Skip to content
Oak National Academy
Oak National Academy
Teachers
Pupils
icon-background-square
New
New
Year 4

Planning the opening of 'The Happy Prince'

I can plan the opening of ‘The Happy Prince’.

Download all resources
arrow-right
Share activities with pupils
arrow-right
icon-background-square
New
New
Year 4

Planning the opening of 'The Happy Prince'

I can plan the opening of ‘The Happy Prince’.

Download all resources
arrow-right
Share activities with pupils
arrow-right
warning

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.
View new resources
arrow-right

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The purpose of the opening is to engage the reader and introduce the setting and characters.
  2. When we plan, we log precise and ambitious vocabulary to help paint vivid pictures for our reader.
  3. Fronted adverbials of time, place and manner are included in a plan to add extra detail about the action.
  4. Dialogue is the written conversation between two characters or more within a narrative and it moves the story forward.
  5. Figurative language is used in narrative writing to create vivid pictures for the reader.

Keywords

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

  • Notes - written out of full sentences

  • Ambitious vocabulary - high-level language in writing that meets the text purpose

  • Figurative language - the use of metaphor, simile and personification to paint vivid pictures for the reader

  • Dialogue - the written conversation between two characters or more within a narrative

Common misconception

Planning needs to be detailed and include full sentences.

Planning should only log key vocabulary and it should be written in note-form using bullet points.


To help you plan your year 4 english lesson on: Planning the opening of 'The Happy Prince', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Re-read the opening several times so that pupils are clear about which moments of 'The Happy Prince' are in the opening. Ensure that pupils can sequence the plot events of the opening orally with confidence.
speech-bubble
Teacher tip
copyright

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

Skip lesson video

Loading...

Starter quiz

Download starter quiz

6 Questions

Q1.
Fill in the missing word. The prince is the main __________ in 'The Happy Prince'.
title
setting
Correct answer: character
Q2.
What is a plan?
a final piece of written work
Correct answer: a framework that writers create before they write
a writer's first ideas said aloud about their writing
Q3.
What is the main setting in 'The Happy Prince'?
the seamstress' house
Correct answer: the city
the sky
Q4.
Which of these is a fronted adverbial followed by?
full stop
exclamation mark
Correct answer: comma
question mark
Q5.
What does a full sentence need to include?
a comma
Correct answer: a capital letter
Correct answer: a verb
Correct answer: a full stop
a conjunction
Q6.
Match the word classes to their definitions.
Correct Answer:adjective,a word that describes a noun
tick

a word that describes a noun

Correct Answer:noun,a person, place or thing
tick

a person, place or thing

Correct Answer:verb,a doing, being or having word
tick

a doing, being or having word

Correct Answer:adverb,a word that describes a verb
tick

a word that describes a verb

Exit quiz

Download exit quiz

6 Questions

Q1.
True or false? A plan should be written in full sentences.
Correct Answer: false, False
Q2.
What are the purposes of the opening of a narrative?
to build up tension
Correct answer: to engage the reader so that they carry on reading
to entertain the reader with characters' spoken words
Correct answer: to introduce the setting and characters
Q3.
Fill in the gap: A fronted adverbial of __________ tells the reader when the action in the main idea takes place.
Correct answer: time
place
manner
cause
Q4.
Order the four key moments of the opening chronologically.
1 - A statue of a prince was overlooking the city.
2 - One night, a bird was flying alone looking for somewhere to rest.
3 - The bird perched on the statue’s feet and noticed he was crying.
4 - The statue explained his sorrows and asked the bird to help him.
Q5.
Which of the following are true about dialogue?
It makes the reader laugh.
Correct answer: It is the written conversation between two characters in a narrative.
It gives human qualities to non-human objects.
Correct answer: It helps move the story forward.
It describes a noun in further detail.
Q6.
Which of the following is an example of personification?
The moon was shining brightly in the night sky.
The stars glistened in the darkness.
Correct answer: The dark, starry sky held the bright moon in its hand.
The bird soared through the night sky.

Additional material

Download additional material