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Year 4 - English

Writing the final paragraph of a diary entry based on '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 write the final paragraph of a diary entry based on 'Into the Forest'.

Key Notes

  • This paragraph recounts the final part of the boy's journey and his reunion with his dad in the past tense.
  • The boy's emotions heighten and he experiences intense fear before experiencing great relief.
  • A key linguistic feature in the final paragraph of a diary entry is the shift from past to present tense.
  • Present tense writing at the end of a diary entry conveys current reflections and feelings.
  • Rhetorical questions can be used to convey internal questions and emotions in a diary entry.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • emotions: strong feelings that result from a person's circumstances, mood, or relationships with others
  • present tense: refers to a verb form that indicates an action or state happening in the current moment
  • rhetorical question: a question asked that does not expect an answer

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Children might struggle to identify how to transition into the present tense smoothly in a way that supports text flow.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

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

This paragraph recounts the final part of the boy's journey and his reunion with his dad in the past tense. The boy's emotions heighten and he experiences intense fear before experiencing great relief.

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

strong feelings that result from a person's circumstances, mood, or relationships with others.

3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.

Mistake: Children might struggle to identify how to transition into the present tense smoothly in a way that supports text flow. Correction: Highlight the use of the compound sentence using 'but' to contrast between past and present emotions. Encourage children to orally rehearse a similar sentence as their transition point to the present tense.

More Lessons In This Unit

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