New
New
Year 4

Planning the opening of a narrative based on 'Jabberwocky'

I can plan the opening of a narrative based on ‘Jabberwocky’.

New
New
Year 4

Planning the opening of a narrative based on 'Jabberwocky'

I can plan the opening of a narrative based on ‘Jabberwocky’.

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.

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 or more characters within a narrative and it moves the story forward.
  5. Show-not-tell language is a writing technique for showing a character’s feelings to a 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's purpose

  • Show-not-tell language - a writing technique for showing a character’s feelings by describing their body language and facial expressions

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

Common misconception

Notes in a plan can be written in any order.

The key moments in the opening are written in chronological order. Notes in the plan should be concise and follow this chronological order.

Re-read the opening several times so that pupils are clear about which moments of 'Jabberwocky' are in the opening. Spend time discussing the conversation between the son and father in order to be able to generate detailed lines of dialogue.
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).

Lesson video

Loading...

6 Questions

Q1.
What is the setting of 'Jabberwocky'?
a small town
a quiet village
Correct answer: a mythical forest
a dark cave
Q2.
The boy and the Jabberwock are the main __________ in 'Jabberwocky'.
titles
Correct answer: characters
settings
people
Q3.
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
Q4.
Which of these is a fronted adverbial followed by?
a full stop
an exclamation mark
Correct answer: a comma
a 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

a word that describes a noun

Correct Answer:noun,a person, place or thing

a person, place or thing

Correct Answer:adverb,a word that describes a verb

a word that describes a verb

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

a doing, being or having word

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 want to carry on reading
to entertain the reader with characters' spoken words
Correct answer: to introduce the setting and characters
Q3.
Put the four key moments of the opening in chronological order.
1 - Dusk approached the dark, magical woods.
2 - Strange, unknown creatures moved around the woods.
3 - A father warned his son about the dangers of the creatures.
4 - The boy felt scared, but he bravely entered the woods.
Q4.
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 is a writing technique that describes characters' emotions.
Correct answer: It helps move the story forward.
It describes a noun in further detail.
Q5.
Which of the following is an example of 'show-not-tell' language?
The boy was really scared.
Nervously, he entered the forest.
He whispered, ''I'm scared."
Correct answer: His heart pounded loudly against his chest.
Q6.
Match each word class to its example.
Correct Answer:adjective,beastly

beastly

Correct Answer:adverb,determinedly

determinedly

Correct Answer:noun ,twigs

twigs

Correct Answer:verb,cascaded

cascaded

Additional material

Download additional material
We're sorry, but preview is not currently available. Download to see additional material.