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Year 4

Planning a section of a narrative based on 'The Borrowers'

I can plan a section of the build-up of 'The Borrowers'.

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New
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Year 4

Planning a section of a narrative based on 'The Borrowers'

I can plan a section of the build-up of 'The Borrowers'.

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Share activities with pupils
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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The purpose of the build-up is to build action and suspense leading up to the climax.
  2. In this section of the build-up, Arrietty sets off on her first borrowing expedition and reaches the infamous clock.
  3. A range of precise and ambitious vocabulary is used to describe key moments in the build-up.
  4. ‘Show and tell’ language shows a character’s feelings by describing their actions, body language and facial expressions.
  5. A plan contains precise vocabulary, is written in note format and follows a sequence of events.

Keywords

  • Build-up - the building of action and suspense that leads up to the climax in a narrative

  • Suspense - when you are feeling anxious or excited about what may happen

  • 'show and tell' - a writing technique for showing a character’s feelings with description of their actions and expressions

  • Plan - a framework that writers create before they write a section or whole text

Common misconception

Children may struggle to develop appropriate 'show and tell' language for a range of emotions.

Identify the emotions of characters during this section first and ask children to imagine how they might convey that feeling. E.g. Homily is feeling stubborn and firm. 'Show and tell' for this might be: She gave Pod a stern and silent look.

Create a small teaching point on what suspense feels like for a reader. Explain to children that 'show and tell' language for Arrietty is a key part of building suspense on her journey to the clock and the upstairs.
Teacher tip

Equipment

You need a copy of the 2014 Puffin Books edition of ‘The Borrowers’ by Mary Norton 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.
Who is the author of 'The Borrowers'?
Correct Answer: Mary Norton, mary norton, mary Norton, Norton
Q2.
Order these parts of a story staircase.
1 - opening
2 - build-up
3 - climax
4 - resolution
Q3.
Order the following events from the first part of the build-up.
1 - Pod arrived home from a borrowing expedition.
2 - He told Homily that he had been “seen” by a human.
3 - Homily was very concerned.
4 - Homily said they must tell Arrietty about the upstairs.
Q4.
How did Arrietty feel about the upstairs?
She was terrified of it and wanted to stay underground.
She was somewhat curious.
Correct answer: She was desperate to experience life above ground.
Q5.
How did Arrietty show her mother she was “good” in order to prepare for her first borrowing expedition?
She dressed in really smart clothes.
She read and wrote in her diary every day.
Correct answer: She helped with lots of house chores for weeks.
Q6.
True or false? Homily was against the idea of Arrietty going borrowing.
Correct Answer: false, False

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the keywords to the correct definition.
Correct Answer:build-up,the building of action and suspense that leads up to the climax

the building of action and suspense that leads up to the climax

Correct Answer:suspense,when you are feeling anxious or excited about what may happen

when you are feeling anxious or excited about what may happen

Correct Answer:plan,a framework that writers create before writing a section or whole text

a framework that writers create before writing a section or whole text

Q2.
True or false? 'Show and tell' is a writing technique for showing a character’s feelings with description of their actions and expressions.
Correct Answer: true, True
Q3.
Order the events from the build-up.
1 - Arrietty spent weeks doing chores to show she could be really “good”.
2 - The day finally came when Homily asked Pod to take Arrietty borrowing.
3 - Pod protested against taking Arrietty borrowing but Homily was firm.
4 - Arrietty excitedly followed her father along the passages to the clock.
5 - Arrietty climbed into the clock and stared in awe at their namesake.
Q4.
Which ‘show-and-tell’ language would you use to describe how Arrietty felt during this section of the build-up?
shoulders slumped
Correct answer: eyes lit up
shook uncontrollably
Correct answer: gazed up in awe
Q5.
What is in a plan?
full sentences with capital letters and full stops
unnecessary information
Correct answer: bullet points for notes
Correct answer: ambitious vocabulary
Q6.
Match the example to the word class.
Correct Answer:noun,passages

passages

Correct Answer:adjective,winding

winding

Correct Answer:adverb,carefully

carefully

Correct Answer:verb,followed

followed