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Year 3 - English

Planning the first diary entry based on 'The Firework Maker's Daughter'

'The Firework Maker's Daughter': reading and diary writing

Unit Summary

Pupils explore the text's opening by summarising events and using inference to understand character traits and relationships. They identify Lila's emotions in the opening and use empathy to develop thoughts that convey these. Pupils then plan and write a diary entry from Lila's perspective.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to write a plan for your first diary entry from the perspective of Lila.

Key Notes

  • Oral rehearsal of a recount ensures we have a clear understanding of the chronology of events.
  • When rehearsing and planning for a diary entry, we do so in the first person from the character's perspective.
  • An effective plan for a diary entry contains key events in chronological order and thoughts/feelings.
  • A plan is written in note format using bullet points to capture the most important information.
  • Lila's first diary entry will recount her day making fireworks and discovering her father's views on her future.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • 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 Mistakes To Avoid

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

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.

Oral rehearsal of a recount ensures we have a clear understanding of the chronology of events. When rehearsing and planning for a diary entry, we do so in the first person from the character's perspective.

2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'oral recount'

speaking aloud to retell events that have already happened.

3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.

Mistake: Children may find it difficult to identify which key information should be included in the notes. Correction: Re-read the corresponding section 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 most important.

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 3 English guide library.