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Year 5

Writing the build-up of 'The Viewer'

I can write the build-up of 'The Viewer'.

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Share activities with pupils
New
New
Year 5

Writing the build-up of 'The Viewer'

I can write the build-up of 'The Viewer'.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The purpose of the build-up is to develop the plot and characters, introduce a problem and start to build up tension.
  2. Internal thoughts are the thoughts, ideas, or questions that occur within an individual's mind.
  3. Internal thoughts are written using the same sentence structure as reported speech.
  4. These are important to include in our writing because they tell the reader what a character is thinking/feeling.

Common misconception

Pupils may find it hard to come up with internal thoughts for a character.

Play a game of 'freeze frame' for different parts of the build-up and encourage children to share their thoughts and feelings, to support all children with ideas.

Keywords

  • Internal thoughts - the thoughts, ideas, or questions that occur within an individual's mind

  • Reported speech - the form of speech used to share what was said by someone without using a direct quote

The success criteria includes using figurative language as a target. If your class have not completed the previous lessons in this unit, you may wish to go back and refresh their knowledge on the use of similes, personfication and metaphors.
Teacher tip

Equipment

You need a copy of the 2012 Hodder Children's Books edition of ‘The Viewer’ written by Gary Crew and illustrated by Shaun Tan, 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).

Video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What comes after the opening in a story staircase?
climax
resolution
Correct answer: build-up
Q2.
What is the name for the creative writing technique that shows a character’s feelings with description of their actions, body language and facial expressions?
Correct Answer: show-not-tell, show not tell, show and tell
Q3.
Which of these is an example of show-not-tell?
Correct answer: Tears rolled down her cheeks
She felt sad
She cried tears of sadness.
Q4.
A relative clause begins a ...
Correct answer: relative pronoun.
main clause.
relative word.
Q5.
True or false? A relative clause is a great thing to add to your writing to tell the reader additional information about a verb.
Correct Answer: False, false
Q6.
Which of these words is not a relative pronoun?
who
which
Correct answer: then

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What does the word internal mean?
Correct answer: inside
outside
both inside and outside
Q2.
True or false? Internal thoughts are the thoughts, ideas, or questions that occur within an individual's mind.
Correct Answer: true, True
Q3.
The internal thoughts of a character can be shared with the reader following the same sentence structure as ...
direct speech.
speech second.
Correct answer: reported speech.
Q4.
Which of these is an example of reported speech?
"I want to play," said Sarah.
Correct answer: Sarah said she wanted to play.
Sarah said, "I want to play."
Q5.
Which of these is a synonym for 'thought'?
Correct answer: wondered
said
exclaimed
Q6.
True or false? Including internal thoughts in your writing will help to vary your sentences.
Correct Answer: true, True