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Year 4

Writing the final paragraph of a diary entry based on 'Into the Forest'

I can write the final paragraph of a diary entry based on ‘Into the Forest’.

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New
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Year 4

Writing the final paragraph of a diary entry based on 'Into the Forest'

I can write the final paragraph of a diary entry based on ‘Into the Forest’.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. This paragraph recounts the final part of the boy’s journey and his reunion with his dad in the past tense.
  2. The boy’s emotions heighten and he experiences intense fear before experiencing great relief.
  3. A key linguistic feature in the final paragraph of a diary entry is the shift from past to present tense.
  4. Present tense writing at the end of a diary entry conveys current reflections and feelings.
  5. Rhetorical questions can be used to convey internal questions and emotions in a diary entry.

Keywords

  • Emotions - strong feelings that result from a person’s circumstances, mood, or relationships with others

  • Present tense - refers to a verb form that indicates an action or state happening in the current moment

  • Rhetorical question - a question asked that does not expect an answer

Common misconception

Children might struggle to identify how to transition into the present tense smoothly in a way that supports text flow.

Highlight the use of the compound sentence using 'but' to contrast between past and present emotions. Encourage children to orally rehearse a similar sentence as their transition point to the present tense.

You could also model sentences that have a mixture of simple and progressive past tense to extend children, e.g. By the time I arrived at the house, my heart was pounding in my chest.
Teacher tip

Equipment

You need a copy of the 2022 Puffin Books edition of ‘Into the Forest’ by Anthony Browne 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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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Put the following events in the correct order to show the chronology of the boy’s final recount.
1 - I ran towards Grandma’s house as quickly as I could.
2 - I became really scared because it felt like I was being followed.
3 - I arrived and it didn’t sound like Grandma inside. I panicked!
4 - I went inside and I found Grandma AND Dad! I told them everything.
Q2.
Select the correct emotion to complete the following sentence: 'The boy's fear turns to __________ when he is reunited with his grandma and his dad.'
horror
anxiety
Correct answer: relief
upset
Q3.
Which of the following linguistic features will you use when continuing the recount in the final paragraph?
Correct answer: first person perspective
Correct answer: past tense
present tense
Correct answer: informal language
formal language
Q4.
Match each sentence type to the piece of punctuation that demarcates it at the end.
Correct Answer:statement,.

.

Correct Answer:exclamation,!

!

Correct Answer:question,?

?

Q5.
When will you switch into the present tense in your diary entry?
Correct answer: when I have finished recounting the day
when I am describing past events
Correct answer: when I am conveying my current feelings
Q6.
Match each sentence type to the correct definition.
Correct Answer:simple sentence,a sentence about one idea that makes complete sense

a sentence about one idea that makes complete sense

Correct Answer:compound sentence,a sentence formed of two main clauses and a joining word

a sentence formed of two main clauses and a joining word

Correct Answer:adverbial complex sentence,a sentence formed of a main clause and an adverbial subordinate clause

a sentence formed of a main clause and an adverbial subordinate clause

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of the below are examples of the kind of informal language you would use when writing your diary entry?
Correct answer: Her voice sounded SO strange!
Correct answer: I was really freaked out.
I was slightly unnerved by the circumstances.
Correct answer: I didn't think it was Grandma!
I did not think it sounded like my grandmother.
Q2.
Match each sentence type to the correct example.
Correct Answer:simple sentence,My heart pounded in my chest.

My heart pounded in my chest.

Correct Answer:compound sentence,I was super freaked out, but I went inside anyway.

I was super freaked out, but I went inside anyway.

Correct Answer:adverbial complex sentence,When I arrived, the voice inside didn’t sound like Grandma!

When I arrived, the voice inside didn’t sound like Grandma!

Q3.
What tense do you shift to at the end of a diary entry?
past
Correct answer: present
future
Q4.
True or false? I cannot use different tenses in the same sentence.
Correct Answer: False, false
Q5.
What is a rhetorical question?
a question that the reader answers
Correct answer: a question that does not expect an answer
a question that makes people laugh
Q6.
When we write, we always try to do which of these things?
Correct answer: Plan and say each sentence before we write it.
Correct answer: Vary our sentence types.
Use only simple sentences.
Write as much as possible and as quickly as we can.
Correct answer: Use punctuation where we know the rules.