Unit 6
Creating
People and
Places
Unit Objectives
This unit will help you to;
Describe places and characters in different
ways
Find different ways of grabbing your
readers attention
Choose and use interesting vocabulary
Structure paragraphs effectively
Plan draft and present your work
Zooming In
Learning Outcome:
• Use the technique of ‘zooming in’ to make
details more interesting for the reader
• Use prepositions in my writing
Key words
Prepositions
Prepositions
• Prepositions tell you where something is situated
or how it is positioned
Examples:
Here
By
Against
Below
Under
Over
In
Dangerous games
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
I was playing football …………the street. Suddenly the ball
bounced …………….. the pavement.
It rolled ……….. the road. Without thinking I chased
……………. the ball.
Rajiv shouted me to stop. It was too late. A car was coming
……………. me. All kinds of thoughts went ………………..
my mind.
Then the car hit me and knocked me …….. the road. I
could hear it as it went ……………. me. Then I passed out.
I don’t remember anything else. Rajiv says they put me
……… a stretcher and then drove me ……….town by
ambulance.
I suppose they must have done because I woke up ….. the
hospital. …………………….. coming round though, I had a
strange experience.
Dangerous games
1) I was playing football IN the street. Suddenly the ball bounced
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
OFF the pavement.
It rolled INTO the road. Without thinking I chased AFTER the
ball.
Rajiv shouted me to stop. It was too late. A car was coming
TOWARDS me. All kinds of thoughts went THROUGH my
mind.
Then the car hit me and knocked me INTO the road. I could
hear it as it went PAST me. Then I passed out.
I don’t remember anything else. Rajiv says they put me ON a
stretcher and then drove me ACROSS town by ambulance.
I suppose they must have done because I woke up …IN.. the
hospital. BEFORE coming round though, I had a strange
experience.
across
behind
above
beside
down
to
around
Descriptive writing in prose
PROSE is
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
_____________.
Zooming In
Once upon a time there was a ____, _____
planet.
On the _____, ______ planet was a _____,
_____ city.
In the _____, _____ city was a _____,
_____ building.
Behind the _____, _____ building was a…
Descriptive writing in prose
oming
Zo
in
When you describe something in writing, you have to decide
where to begin and end your description. One way to do this
is to imagine you are filming a scene and zooming in.
Read Dark, Dark Tale
Lesson 3
Lesson Objective
To learn how to focus your reader through
the use of detail
Lesson Outcome
By the end of the lesson I will use the
technique of ‘zooming in’ to add detail and
description to my writing
Once upon a time there was a…
Planet
Island
Motorway
Continent
Seashore
Road
Country
Jungle
Fields
City
River
Farm
Street
Waterfall
Farmhouse
Shop
Cave
Barn
Room
Tunnel
Ladder
Corner
?
?
Cupboard
Drawer
Remember to:
Box
• Include prepositions
?
• Include adjectives
• Aim for at least 10 lines
Descriptive Writing
Learning Outcome
• Focus your reader by using detailed
description
• Vary your sentence length
Key words
Detail, description
PAGE 64
Detail in prose
ACTIVITY 2
Answer questions 1-4 in your yellow book (10 mins)
1) Pond dust cobwebs mouse
2) 4: in corner / Tuck / Forgotten / Shotgun.
The sentence is short for effect.
The short sentence is at the end as a powerful
cliffhanger.
3) The writer used a new sentence beginning with ‘and’ to
create the effect of a list.
4) Repetition : every, and, comma use (b) for effect (c ) to
create the effect of a list.
Using the unexpected
Activity 3
Write the final sentence from ‘Tuck Everlasting’,
and replace the shotgun with something else
that is unusual in order to surprise your reader.
Remember, the item needs to be realistic.
For example,
And in a corner stood Tuck’s forgotten pram.
And in a corner stood Tuck’s forgotten alcohol.
And in a corner stood Tuck’s forgotten bible.
Activity
Your task is to write a description of the
inside of a house. Imagine yourself
walking through the front door and into
one of the rooms. Use noun phrases and
prepositions to describe the objects in the
room. Zoom in on a final surprise. Use
‘Tuck Everlasting’ as a model and aim for
only 5 sentences.
Example:
I walked into the scruffy little house beside the grave
yard; my eyes fell upon the battered front door, the
rusty door knocker and the spider dangling from the
door handle. I made my way into the…
Example:
I walked into the scruffy little house
beside the grave yard; my eyes fell
upon the battered front door, the rusty
door knocker and the spider dangling
from the door handle. I made my way
into the…
Describing a Place
Learning Outcome
• To use noun phrases in my writing
• To describe a place and focus on more than one
of the five senses
Key words
• Noun phrase
• Adjective
• Senses
Noun phrases
The job of an adjective is to describe a noun
Activity
Place two adjectives in front of these nouns to
make a noun phrase
1. _________, __________ water
2. _________, __________ ice
3. _________, __________ night
4. _________, __________ problem
5. _________, __________ face
6. _________, __________ door
Page 67
Skellig
TASK:
Read Skellig, and discuss Activity 5, parts
1,2 and 3.
Then complete the chart in part 4
Effective choice of words
Writer’s choice
Alternative word Explanation
Scuttled
Moved
Tiptoed
Walked
Snapped
Broke
Scattering
Running
Peered
Looked
Effective choice of words
Writer’s
choice
Scuttled
Alternative word
Explanation
Moved
Unusual word
Tiptoed
Walked
Makes the movement
very visual for the reader
Snapped
Broke
Scattering
Running
Peered
Looked
Onomatopoeia for
effect
Sound of the word
mirrors the action
For emphasis of the
action
Describing a place
Activity 6
Look at the pictures on page 69. Think about the setting,
possible characters, possible dates for the pictures, what
you may be able to see, hear, taste, touch and smell if
you were at that building.
Imagine you are at the building (just as you imagined being
at your house and described it as you moved around the
house). Write a description of the building using
 Interesting vocabulary – noun phrases
 Prepositions
 Thoughtful sentence structure
 Zooming in on a character that you find there
(This will be your marking criteria)
Using vocabulary to create
atmosphere
You really can choose
vocabulary to create
atmosphere with
anything. Take the
humble apple, for
example.
How might we describe
this apple in different
settings?
In a hot summers kitchen:
In an infested squatter’s kitchen:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Round
Rosy
Juicy
Shiny
Tempting
Crunchy
Fresh
Salad
Rotten
Maggot
Bruised
Brown
Battered
Dry
Nauseating
Using verbs to describe a
character
Learning Outcome
Select verbs and adjectives that contribute to
character description
Key words
Description
Verbs
adjectives
The bent, old man limped
slowly down the street.
Change the verb, adverb and adjectives so
that you are describing a younger person.
Describing a Character
Activity: Describe the character that you found
in the building, in the work you did last
lesson
1. Describe the character’s face, using adjectives and
verbs. Describe: face, eyes, hair, mouth, nose,
expression.
2. Describe the position of your character using
prepositions.
3. Describe their clothes.
4. Describe how they react to you – e.g relief, fear,
suspicion…
5. Include a short conversation between you and your
character.
End of Unit Assessment
SECURE
•
•
•
•
•
Keep your writing in the past tense!
Describe what can be seen, felt, heard, smelt and tasted
In your writing use adjectives that create atmosphere and mood
Write in paragraphs – beginning, middle and end
Use basic punctuation accurately e.g. capital letters, commas and
full stops
EXCEEDING
• In your writing use noun phrases, similes and prepositions to create
imagery in the mind of the reader
• Write with detail and description in developed paragraphs
• Use common punctuation accurately e.g. ! ?
HIGHEST
• Use the range of punctuation accurately, including speech
punctuation
• Use a variety of sentence lengths and styles
• Use a variety of sentence openings – (‘ing words ‘ly’ words and
connectives)