Y6 Suspense Tale

National curriculum content

• Identifying the audience for and purpose of the writing, selecting the appropriate form and using other similar writing as models for their own.
• Noting and developing initial ideas, drawing on reading and research where necessary.
• In writing narratives, considering how authors have developed characters and settings in what pupils have read, listened to or seen performed. 
• Selecting appropriate grammar and vocabulary, understanding how such choices can change and enhance meaning.
• In narratives, describing settings, characters and atmosphere and integrating dialogue to convey character and advance the action.
• Using a wide range of devices to build cohesion within and across paragraphs.
• Proposing changes to vocabulary, grammar and punctuation to enhance effects and clarify meaning.
• Ensuring the consistent and correct use of tense throughout a piece of writing.
• Ensuring correct subject and verb agreement when using singular and plural, distinguishing between the language of speech and writing and choosing the appropriate register.
• Proof-read for spelling and punctuation errors.

Lesson objectives

• To read and internalise the model text
• To identify and define new vocabulary
• To understand the structure of a suspense tale
• To explore and use ‘empty words’ in sentences
• To explore and use ‘show not tell’ to create suspense
• To contribute to a shared write
• To innovate the model text with own ideas
• To write independently using the skills taught

What we want children to know and the skills necessary to achieve this:

• How to write for a range of purposes and audiences
• Effective ways of describing characters, settings and atmosphere
• How to create cohesion within and between paragraphs

• How to use dialogue to convey the character and advance the action
• Proofread and check for errors
• Edit and assess the effectiveness of own writing
• Plan their own composition
• Use short, snappy sentences for effect
• Personification
• Parenthesis for extra detail
• Use ‘empty words’ to hide the danger
• Add action after a comma 
• Use actions to hint at character feelings
• Change the tone between narrative and dialogue
• Pathetic fallacy

Vocabulary

Unfamiliar, text-specific words highlighted by the children (never heard the word); direct speech; parenthesis; hyphens; verb tense; adverbials; cohesion; commas; subordinate conjunction; coordinating conjunction; modal verbs; modal adverbs; relative clauses