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Year 5 - English

Analysing stanzas five and six of 'The Highwayman'

'The Highwayman': narrative writing

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils use 'The Highwayman' by Alfred Noyes as the stimulus from which to write a character and setting description, a narrative build-up in third person prose and a section incorporating varied speech sentences. Pupils complete the unit reciting and memorising parts of the poem.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to analyse and understand the events in stanzas five and six of 'The Highwayman'.

Key Notes

  • Alred Noyes uses figurative language to provide imagery and describe events in stanzas five and six.
  • Texts written a long time ago may contain unfamiliar vocabulary.
  • Understanding the author's vocabulary choices is essential to understanding the text fully.
  • Analysing a text enables readers to understand the events, characters and their actions in greater depth.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • narrative poem: a poem that tells a story
  • build-up: introduces the storyline for some main characters and begins to set up a problem or situation that will build in tension
  • stanza: a part of a poem consisting of two or more lines grouped together
  • analyse: to study something in detail to understand its meaning

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Pupils may struggle to understand the vocabulary, particularly in stanza six.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

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

Alred Noyes uses figurative language to provide imagery and describe events in stanzas five and six. Texts written a long time ago may contain unfamiliar vocabulary.

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

a poem that tells a story.

3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.

Mistake: Pupils may struggle to understand the vocabulary, particularly in stanza six. Correction: Give explicit definitions for any unfamiliar language, using visuals to support the explanations, to help pupils' understanding.

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 5 English guide library.