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Year 5

Writing part two of the opening of 'Macbeth'

I can use a plan to write a narrative opening based on Shakespeare's ‘Macbeth’.

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New
New
Year 5

Writing part two of the opening of 'Macbeth'

I can use a plan to write a narrative opening based on Shakespeare's ‘Macbeth’.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Writing is most successful when it is planned.
  2. A narrative opening should engage the reader and describe the setting and any characters who are present.
  3. This narrative opening will be written in the third person.
  4. Dialogue can be used to convey character and advance the action.
  5. Variation in vocabulary and sentence structure engages the reader and improves text cohesion.

Common misconception

Pupils might be confused by the crossover between a fronted adverbial of manner or time and a non-finite or adverbial clause, for example, 'Hunching over,...' or 'As soon as they had spoken, ...'.

Whenever a fronted adverbial of manner is also an adverbial or non-finite clause, make this explicit. For example, in slide 19, you could say 'Leaning towards her sisters,' is a fronted adverbial of manner, but it is also a non-finite clause.

Keywords

  • Apostrophe for possession - a punctuation mark used to show if a noun belongs to another noun

  • Fronted adverbial - a sentence starter followed by a comma

  • Inverted commas - a pair of punctuation marks that signal direct speech to the reader

  • Reporting clause - a clause that tells the reader who said the speech sentence and how

You could play quiet, eerie sounding background music as the pupils write to remind them of the kind of atmosphere they want to create in their writing.
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).

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What features should we include in the second part of our opening of 'Macbeth'?
a detailed description of the setting
Correct answer: a description of the witches
Correct answer: the dialogue between the witches
a description of Lady Macbeth
Q2.
We want our description of the witches to make them sound ...
Correct answer: hideous.
friendly.
Correct answer: devious.
minuscule.
Q3.
Match the types of fronted adverbial to the examples given.
Correct Answer:fronted adverbial of place,Beneath the sky,

Beneath the sky,

Correct Answer:fronted adverbial of manner,With a devious grin,

With a devious grin,

Correct Answer:fronted adverbial of time,Seconds later,

Seconds later,

Q4.
Which type of clause starts the following sentence? 'Huddling together, the three witches spoke in hushed voices.'
adverbial clause
relative clause
Correct answer: non-finite clause
Q5.
Is the speech in the following sentence 'speech first' or 'speech second'? 'Lifting her arms, the sorcerer wailed, "Until we meet again!"'
Correct Answer: speech second, Speech second, 'speech second'
Q6.
What piece of punctuation is missing in the following 'speech second' sentence? 'As they gathered together, the tallest of the hags muttered quietly, "Come closer sisters"'
a comma after the reporting clause
inverted commas around the direct speech
Correct answer: a full stop at the end of the direct speech

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of these is a fronted adverbial of time?
All around,
Sweating profusely,
Correct answer: All of a sudden,
Q2.
Which of the following are complex sentences?
Correct answer: The three hideous figures, who gathered together, had emaciated bodies.
The three hideous figures had emaciated bodies.
Correct answer: The three hideous figures had emaciated faces, dripping with sweat.
The three figures were hideous and they were meeting on a heath.
Q3.
What features can be seen in the following sentence? 'As their tattered cloaks, which hung off their skeletal bodies, billowed in the wild wind, they cackled elatedly.'
Correct answer: adverbial clause
non-finite clause
Correct answer: relative clause
direct speech
fronted adverbial of place
Q4.
Which of the following is a 'speech first' sentence?
Correct answer: “Soon, but not yet,” the wicked hag replied.
The wicked hag replied, “Soon, but not yet.”
The wicked witch scanned the land before replying.
Q5.
What is missing in the following sentence? '“When shall we next meet him on the heath?”'
Correct answer: a reporting clause
inverted commas
a question mark
direct speech
Q6.
Which sentence uses the apostrophe correctly?
The three figure's capes billowed in the wind.
Correct answer: The three figures' capes billowed in the wind.
The three figures cape's billowed in the wind.
The three figures capes' billowed in the wind.