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Year 3

Writing the climax of 'The Iron Man'

I can write the climax of 'The Iron Man'

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New
New
Year 3

Writing the climax of 'The Iron Man'

I can write the climax of 'The Iron Man'

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The climax takes the suspense to its highest point as the Iron Man resurfaces and humanity grapples with how to respond.
  2. Precise and ambitious vocabulary, including ‘show and tell’, help take the suspense to its highest point in the climax.
  3. Using a range of sentence types, including adverbial complex sentences, supports text flow.
  4. Direct speech shows that a person is speaking out loud and the reporting clause tells us who said it and how.
  5. Inverted commas are used to demarcate speech and a piece of punctuation separates speech from the reporting clause.

Common misconception

Children may assume that any mention of character speech is direct speech because that has been the focus of their learning.

Model how speech is still indirectly reported within the climax alongside direct speech. E.g. 'Hogarth opposed hurting the Iron Man and he told the farmers he had a plan to protect everyone.'

Keywords

  • Climax - the point in the narrative that describes the main action and takes the suspense to its highest point

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

  • Direct speech - the term used for a character speaking out loud in a text

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

  • Inverted commas - punctuation marks used to indicate the beginning and end of direct speech

Ensure children have access to their plan for the climax. It would be helpful if children practise writing out their direct speech and punctuating it correctly on whiteboards prior to writing the climax.
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.
True or false? The climax completely resolves the problem in the story.
Correct Answer: false, False
Q2.
Put the following events from the climax in chronological order.
1 - The mound over the Iron Man was covered in fresh grass and flowers.
2 - While a family had their picnic one day, the ground beneath them began to shake.
3 - The Iron Man rose out of the ground.
4 - The farmers wanted to respond by calling in armed forces to destroy the Iron Man
5 - Hogarth protested and said he had a different idea.
Q3.
Which adjectives would be most appropriate to use to describe the mound over the Iron Man at the beginning of the climax?
Correct answer: fresh
Correct answer: vibrant
dark
gloomy
Correct answer: blossoming
Q4.
Which verbs would be most appropriate to use to describe movements in the moment when the Iron Man appeared out of the ground?
Correct answer: trembled
grinned
walked
Correct answer: roared
Correct answer: thrust
Q5.
Which 'show and tell' ideas would be most appropriate to use to describe how the people felt when they saw the Iron Man emerge out of the ground?
Correct answer: shook heads in horror
smiled in amazement
Correct answer: hearts beat wildly
jumped up and down while grinning
Q6.
Match each sentence type to its example.
Correct Answer:simple sentence,The mound over the Iron Man was covered in fresh grass.

The mound over the Iron Man was covered in fresh grass.

Correct Answer:compound sentence,The ground cracked open and a huge, iron hand appeared.

The ground cracked open and a huge, iron hand appeared.

Correct Answer:adverbial complex sentence,As the family ate their picnic, they felt the earth begin to tremble.

As the family ate their picnic, they felt the earth begin to tremble.

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match each sentence type to the correct example.
Correct Answer:simple sentence,The hill over the Iron Man was covered in fresh grass.

The hill over the Iron Man was covered in fresh grass.

Correct Answer:compound sentence,The ground cracked open and a huge iron hand shot through.

The ground cracked open and a huge iron hand shot through.

Correct Answer:adverbial complex sentence,As a family happily picnicked on the hill, they felt the earth shake.

As a family happily picnicked on the hill, they felt the earth shake.

Q2.
Put the following examples of 'show and tell' in the correct order to show how the suspense heightens in the climax.
1 - peacefully picnicked on the fresh grass
2 - thrust his hand violently
3 - fled in utter terror
4 - shook with rage, determined to destroy him
Q3.
What is direct speech?
the words a character thinks in their head
the actions a character takes
Correct answer: the words a character speaks out loud
Q4.
What is the name of the clause that tells the reader who said the speech?
speaking clause
Correct answer: reporting clause
adverbial clause
Q5.
True or false? You must use the verb 'said' in reporting clauses.
Correct Answer: False, false
Q6.
Put the following elements in the correct order to show the punctuation rules for direct speech.
1 - open inverted commas
2 - capital letter
3 - speech
4 - exclamation mark, question mark or comma
5 - close inverted commas
6 - reporting clause
7 - full stop