Study Hub

Study Guides

This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.

Back to Study HubBrowse Year 4 English Guides

Year 4 - English

Engaging with the plot of 'Into the Forest'

'Into the Forest': diary writing

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils write a diary entry based on the picture book 'Into the Forest' by Anthony Browne. Pupils use the book as a starting point from which they write a diary entry, focusing on using the first person perspective consistently and practising the skill of varying tense accurately.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to retell the plot of 'Into the Forest'.

Key Notes

  • 'Into the Forest' is a narrative fiction text written and illustrated by the author Anthony Browne.
  • The story is about a little boy who goes on a journey through a forest to visit his grandma and find his dad.
  • On the journey through the forest, the boy encounters characters from familiar fairy tales.
  • The plot of a story is retold in chronological order using expression to convey greater meaning.
  • Summarising the key events in a story helps us to build our understanding of the text and the meaning behind it.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • narrative fiction: a story that features made-up characters, places and adventures that did not happen in real life
  • journey: an act of travelling from one place to another
  • fairy tale: a children's story about magical and imaginary beings and lands
  • plot: what happens in the story
  • summarising: pulling out the key events and ideas from the text

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Children may struggle to identify which familiar fairy tale characters the boy encounters in the forest.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

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

'Into the Forest' is a narrative fiction text written and illustrated by the author Anthony Browne. The story is about a little boy who goes on a journey through a forest to visit his grandma and find his dad.

2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'narrative fiction'

a story that features made-up characters, places and adventures that did not happen in real life.

3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.

Mistake: Children may struggle to identify which familiar fairy tale characters the boy encounters in the forest. Correction: Ask questions to prompt children, e.g. 'Which fairy tale character do you know who sold a cow?' Also encourage children to look for further clues in the illustrations, e.g. There is a beanstalk in the illustration on page 10.

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 4 English guide library.