Writing
Explanation Writing
We are learning to write great Explanations. Take a look at the slides presentation to give you some great ideas on how to improve your explanation writing.
Our Sea Turtle Explanation slides can also be found below.
Instruction/Procedure Writing
We are learning to write great Instructions or Procedural Writing. Take a look at the slides presentation to give you some great ideas on how to improve your instruction/procedure writing.
Persuasive Writing
We are learning to write great Persuasive Writing. Take a look at the slides presentation to give you some great ideas on how to improve your persuasive writing.
Narrative Writing
We are learning to write great Persuasive Writing. Take a look at the slides presentation to give you some great ideas on how to improve your persuasive writing.
Ways to end your narrative story....
nw_StoryEndings.pdfFABO is a free writing contest for kids! There’ll be a new story to write every fortnight.
Submit your story before the closing date and you could win a prize! (Check with your teacher before you submit).
The Mystery of Harris Burdick
Thirty years ago a man called at Peter Wender’s office, introducing himself as Harris Burdick. Mr. Burdick explained that he had written fourteen stories and had drawn many pictures for each one. He’d brought with him just one drawing from each story, to see if Wenders liked his work.
Peter Wenders was fascinated by the drawings. He told Burdick he would like to read the stories that went with them as soon as possible. The artist agreed to bring the stories the next morning. He left the fourteen drawings with Wenders. But he did not return the next day. Or the day after that. Harris Burdick was never heard from again. Over the years, Wenders tried to find out who Burdick was and what had happened to him, but he discovered nothing. to this day Harris Burdick remains a complete mystery.
His disappearance is not the only mystery left behind. What were the stories that went with these drawings? There are some clues. Burdick had written a title and caption for each picture.
Some examples of stories written by people inspired by Harris Burdick's illustrations:
Alex Treadaway, Age: 13
The Harp
Grandfather rocked slowly on the rocker, descending back and rising slowly. His dark eyes were cast down on the boy before him. The wrinkles that decorated his lips and skin were sagging. His hair ... it had turned a dark shade of silver that caught the light.
"She was beautiful... indeed she was," he quietly said over and over again.
"Who was, Grandfather?" The boy replied.
As a mere boy of only eight, he was certainly curious of a great many things. His dirt brown hair fell in a messy heap upon his head. His eyes were alight with the wonderment of a small boy.
"Her name was Seline," Grandfather said, gazing towards the window to look past the forest, towards the beyond where the rocks shimmered in the early morning light, and the water from the stream was cool as it touched the skin. How the trees made a canopy with their higher branches in the late afternoon.
"The Harp. Everyday I went down there and watched her play it her fingers gliding across the strings," Grandfather smiled, his wrinkly lips turning upward. "And she never once saw me."
The boy immediately filled with joy. "Do you think shes still there!? Oh, lets go see!"
Grandfather laughed, "I havent seen her in ages but sometimes at night I can still hear her play the harp."
Muffy, the scruffy Catahoula dog that was lying at the boys feet, began to walk around nervously. The boy stood up and walked to the door. "Im going to take her for a walk, Grandfather."
Still gazing at the window, the man nodded.
The boy had never been in the woods that surrounded the house, but now that he was fumbling with the branches around him, he wished he had. Muffy was ahead, wagging her tail in excitement as she led the boy further into the forest. Suddenly she stopped. And thats when the boy noticed where they were.
The rocks shimmered in the early morning light, the trees made a canopy with their branches.
The water from the stream looked cool, calm...perfect. Then the water started to ripple and spread apart to make way for a body emerging from the water. She had dark red hair that shimmered down her back, giving her complexion a pale look. She sat silently beside a harp that was placed neatly on a shimmering rock. Her fingers danced lightly on the strings the beginning of an angelic song. So its true, he thought, its really true.
She turned her head gently and her soft eyes met with his.
Dasha Homeyer & Dylan Walsh, Ages: 14
The House on Maple Street
Dr. Fleinenstein lived alone in his 1800s style house on Maple Street.
Every day, he would get up very early for work. He worked only in his house in the attic. He never stepped outside, only to get his paper and mail. Many neighbors wondered about him. Some didnt even know his name. His latest top-secret invention was building a house rocket. What is a house rocket, you might ask? Dr. Fleinenstein would describe it as "The new way to outer space!" The doctor had many ideas, some were useless once built, but some were helpful in everyday life. One of his past inventions involved a motor and metal hands, which he used to help him with building his inventions.
His new invention was all about getting to space. Dr.Fleinenstein always had a thing for the universe. His house was mostly decorated of space pictures of the earth and many of the planets. His theory was to make somekind of rocket in his basement of the house, strong enough to lift off the ground and into space.
On a bright Saturday morning, Dr. Fleinenstein got up and did the usual, a cup of tea, eggs, and bacon. Then, he went off to his office in the attic. His office consisted of old antiques and small gadgets. One of his most prized possessions was kept in a wooden chamber in his office. He took it out rarely, just long enough for him to clean it. But nobody knew what this thing was.
As Dr.Fleinenstein turned on the lamp, he started drawing many shapes and numbers. Once he had an idea, it must be put on paper, or else the idea wouldnt exist. Once he had all his ideas down, he started off to the basement where all the tools were held. Back and forth he went, until finally he had all his tools. Since the rocket would be underneath the house, Dr. Fleinenstein went to the basement to work.
It has been a while since anyone stepped foot in the bottom story of the house, so most of it was filled with cobwebs and boxes. Dr.Fleinenstein got straight to work. He measured and cut every piece of metal to its needed shape.
Weeks later, Dr.Fleinenstein had finished his most possessed project. It was 11:30 PM, and he was getting ready for lift-off.
Dr.Fleinenstein strapped himself in. he clicked off all the buttons, and soon after, lift-off began. "It was the perfect lift-off."
He saw many things, from the planets to shooting stars. According to his calculations, it would take about 10 hours to get to the nearest planet. Finally he got to the planets atmosphere. The name was planet Unknown. As soon as he landed, he got out and saw many great things. He thought to himself, "Wow! I made it!" He took many samples of dirt and rocks. As he was searching for intelligent life, he stumbled upon a Wallabeast. "Whats a Wallabeast?" he wondered. As he got out his notebook, to take notes, he suddenly thought, "How in the universe am I gonna get home?"
Rachel Lefebre, Age: 10
Captain Tory
One night in 312 Maple Street a man told his grandchild of the legend of Captain Tory.
It all started on a dark night on the OREALLY ship of Captain Tory’s crew.
The men were on lower deck telling tall tales of a hideous monster known as the Crack. Suddenly they herd a noise CRECK CRECK!! The men ran up to the upper deck to find it was a storm the storm grew and grew until it took away the ship.
The men found themselves on a beach right on the coast of Florida. “What will we do now?” asked one of the shipmates. They had no food, water or a ship. Until they spotted a ship. They climbed on board the ship labeled the Black Mail. They spotted a treasure of jewels and gems riches and gold. Captain Tory wanted that treasure as much as he wanted a ship. Then the crew returned. Captain Tory and his crew hid in panic. The Black Mail sailed off with both crews. Hours later in the middle of the Atlantic ocean they heard a sound like a million lions screaming at one time. It was the Crack. Its tentacles took the ship in the air. Screams were the last noise the two crews made.
“Did the crack eat the Black Mail?” Asked the boy. "Now don't get ahead of me now" answered the Grandfather. “As I was saying...The Crack slides the boat down in one gulp as if it was the size of a pea. Which it would for a 50-foot monster? The monster disappeared into the water.
“Did anyone survive Grandpa” The boy asked, “No one really knows” but the ship is another story. “HUH?” asked the boy.
When ever a ship sails through the Atlantic legend tells you will get a visit from the Crack.
The boy imagined seeing the Black Mail. "How do you know all this?" asked the boy. There was no answer. His Grandfather Tory just smiled.
Greta Gervasoni, Age: 8
The Third Floor Bedroom
A long time ago there was an ancient cottage in which lived a family.
In the morning mum and dad always used to go in the yard to work, And the two children stayed with their grandfather. One afternoon it was raining so the two children played in their bedroom with their grandfather Luciano, who was very clever at the Chinese shadows game. The two children were fascinated about that game and they tried to learn haw to make a bird. At the end of the evening Sandy the little girl was very good at doing this game and looking on the wallpaper her brother and her grandfather noticed that Sandys shadows hands were exactly the same shape as the birds on the wallpaper. While they were looking at the wallpaper Sandy made her birds wings flyingand simultaneously one bird on the paper became alive and tried to move its wings. The next day the bird near the empty space on the wallpaper was found by the family with a followed wing. They thought that it tried all night long to follow the missing bird! The magic of that night never came back but it stayed in their mind for ever.
Sentence Types that we are working on...
Writing Vocabulary
Use Rhyme Zone to help you with your rhyming and with finding synonyms to help improve your writing.
Writing Prompts
Story Starters
1StoryStarters.pdfStory Endings
2StoryEndings.pdfStory Titles
wp_100WritingTitlesCards.pdfSurprising Situations
wp_SurprisingSituationsPosters.pdfenglishwritinginspirations.pdfGreat for ideas for writing prompts using video clips and questions.
A writing prompt a day over the year using images, a story starter and questions to prompt ideas
Year 5 and 6 Writing - Level 3 NZ Curriculum
Key characteristics of students’ writing at level 3:
Students will write for a range of different purposes on topics and themes across the curriculum at this level, applying a process appropriate to the task and drawing on the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that will help them achieve their purpose.
Students will independently write texts, choosing language and overall text structures that are appropriate for their audience and purpose (for example, when recounting, describing, narrating, reporting, arguing, or explaining). These texts will include, when appropriate:
- content that is usually relevant to the curriculum task and includes detail and/or comment supporting the main points;
- paragraphs that group ideas;
- simple and compound sentences that are correct grammatically and some complex sentences that are mostly correct grammatically;
- words and phrases that are appropriate to the topic, register, and purpose, including subject-specific vocabulary.
By the End of Year 5 and 6 Writing Target Display Posters
nz2-e-52431-new-zealand-writing-end-of-year-5-and-6-targets-display-posters-english_ver_1.pdf