Writing the opening of a diary entry based on 'How To Train Your Dragon' | English

Starter quiz

Match the key terms to their definitions:
- first person perspective
  
  ⇔
  
  the point of view where the speaker or writer is the 'I/we' character ✓
- chronological order
  
  ⇔
  
  when events are recounted in the order in which they happened ✓
- informal tone
  
  ⇔
  
  conversational tone ✓
Select words appropriate to use when writing in the first person perspective:
- I ✓
- they
- me ✓
- he
- us ✓
Match the contractions to their uncontracted forms:
- don't
  
  ⇔
  
  do not ✓
- I've
  
  ⇔
  
  I have ✓
- they're
  
  ⇔
  
  they are ✓
- he's
  
  ⇔
  
  he is ✓
Select key features of a diary entry:
- greeting (Dear Diary,) ✓
- informal tone ✓
- statistics
- subject-specific vocabulary
- thoughts and feelings ✓
The purpose of a diary entry is to do which of these?
- tell a story
- recount events ✓
- share information with others
- record thoughts and feelings ✓
Select the examples of show-not-tell from the list:
- my hands are still shaking ✓
- I felt humiliated
- my heart sinks every time I think about going back again tomorrow ✓

Match the keywords to their definitions.
- summarise
  
  ⇔
  
  to sum up the key information ✓
- general
  
  ⇔
  
  the most basic, necessary information ✓
- first person perspective
  
  ⇔
  
  the 'I/we' perspective ✓
Information in the opening of a diary entry should be kept ...
- general ✓
- specific
- vague
Key elements to include in the opening of a diary entry are which of these?
- detailed recounts of parts of the day
- brief summary of the events ✓
- sharing of over-arching thoughts and feelings ✓
- looking ahead to the future
- a linking sentence which leads on to the next paragraph ✓
Order the parts of our diary entry based on 'How To Train Your Dragon'.
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  opening
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  main body part 1 - describing dragon training
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  main body part 2 - describing dragon training
- 4
  
  ⇔
  
  closing
Select the purpose of success criteria.
- act as a guide for what to include ✓
- a list of the only writing skills that should be included
- can be ticked off as the writer goes along ✓
Which linguistic features can be used to help create an informal tone in a diary entry?
- subject-specific vocabulary
- contractions ✓
- facts and statistics
- exclamations ✓
- vocabulary choice ✓

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The opening of a diary can include a general recount of the day’s events.
The opening includes references to the character’s thoughts and feelings.
Informal tone can be achieved through use of contractions, vocabulary choice and exclamations.
Plans and success criteria should be referred to during the writing process.

Pupils may include facts and details that are too specific for the opening paragraph.

Learning cycle 1 and the success criteria explicitly reinforce the importance of keeping information in the opening general.

Summarise - to sum up the information surrounding particular events, thoughts or feelings
General - the most basic, necessary information