf and the dragon'

I can write the second half of the build-up of ‘Beowulf and the dragon’, using a range of narrative elements and cohesive devices to connect ideas.

New
New
Year 6

Writing the second half of the build-up of 'Beowulf and the dragon'

I can write the second half of the build-up of ‘Beowulf and the dragon’, using a range of narrative elements and cohesive devices to connect ideas.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Writing is most successful when structure, content and vocabulary are planned.
  2. We aim to use a range of narrative elements in our writing and to set an appropriate mood with them.
  3. We use a range of cohesive devices to connect ideas, including a variety of fronted adverbials.
  4. We can create compound adjectives using hyphens to add descriptive detail.
  5. We can use dialogue to add to the tense mood of our writing.

Keywords

  • Narrative elements - the content of a narrative, often including action, description, dialogue and emotions

  • Compound adjective - an adjective formed of two hyphenated words

  • Cohesive devices - language structures that develop text cohesion

  • Fronted adverbial - a sentence starter followed by a comma

  • Direct speech - when the exact words spoken by someone are written down, enclosed in inverted commas

Common misconception

Pupils may struggle to connect ideas with appropriate cohesive devices.

When completing shared writing, model considering and rejecting different ways of combining or connecting ideas; there is almost always more than one 'right' way and it is up to us to decide which we want to use.

Refer back to our grammar curriculum for additional lessons on direct speech punctuation or any of the cohesive devices mentioned if required.
Teacher tip

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.
Which narrative elements are used here? 'Beowulf clenched his fists in fury and a tear came to the wrinkled corner of his eye.'
Correct answer: action
dialogue
Correct answer: emotion
Q2.
Which narrative element is used here? 'On its back, there were thick, leathery spines; on its wings, iridescent scales shimmered.'
emotion
Correct answer: description
action
dialogue
Q3.
Which type of complex sentence is used here as a cohesive device? 'Beowulf, who knew it was his duty to protect the Geats, was determined to fight the dragon alone.'
adverbial
Correct answer: relative
complex
Q4.
Which type of sentence is used here as a cohesive device? 'The palisades were still ablaze and the mead-hall had been reduced to smouldering ash.'
adverbial complex
relative complex
Correct answer: compound
non-finite (-ing) complex
Q5.
Which of the below are fronted adverbials of place?
Soon,
The next morning,
Correct answer: On his left,
Correct answer: All around him,
Q6.
In which sentence is the colon in the correct position to introduce an explanation?
Correct answer: Wiglaf protested: he knew Beowulf was not as strong as he had once been.
Wiglaf protested, he knew: Beowulf was not as strong as he had once been.
Wiglaf protested he knew Beowulf was not: as strong as he had once been.

6 Questions

Q1.
Which narrative elements have been used here? 'As he watched, a filth-encrusted serpent emerged slowly from a well-hidden hole in the headland.'
Correct answer: action
emotion
Correct answer: description
dialogue
Q2.
Which narrative elements have been used here? '“Prepare to meet your maker, serpent!” the old king roared …'.
Correct answer: action
Correct answer: emotion
description
Correct answer: dialogue
Q3.
Which of the below are fronted adverbials of manner?
Just then,
Correct answer: Angrily,
Correct answer: Slowly,
On one side,
Q4.
Which of the below are fronted adverbials of place?
Correct answer: On its back,
At that moment,
Correct answer: In the distance,
Suddenly,
Q5.
Which of the following are compound adjectives?
Correct answer: well-hidden
dragon-slayer
Correct answer: weather-beaten
Correct answer: cold-blooded
Q6.
What mood have we aimed for in the build-up of our narrative?
calm
beautiful
Correct answer: tense
grumpy