Y6 English Unit - 4 weeks - Francis - Building Tension and 1st/3rd Person Narratives

This is based on an amazing digital text called ‘Francis’ which I cannot recommend highly enough. The children absolutely love it and are so engaged throughout and produce loads of writing. This film is a perfect lesson in building tension, the narrator uses pauses and varies the speed at which he speaks in order to build the tension. There is a heavy grammar focus in the starter of each lesson to help prepare children for SATs.

This unit covers 21 lessons (4 weeks) and explores a range of genres linked to the video CGI Animated Shorts : “Francis” - Directed by Richard Hickey.

Writing outcomes:

• Write a film review
• Write a first person narrative
• Write a third person narrative
• Write a journal/diary entry
• Range of ‘picture perfects’

All files are in both Word/PDF and all PowerPoints have also been converted to PDF for ease of use. A link to this Literacy Shed video on YouTube has also been provided but can also be easily googled.

One night on a family camping trip to Quetico park, the reckless raven-haired Francis waits until her family have fallen asleep and takes a rowing boat out to the middle of the lake. Hoping to find a quiet spot where the teenager can lay on her back, stare at the sky and write in her journal, her expectations of a peaceful night at one with nature are soon shattered when an unexpected noise comes from the water below.

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