New
New
Year 3

Planning the first paragraph of a diary entry based on 'The Journey'

I can write a plan for the first paragraph of a diary entry.

New
New
Year 3

Planning the first paragraph of a diary entry based on 'The Journey'

I can write a plan for the first paragraph of a diary entry.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Oral rehearsal of a recount ensures we have a clear understanding of the chronology of events.
  2. When rehearsing and planning for a diary entry, we do so in the first person from the character's perspective.
  3. An effective plan for a diary entry contains key events in chronological order and thoughts/feelings.
  4. A plan is written in note format using bullet points to capture the most important information.
  5. This paragraph will recount the events from the journey in chronological order, starting from when the family left home.

Keywords

  • Oral recount - speaking aloud to retell events that have already happened

  • First person perspective - the point of view where the speaker or writer is the 'I' character providing a personal account of events or experiences

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

Common misconception

Pupils may find it difficult to identify which key information should be included in the notes.

Re-read the corresponding pages from the text to highlight which part we are using for our diary entry. Model making notes and identifying which events, thoughts and feelings are the most important.

Ensure that you have additional resources like word banks for pupils to refer to that reference 'I', 'me', 'my', 'we', 'our' and 'us' words to ensure they are writing in the first person.
Teacher tip

Equipment

You will need a copy of the 2016 Flying Eye Books edition of ‘The Journey’ by Francesa Sanna for this lesson.

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

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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6 Questions

Q1.
What are included in diary entries?
Correct answer: a recount of experiences
Correct answer: thoughts and feelings
facts about the world
Q2.
Which of the following are key linguistic features in a diary entry?
Correct answer: first person
third person
Correct answer: past tense
Q3.
Order the following to show the layout of a diary entry.
1 - date
2 - greeting - 'Dear Diary,'
3 - paragraphs to organise recount
4 - sign-off
Q4.
What does a full sentence need to include?
a comma
Correct answer: a capital letter
Correct answer: a verb
Correct answer: a full stop
Q5.
What is a plan?
a final piece of written work
Correct answer: a framework that writers create before they write
a list of vocabulary
Q6.
True or false? This diary entry should be written in a formal tone.
Correct Answer: false, False

6 Questions

Q1.
What is first person perspective?
Correct answer: the point of view where the speaker or writer is the 'I' character
the first person who speaks in a story
the first person who appears in a story
Q2.
How should your notes for a diary be organised?
in full sentences
Correct answer: in bullet points in chronological order
in alphabetical order
in paragraphs
Q3.
What is an oral recount?
writing down notes about an event
Correct answer: speaking aloud to retell events that have already happened
speaking aloud to make a prediction
speaking aloud with expression
Q4.
Which of the following emotions did the girl feel while she was saying goodbye to her home?
excited
bored
Correct answer: heartbroken
hopeful
Q5.
Which of the following emotions did the girl feel while she was hiding in the forest overnight?
excited
bored
Correct answer: scared
Q6.
Which of the following phrases would effectively turn this full sentence into note form? 'We were terrified as we desperately hid from the security guard.'
security
Correct answer: desperately hid
We were terrified as we desperately hid from the security guard.
Correct answer: felt terrified