Winning Writers

Ojaih Willow-Edwards

Welcome
Please take one of the cards on the table and write one interesting fact about yourself on it. Do not let anyone else see what you are writing! When you have finished, please give it to me.

This session:
identify what you will achieve on the course complete an initial, diagnostic or practice test agree ground rules complete initial assessments and My Learning Space

Ground Rules
Working with the people on your table. Identify 4 ground rules to make your learning experience positive this week and write them down. You can exclude your expectations of: yourself the group the tutor

Texts
short story personal statement oral history interview/ autobiographical writing essay

Winning Writers | Learning Objectives

use paragraphs to organise your writing effectively use topic sentences to organise your writing plan a range of written texts produce a short story; autobiography / oral history; personal statement; essay use full stops, exclamation marks and question marks correctly in writing use past, present and future simple tense correctly in writing identify correct subject-verb agreement use subject verb agreement correctly in writing proofread a piece of writing effectively for errors and meaning

What do you want to achieve?

Working with other people on your table decide what else you want to have learnt by the end of this week. Consider how you will know you have been successful

Assessments
Complete your BKSB assessment Complete your My Learning Space

Break Back at 3.30pm

This session:

read a short story and identify the atmosphere plan the opening to a short story write the opening three sentences of a short story identify the effect of key words

Short stories

scanning
looking for specific pieces of information rather than the meaning

Task
Scan through the text and highlight any words you would like explained in more detail.

The Summons
All was still in the forest. The last snowflakes of the sudden storm had just fallen. Everything paused.

The Summons
In the crook of a copper beech sat a man. His arms

were crossed, gloved hands folded into his lap, the right beneath to support the weight of the goshawk on his left. They had been there for a long time, as long as the blizzard lasted. Man and bird part of the stillness, part of the silence. Both had their eyes closed. Neither were asleep.

The Summons
They were waiting for the first sound. Something else to recognise that the storm had passed, be the first to stir before the next one arrived.

Paired task
What kind of tone and atmosphere do you think the author, C. C. Humphreys, is trying to create? Make a list of the words (vocabulary) he uses to create this kind of atmosphere. Highlight all the references to fear, anticipation or tension.

Whats the effect?

Both had their eyes closed. Neither was asleep Everything paused

Change these sentences to create different moods

The dog barked as the man walked through the door. (green) A flock of birds flew into the air. (pink) The mother looked at her child. (peach)

characters

setting

Story What happens at the start? What happens in the middle? What happens at the end?

What makes a good story opening?

Task
Write three possible opening sentences for your short story. Share your work with a partner and decide on the best sentence.

Homework

Homework
Write the first paragraph of a short story. It should be: between 3- 6 sentences long grab the readers attention include vocabulary that describes the atmosphere to the reader.

goshawk

Copper Beech

blizzard