Writing the opening of a narrative based on 'The Man on the Moon' | English

Starter quiz

Put the key moments of the opening in the correct order.
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  Lily was bored at home.
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  Lily looked through the telescope.
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  Lily saw a man on the moon.
Which sentence is correctly punctuated?
- The young girl sighed in boredom
- the young girl sighed in boredom
- The young girl sighed in boredom. ✓
- the young girl sighed in boredom.
Which of these nouns must start with a capital letter?
- moon
- lily ✓
- man
- telescope
Which of these sentences is punctuated correctly?
- One wintry evening a young girl was slumped on the sofa.
- One, wintry evening a young girl was slumped on the sofa.
- One wintry evening, a young girl was slumped on the sofa. ✓
- One wintry evening a young girl, was slumped on the sofa.
Match the word class to its example.
- noun
  
  ⇔
  
  living room ✓
- adverb
  
  ⇔
  
  curiously ✓
- adjective
  
  ⇔
  
  restless ✓
- verb
  
  ⇔
  
  gazed ✓
Before writing sentences down, it is helpful to ______ them aloud first.
- 'say' ✓

The purpose of the opening is to:
- build up excitement and tension
- introduce the characters and setting ✓
- solve a problem
- 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 ✓
'Whatever could it be?' is an example of ...
- a command.
- a rhetorical question. ✓
- an exclamation.
- a simple sentence.
'Her jaw dropped.' is an example of ...
- a compound sentence.
- show and tell language. ✓
- alliteration.
- a fronted adverbial.
Match the sentence types to their examples.
- simple sentence
  
  ⇔
  
  The young girl sighed in boredom. ✓
- compound sentence
  
  ⇔
  
  Lily slumped on the sofa and she sighed in boredom. ✓
- complex sentence
  
  ⇔
  
  As she slumped on the sofa, Lily sighed in boredom. ✓
Complete the following complex sentence with an appropriate subordinate clause: 'Lily's eyes widened __________.'
- because she was sad
- as she saw a solitary figure on the moon ✓
- until she went upstairs
- and she stared in shock

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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.
A rhetorical question engages the reader and makes them feel more curious about the narrative.
Show and tell language uses characters' movements, body language and facial expressions to describe feelings.

Pupils might write about moments that take place in the build-up, climax or resolution.

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
Show and tell - a writing technique for showing a character’s feelings with description of their actions, body language and facial expressions
Rhetorical question - a question asked to the reader that does not expect an answer