Starter quiz
- If we are writing in the first person and in the present tense, what part of our narrative are we writing?
- the flashbacks to Maggie's story
- any part of the narrative
- the sections in role as Addie ✓
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- Which of these are true of the flashbacks in our narrative?
- they will have a 'trigger' in the first person sections ✓
- they will be written in role as Maggie
- they will describe what Maggie and the villagers do and say ✓
- they will have a dark and negative mood ✓
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- Put these parts of Addie's speech in order.
- 1⇔sitting and waiting to begin; feeling nervous
- 2⇔starting to speak; growing in confidence as the audience responds
- 3⇔sitting back down; feeling relieved and overwhelmed by the applause
- What is the purpose of the 'trigger' in our narrative?
- to allow us to switch to first person, present tense
- to allow us to switch to third person, past tense ✓
- to allow us to switch back and forth between tenses
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- Which of these sentences might be from the first person, present tense sections of our narrative?
- I can see their eyes on me. ✓
- Maggie felt their eyes on her.
- "Leave me alone!" she yelled.
- A hundred faces gaze up at me intently. ✓
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- Which part of the narrative will have the most positive mood?
- the first section in role as Addie
- the flashbacks
- the final section in role as Addie ✓
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Exit quiz
- Which of these are features of our writing in this lesson only?
- third person
- first person ✓
- present tense ✓
- past tense
- informal language ✓
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- Which section of our text have we completed so far?
- section 3 in role as Addie
- the first flashback to Maggie's story
- the second flashback to Maggie's story
- section 1 in role as Addie ✓
- section 2 in role as Addie
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- Which sentence uses the first person and present tense?
- I looked down at the sea of faces.
- I look down at the sea of faces. ✓
- Addie looks down at the sea of faces.
- Addie looked down at the sea of faces.
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- Which of the following are shown in this passage? 'I grit my teeth and look down at Mum and Dad; they are holding hands and smiling up at me nervously.'
- things Addie does ✓
- things Addie thinks
- things Addie sees ✓
- things Addie says
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- Which of the following are informal language features that we might see in our first person sections?
- contractions ✓
- simple sentences ✓
- similes and metaphors
- sentences beginning with 'I' ✓
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- What important feature is shown in the following sentence? 'With a gulp, I look down at the word 'Maggie' which is written on my hand ...'.
- a compound sentence
- informal language
- the trigger ✓
- contractions
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Worksheet
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Presentation
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Video
Lesson Details
Key learning points
- We are writing a narrative that includes switches in perspective and tense.
- In this lesson, we will write only a present tense, first person paragraph in role as Addie.
- Because we are in role as Addie, we may use some informal language features like short sentences and contractions.
- We will also want to include the full range of sentence structures and punctuation.
- Orally rehearsing our writing helps us to be prepared to write.
Common misconception
Pupils may confuse this first person writing with internal monologue and focus only on Addie's thoughts.
Here, we haven't used the term 'internal monologue' because we are describing events and observations from Addie's perspective and not just thoughts.
Keywords
First person - the 'I/we' perspective
Present tense - shows the action is happening now
Informal language - language that is more similar to spoken language
Oral rehearsal - saying the words you plan to write out loud in order to make the writing process easier
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