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Year 5 - English

Planning part one of the main body of a diary entry

'How to Train Your Dragon': diary and narrative writing

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils use their knowledge of the text 'How To Train Your Dragon' to write a setting description, a narrative opening and a diary entry. Pupils use one stimulus to write for several outcomes, writing for different purposes by demonstrating certain techniques in each.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to plan part one of the main body of a diary entry based on 'How To Train Your Dragon'.

Key Notes

  • The purpose of the main body of this diary entry is to describe events, thoughts and feelings in detail.
  • Sentences can be opened in a variety of ways to improve the flow of the text.
  • The main body is primarily written in the past tense.
  • Adverbials of time can be used to sequence events.
  • Informal tone can be achieved through use of contractions and exclamations.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • notes: written out of full sentences
  • 'show-not-tell': when the writer conveys feelings by describing physical sensations and actions
  • fronted adverbial of time: a sentence starter followed by a comma which tells the reader when something happened

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Pupils may not use a range of sentence structures and openers in their plans for writing.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

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

The purpose of the main body of this diary entry is to describe events, thoughts and feelings in detail. Sentences can be opened in a variety of ways to improve the flow of the text.

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

written out of full sentences.

3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.

Mistake: Pupils may not use a range of sentence structures and openers in their plans for writing. Correction: Ensure pupils know the full range of sentence structures (simple, compound and a variety of complex). Full coverage can be found in the 'Year 5 Grammar: Five sentence types' unit.

More Lessons In This Unit

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