Writing the opening of 'The BFG' (part one) | English

Starter quiz

Put the key moments of the first part of the opening in the correct order.
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  Sophie awoke and she sat up in bed.
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  Sophie looked at the owl.
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  Sophie got out of bed.
Which sentence is correctly punctuated?
- Nervously, the girl picked up her round glasses
- nervously, the girl picked up her round glasses.
- Nervously, the girl picked up her round glasses. ✓
- nervously, sophie picked up her round glasses
Which of these nouns must start with a capital letter?
- owl
- sophie ✓
- night
- dormitory
Which of these sentences is punctuated correctly?
- One thundery night a young orphan bolted upright.
- One thundery night, a young orphan bolted upright. ✓
- One, thundery night, a young orphan bolted upright
- One thundery night a young, orphan bolted upright
Match each word class to its example.
- noun
  
  ⇔
  
  room ✓
- adjective
  
  ⇔
  
  curious ✓
- verb
  
  ⇔
  
  stared ✓
- adverb
  
  ⇔
  
  quietly ✓
Before writing sentences down, it is helpful to ______ them aloud first.
- 'say' ✓

What is the purpose of the opening?
- to build up excitement and tension
- to introduce the characters and setting ✓
- to solve a problem
- to engage the reader ✓
When we write, we ...
- showcase the sentence types we know. ✓
- include only one type of sentence.
- do not check back for spelling and punctuation errors.
- say our sentences aloud first. ✓
Which of these is an example of a simple sentence?
- Sophie picked up her glasses and she stared nervously at the owl.
- Sophie stared nervously at the owl. ✓
- Sophie picked up her glasses because she heard a screeching sound.
Match the sentence types to their examples.
- simple
  
  ⇔
  
  Thunder raged wildly in the night sky. ✓
- compound
  
  ⇔
  
  Thunder raged wildly in the night sky and Sophie woke up. ✓
- complex
  
  ⇔
  
  Sophie bolted upright because thunder raged loudly. ✓
Which of these sentences is written in the past tense?
- The inquisitive girl sat on the edge of her creaky bed. ✓
- The inquisitive girl is sitting on the edge of her creaky bed.
- The inquisitive girl sits on the edge of her creaky bed.
Complete the following complex sentence with an appropriate subordinate adverbial clause: 'Sophie woke up suddenly __________.'
- , but thunder was raging wildly outside.
- and she picked up her glasses.
- because a dazzling moonbeam was shining on her face. ✓

Loading worksheet ...

Loading presentation ...

The purpose of a narrative opening is to introduce the characters and to describe the setting to the reader.
Saying sentences aloud before they are written helps to check for sense.
Using the full range of sentence types (simple, compound and complex) improves text flow for the reader.
Fronted adverbials of time, place and manner add extra detail to the main clause.
This narrative version of ‘The BFG’ is written in the past tense.

Pupils might write about moments that take place later in the narrative.

The first part of the opening follows a clear, chronological order that includes the three key moments from pupils' plans.

Text flow - how a text is written to keep the reader engaged
Fronted adverbial - a sentence starter followed by a comma
Past tense - shows that the action happened before now
Complex sentence - a sentence formed of at least one main clause and a subordinate clause