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Year 4 - English

Engaging with the plot of 'The Happy Prince'

'The Happy Prince': narrative writing and reading

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils write a full narrative based on a rewritten version of the classic 'The Happy Prince'. Pupils write an opening, build-up, climax and resolution, focusing on all parts of the narrative arc in turn and building a full understanding of how each narrative section builds on another.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to read 'The Happy Prince' and summarise the key events.

Key Notes

  • 'The Happy Prince' is a story originally written in 1888 by Oscar Wilde, which has been adapted into different versions.
  • The story tells of a statue of a prince witnessing great poverty and sadness in a city.
  • Together with a swallow, the prince performs selfless acts of kindness to help the poor people of the city.
  • The moral of the story in 'The Happy Prince' is to be compassionate and to help those who are suffering.
  • Summarising the key events in a story helps us to build our understanding of the text and the meaning behind it.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • plot: the sequence of events that make up the narrative
  • moral: a lesson that can be learnt from a story or experience
  • summarise: to pull out the key events and ideas from a text
  • classic text: a piece of literature that has stood the test of time

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Pupils may be confused by how the statue can speak and used to be a living person.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

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

'The Happy Prince' is a story originally written in 1888 by Oscar Wilde, which has been adapted into different versions. The story tells of a statue of a prince witnessing great poverty and sadness in a city.

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

the sequence of events that make up the narrative.

3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.

Mistake: Pupils may be confused by how the statue can speak and used to be a living person. Correction: 'The Happy Prince' is a fictional text so the characters act in ways that are not usual for humans.

More Lessons In This Unit

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