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Year 6 - English

Writing the second half of the climax and resolution of 'Beowulf and the dragon'

'Beowulf': narrative writing

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils rewrite the build-up, climax and resolution of the historical classic 'Beowulf', focusing on interspersing dialogue to convey atmosphere and advance the action. Pupils work to generate vocabulary that is appropriate for each section of the narrative.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to write the second half of the climax and resolution of 'Beowulf and the dragon', using a range of cohesive devices to connect ideas and using techniques to increase pace and tension.

Key Notes

  • Writing is most successful when structure, content and vocabulary are planned.
  • We are aiming to set a tense, pacy atmosphere in our climax and resolution.
  • Short sentences, rhetorical questions and 'quick' fronted adverbials of time can add pace to a piece of writing.
  • We can use a colon to introduce a question to show a character's inner thoughts.
  • We can use a relative complex sentence as a cohesive device to add detail after a noun.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • colon: a piece of punctuation placed after a main clause that can introduce a list or a question
  • cohesive devices: language structures that develop text cohesion
  • relative complex sentence: a sentence formed of a main clause and a relative subordinate clause
  • oral rehearsal: practising saying ideas for sentences out loud before you write them

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Pupils may struggle to integrate techniques for increasing pace into their writing.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

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

Writing is most successful when structure, content and vocabulary are planned. We are aiming to set a tense, pacy atmosphere in our climax and resolution.

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

a piece of punctuation placed after a main clause that can introduce a list or a question.

3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.

Mistake: Pupils may struggle to integrate techniques for increasing pace into their writing. Correction: Model during oral rehearsal and shared writing how we can do this. For instance, ask pupils to consider what characters might be thinking at different points to generate rhetorical questions.

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