Francis Brandywine

Over the next few weeks, your English work is going to be based around a story called Francis. It is a suspense story set in Quetico Provincial Park in Canada.

By the end of the unit, your task will be to rewrite the story. We will build up to this through a series of sessions - it is therefore important you complete them all as they build up to the final piece.

The Year 6 teachers love this unit of work (it is their firm favourite) and we know that you will too!

Session 1

To use vocabulary in contextSession 1 instructions:

During this unit of writing, you will be exposed to vocabulary that you may not have come across before. In order to help with your understanding and to develop you as a writer, your first task is to explore the definitions of some of the vocabulary you will need to know.

1. Read the text on slide 4 and then answer the questions. Repeat with slide 5 (the text is the same). The best thing to do is discuss your answer with an adult but if they are busy then just have a think about it yourself.

2. Complete a bridge map (slide 6) using the vocabulary on slide 6. Use a dictionary to explore the definitions and add these to your bridge map. It is important you understand the definitions and don’t just copy.

Francis by Dave Eggers

When I was a kid in the suburbs of Chicago, adventure meant Quetico Provincial Park, up on the border of Minnesota and Canada. The name implies that the place was small, but Quetico is a million acre nature preserve, so big you could go days and days without seeing another soul.

We would go on camping trips up there, weeks of canoeing and portaging, seeing bears and moose and deer, sleeping under star-soaked skies. The park was isolated and so pristine that you could actually drink the water straight from the lakes. But I won't be going back to Quetico anytime soon. Not after what happened to a girl name Francis Brandywine.

What example of pathetic fallacy has the author used?

What impact does this have on the reader?

Francis by Dave Eggers

When I was a kid in the suburbs of Chicago, adventure meant Quetico Provincial Park, up on the border of Minnesota and Canada. The name implies that the place was small, but Quetico is a million acre nature preserve, so big you could go days and days without seeing another soul.

We would go on camping trips up there, weeks of canoeing and portaging, seeing bears and moose and deer, sleeping under star-soaked skies. The park was isolated and so pristine that you could actually drink the water straight from the lakes. But I won't be going back to Quetico anytime soon. Not after what happened to a girl name Francis Brandywine.

What do you predict might happen in this story?

What evidence from the text supports your prediction?

isolated, desolate, tranquil, idyllic, serene, solitary, eerie, sinister, secluded, harrowing, macabre, execrable, portaging

isolated

far away from people, buildings, places

To use vocabulary in context

Challenge:

Pick one word which you think will have a good impact on the reader. Explain why you think this.

Can you put the word in a sentence?

= means

Session 2

To research and present your information Quetico National Park is a large wilderness park in Ontario, Canada. Use the website below to research key facts about the park.

Display your research in the form of your choice (you might want to consider one of the following options):

- Information leaflet- Advert- Non-chronological report

https://www.ontarioparks.com/park/quetico

If you could share today’s work with us (use either docs or slides on Google Drive), we would love to see it.

Session 3

Session 3 instructions:

Your task today is to explore the main features of descriptive and suspense writing.

1. Read the suspense setting on slide 11 and answer the questions (discuss or just think about them).

2. Look at slide 12 - identify the features of a suspense setting (the answers are in the notes section under slide 12 but try to identify them yourself first.

3. Record your findings in a circle map and complete the frame of reference (see slide 13).

To identify features of a suspense setting

To identify features of a suspense settingThe lake sprawled carelessly across the centre of the park; a deep ocean of mystery and despair. It was consumed by an army of tall, dark trees who hung limply in the mid autumn breeze. Subtly, the breeze taunted the leaves as night fell, menacingly pulling them towards the ground. It was coming. Darkness shrouded the park and an uncomfortable silence filled the atmosphere, that was occasionally penetrated by the shrieks of an innocent animal, leaving the mind to fill the silence with noises that weren’t really there.

Or were they?

Which sentence is your favourite in this description?

Why do you like it? - Try to explain the impact of

words/phrases, literary techniques used to create suspense etc.

To identify features of a suspense settingThe lake sprawled carelessly across the centre of the park; a deep ocean of mystery and despair. It was consumed by an army of tall, dark trees who hung limply in the mid autumn breeze. Subtly, the breeze taunted the leaves as night fell, menacingly pulling them towards the ground. It was coming. Darkness shrouded the park and an uncomfortable silence filled the atmosphere, that was occasionally penetrated by the shrieks of an innocent animal, leaving the mind to fill the silence with noises that weren’t really there.

Or were they?

The author of this setting description has used a range of techniques to create suspense.

How many can you identify? Record your answers on a circle map - once you have finished check the answers in the notes below!

(Think figurative language, sentence length etc.)

To identify features of a suspense setting

Suspense Features

FOR: Examples from the text

Challenge:

Add your own examples to the frame of reference.

Consider carefully your use of language to create maximum impact on the reader.

Session 4

Session 4 instructions:

Your task today is to plan and write a setting description that creates suspense.

1. Look at the pictures on slide 16 and consider all the things you could describe in your setting i.e. trees, moon, lake, weather etc. Put these in the centre of your circle map.

2. Use the frame of reference to think of words / phrases that you could use to describe the features in your park (remember the work from yesterday - use these features to help you).

3. Write your setting description - see success criteria on slide 18. Please share this with your teacher as they would love to read it.

To write a setting description that creates suspense

To write a setting description that creates suspense

Quetico National Park

FOR: description

Success Criteria:

● Use at least four of the features of suspense you identified yesterday

● Use at least three of the words from session 1

● Use punctuation for impact i.e. dashes create a longer pause than a comma, ellipsis to create a pause and imply something is about to happen, semicolons join ideas together

To write a setting description that creates suspense

Challenge:

Explain to me which is your favorite sentence from your description. Why do you like it so much? Which sentence has the least impact? Can you improve it?

Session 5

To summarise a narrative

1. Watch the video of Francis Brandywine (the video is hyperlinked)

2. Create a flow map summarising the story - you just need to include the key events.

Please keep your flow map - you will need this again later as it will form the plan for your story.

Example of a flow map