Snow Day: Snowbound Texts

After a heavy snowstorm, staff and students at a school have been forced to spend the night, entirely cut off from the outside world…
Here are 5 texts which describe the experience:

1. It’s Snowing!: a story describing the the reaction of students as the snow begins to fall at school.
2. Night: a poem describing the atmosphere as students try to sleep in a classroom.
3. A Search Party: a discussion text outlining arguments for and against sending out a search party to look for help.
4. Expedition: an action story in which a search party attempt to brave the outside.
5. Safe at Last!: a news report detailing the rescue of the staff and students.

All brilliantly illustrated by Nick Hilditch

These texts could be used in a variety of ways:

exploring and comparing different text types or genres;
texts for whole class or guided reading;
the basis of reading comprehensions;
modelled texts for students’ own writing.

Language features:
Narrative Writing: past tenses, including past perfect; fronted adverbials; adjectives and adverbs for descriptive detail; coherence; relative clauses; commas around clauses; semi-colons; colons; ellipsis; inverted commas; paragraphing, including short paragraphs and sentences for dramatic effect; balance of action, dialogue and setting; themes of adventure, rescue, overcoming fear; character description; figurative language (simile, metaphor).
Poetry: metaphor; figurative language; personification; contrasts; patterns; alliteration; repetition.
Discussion: formal writing; direct address; objectivity; quotations; sentence adverbs; punctuation range.
News Report: layout; report structure; direct and reported speech; formal language.