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www. or... Whiting Writing Workshop! Recommendations Sentences! Sentences! Sentences! - NB: To help you improve your knowledge of some of the types of sentences that are available to use, please download the Sentence Sheets from the Info section on the main 5W page. These are worth practising-I promise. 'First News' - Children should read newspapers as well as stories and non-fiction books. Newspaper stories and design are a crucial aspect of the children's development in Years 5 and 6. If you prefer your child not to read the national newspapers, we highly recommend paying for a subscription of the 'First News' newspaper for children. One copy of each week's edition is made available for the children to read in class. (see below). It is full of great stories and lots of things to do and is an excellent introduction to the genre.
If you want to receive a weekly copy of 'First News' click here.
Master these different genres of writing Master how to write these different genres of writing asap. Persuasive Newspaper Explanation Recount Instructions Story It would be also useful to work on our... (1) Understanding of tenses (2) Understanding of where commas should not be used. i.e. the dreaded comma splice. Practise these exercises below to help you understand what comma splices are and why they are bad for your writing. (a) Comma Splice 1 (b) Comma Splice 2 (3) (a) Understanding of apostrophes (b) Play this fun football game that will help you understand how to use 'possessive' apostrophes.
Make writing FUN!! Here are the writing exercises I promised for your children to print out or copy, complete, and hand in to class to earn some extra points for golden time. Each task should not take longer than 15 minutes and are extensions of what we have been looking at in class. Personification
2. (WB 6.10.08) Personifying an old object from home.Click here. 3. (WB 3.11.08) Personifying a candle using a poem by Sylvia Plath. Click here. 4. (WB 10.11.08) Bringing a room to life! Click here.
Hook sentences
Poetry and writing techniques
Simile: A technique that uses words such as "like" or "as" to compare two ideas. 1. (WB 13.10.08) Try this simple exercise that uses both metaphors and smiles. Try to use these techniques in your writing to bring your images alive. Click here. 2. (WB 17.11.08) Write a weird and wonderful poem. Click here. 3. (WB 26.1.08) Write a communal poem with a difference. Click here. 4. (WB 22.2.09) Print off, read, and complete the following activity sheet to help practise similes and metaphors. Win a smiley face. Click here.
Sleep on a normal desk Floating like a lost soul Taking over the head Fluttering around your head Memory fading Your mind is a fantasy world Filling your mind with self-conscious fantasy Sleeping with a cloudy texture Covering your mind with calmness and hatred Children and story tellers Clouds above your head Night’s magical recipe Go into your own world Misty and mysterious Swirling in darkness, a happy memory Eyes relaxing in enchantment Stuck in your head No commonsense Facts and science have no meaning Your life at night Death approaching Not knowing whether you are awake or asleep Floating as a magic cloud An illusion that fills your mind Filling your mind with scary thought Your mind is free Going into the depths of your mind. 'Show not tell'
1. (WB 20.10.08) Here's an activity to get you started. Click here. 2. (WB 1.12.08) Show not tell the emotions and feelings of characters and settings. Click here. 3. (WB 19.1.09) Look at these extracts. One tells us that Alice is timid; the other shows us. Telling Alice was a timid young woman who looked like a mouse. She was short and skinny, with brown hair, small eyes, and a pointed face. She always peeked inside the doorway before entering a party, thus giving herself a chance to flee in case she saw no one she knew. Showing Alice hovered at the door of Michael's flat, chin lifted, tiny feet balanced on their toes. She peered inside, shrinking at the loudness of Michael's new stereo. She breathed quickly, her black eyes darting back and forth, as if keeping her face in motion might prevent her from toppling over. When she finally spotted the wide-grinning Michael approaching, she scurried to the desert table, her flat shoes making a scritching sound on the polished wood. The writer wants to tell the reader that her character is timid or mouselike. The first extract tells the reader that Alice looks and act like a mouse; the second shows Alice in mouselike terms: black eye, quivering face, tip-toed stance, scritching sound. Although not perfect in that it does not keep the story moving forward enough to keep the reader engaged and interested, the second 'showing' extract is a far better piece of writing. Why? It enables the reader to see what the writer saw but leaving some detail out for the reader's imagination. Have a go yourself. Write a 'telling' paragraph first. Then transform it into a 'showing' paragraph. Use one of these ideas: (1) Rachel had a tiger-like temper. (2) Max was a coward. (3) Frank was extremely shy. (4) Sally had lots of confidence. (5) Harry feared nothing. (6) Teresa hated spiders. Good luck! (2 smiley faces!) 'Show not tell' in your writing in class.
Dialogue
Click here.
Story Writing
Children in Year 5 look at story structure as they write a version of the traditional tale 'Little Red Riding Hood'. This structure is essential in every story a child writes of any genre or style. Please find attached the guidance sheets I have put together to aid Year 5 in writing the story. Use it to guide them when they write stories at home too and they will become master story writers! Little Red Riding Hood Story Guidance
'Donkey what?' Using silly names and analogies -as well as standardised terms - really helps the children remember techniques for story writing. Here are a few for you to get your teeth into.
Donkey/Carrot!
What? You might ask! Donkey/Carrot is a term that Mr. Whiting invented. He's not mad! Sometimes silly terms like this are excellent ways of memorising techniques. 'Donkey/Carrot' is a term he uses for writing suspense. The donkey is kept in suspense when he is teased with a carrot like in this diagram. The reader (the donkey) should also be teased by the carrot - or by what is going to happen in the story. If a writer gives the reader the carrot too soon there is no suspense and the reader is cheated out any excitement or decent plot. The writer should keep the carrot out of reach until finally succombing to the reader's demands for an outcome (tasting the carrot). Any good writer will make sure that the carrot is delicious. i.e. the outcome is fulfilling and worth waiting for. Get it? The children of 5W certainly do!
Don't say 'dog'!
'Don't say dog'? This term could quite easily be named 'Don't say tree!' The chosen word 'dog' is purely as a means of remembering something through alliteration. 'Don't say dog' is a reminder to children that we need to specific with our choice of words to bring our writing and images alive. If we describe a scene with a dog scratching himself against a tree, readers cannot visualise the type of dog or tree in their mind. To write is to paint an image and without this detail the reader can only see the outline of your image. Instead of writing 'dog' write 'Yorkshire Terrier' or 'Highland Terrier'. Instead of 'tree' write 'ancient oak' or 'elm'. Get it? Other examples: Don't write red 'car' - write red 'Vauxhall Astra'. Don't write 'flower' - write 'blooming daffodil'. Don't write 'blue' - write 'sapphire'. Get it! Vocabulary choices are vital. This technique is an essential element of 'show not tell'.
'Harwell Hall' - the perfect short story Story writing is an essential element in a child's development as a writer. Let's do some creative reading of this very simple but model short story. It will help your child towards achieving important goals this year. Read about creative reading on the 5W main webpage. You should have a copy of this at home. If not, please ask for another copy. Let's start at the beginning shall we? Or maybe not?
The storm was getting worse so we had no choice but to take shelter in the old house. This is a typical example of how a short story should begin. 1. It grabs the reader's attention and makes them want to read on. This is called a hook sentence. 2. It has some unanswered questions that the reader wants to find the answers to. i.e. What storm? Who are 'we'? Why did they have no choice? Which old house? 3. All good short stories never start at the beginning of a story - they start in the middle. Things have happened already. (1) The storm brewed. (2) The characters got themselves into this situation (3) The house has history. At this age children should avoid starting stories with 'Once upon a time...' or 'One day there lived...' 4. The hook sentence also has some link to the problem within the story. The children take cover in the old house and discover that there is a 'ghost' (well - at least they thought it was a ghost). 5. Lastly, the first sentence is normally active and kick-starts the story immediately. i.e. the storm worsening and the children taking shelter. SORRY THAT MORE HASN'T BEEN ADDED TO THIS YET.
EVERY OBJECT TELLS A STORY! Creative Objects brought in by 5W Watch this space for a piece of creative writing about these dolls.
Thank you Rosa for bringing them in!
2. A rock with a fossil brought in by Christos.
Watch this space for a brilliant beginning for a story about this fossil by.....???
3. An old polaroid camera brought in by Max F.
We wrote a story intro using this camera for inspiration. 'The Camera' by Ben It stood on the shelf waiting to be bought. John walked quickly up to the camera and took it off the shelf. He looked at it carefully. It didn't look very special. Then he found the instructions and read what it could do. He was amazed... By Ben
4. A crystal brought in by Georgia.
This crystal was used as the inspiration for a story beginning with a hook in class. See Mali's brilliant piece below. 'The Crystal' by Mali It sat on the window-sill. A ray of golden sun shone through its foamy white appearance which beamed onto the floor. Isobel felt its rough textures and compared it to her soft sheepskin slippers. Silence. She took it in her dainty little hands, ran and leapt into her bed. She observed the crystal stones inside and carefully put it down on a soft pile of pillows, like a queen on her throne. The gossimer stone glinted like Isobel's fiery sapphire eyes.
5. A glass horse brought in by Alex. Wow! This amazing glass horse really inspired the children to come up with all sorts of ideas, especially what might be on the inside of the horse. 'The Horse' by Millie Something was in the bush. The cold mist slowly arose from underneath the mossy horse. It was getting dim. The sun was disappearing. Soft leaves like a sea of darkness crackled under his worn out shoes. Running towards the clearance, an owl hooted. A brown squirrel ran from beneath the bush. It held something gold and dark in its mouth. Could it be? Not it couldn't. A squirrel couldn't carry something so heavy. It glistened in the sunlight. Small chips of bark fell from the tree as the squirrel climbed it. It stopped perching on a branch, leaving the object on the tallest branch of the tree. He stood at the stump. Just staring. Staring at it blindly. No emotion in his eyes....
6. Some baoding balls brought in by Lucia. Imagine finding these! What kind of discussion might you have about them? 5W have been practising dialogue techniques with these in class.
7. Matthew's torch to follow here.
8. A foil chapel with the nativity scene brought in by Frankie (made by mum!!). We have been using this item to inspire us when writing for the Christmas Service.
AUTUMN POETRY by 5W 'Autumn' by Sorcha She paints the leaves in a glamorous manner, And, after a while they fall to their death. Her bones break and fall to the ground, Mostly they are small ones.
She gets ready for winter to takeover,
She is Autumn.
'Autumn' by Lucia She breaths her magical breath across the world, Re-painting the leaves from green to red.
A rain of conkers showers down,
As her anger over-comes her.
The branches droop and the leaves fall,
For her whip shows no mercy.
As she is pushed from her land she drops her cloak of leaves,
A final memory of her beautiful face.
She floods the landscape with dryness and grey mist. Orange leaves drop from the oak,drifting and blowing in the gentle breeze.
Wasps fall from the sky buzzing, buzzing until they hit the ground.
Clouds spit rain drops down to the ground.
'Autumn' by Alex She is the season to fill the void. Preparing all creatures for the winter to come.
Yet she grows tired.
Setting the sun quicker and quicker.
Stripping the weak leaves from the helpless oaks.
Sweeping up the shrivelled leaves.
She is not cruel in what she takes.
Only collecting what will not survive the winter.
She grows tired leaving dead leaves here and there.
Ending the day as quick as possible.
Giving of a tired and sleepy air.
Like an old woman who has seen too much.
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1. (WB 22.9.08) Underline examples of personification and create sentences of your own. Draw a picture to compliment your work. Click 
1. (WB 29.9.08) Grabbing the reader's attention at the beginning of a story. Identifying what makes a good starting sentence. Click 
Metaphor: Using words that you would normally use to describe one subject/object to describe another subject/object. 
'Dreams' by 5W
1. (WC 24.11.08) This week's writing exercise is on the use of dialogue. You can make it as fun and interesting as you like.
1. Tiny 50mm dolls brought in by Rosa
'Autumn' by Hugo 
