Extended stories/significant authors/imaginary worlds (3 weeks)

This is the third in a block of four narrative units. It builds on children's experience and knowledge from other narrative units. Extension for older or more mature pupils includes: in reading - deduction of characters' reasons for behaviour from their actions; and in writing - showing of imagination through the use of language to create emphasis, atmosphere or suspense and the use of paragraphs.

Overview

Reading, response, analysis: Begin reading an extended story by a significant children's author as a serial story. Continue throughout the unit and have other longer stories available for children to read independently and in guided reading sessions as appropriate. Use video clips of film or TV versions of the story to explore character and discuss possible alternative courses of action.

Writing: Children work with appropriate support to plan and write their own sustained story with a logical sequence of events. They include elements from reading, for example characterisation, setting, story language and adding detail.

1998 framework objectives covered

Year 2 Term 3: Term 10 write sustained stories

Year 3 Term 3: Term 13 to write more extended stories based on a plan of incidents and set out in simple chapters with titles and author details; use paragraphs to organise the narrative.

Year 4 Term 2: Term 2 How settings influence events, incidents, characters' behaviour; Term 4 use of expressive, descriptive language. Term 10 develop use of settings in their own writing.

Progression in Years 2, 3 and 4

Phase 1: Read an extended story by a significant author as a serial. View a video version or versions of parts of the story and consider the different contributions of music, words and images. Use drama strategies to explore the story.

Phase 2: Create fantasy settings using photo-editing software. Use images to discuss character responses to settings and reflect on feelings, behaviour and relationships. Analyse language use and connectives to signal time, place or sequence. Explore different types of sentences and the effect of varying sentence length (composing compound sentences and using subordination).

Phase 3: Children plan and write an extended story set in an imaginary world. Story ideas and support for planning are provided by working with groups during the writing process. Success criteria suitable for the different groups are discussed and agreed. Identify a character whose actions are influenced by the setting. Children review their own writing. Finished stories are presented to the class, for example, as a book.