©TalkforWriting 1

The GameTalk for Writing Home-school booklet

by Maria Richards

© Copyright of Maria Richards and Talk for Writing 2020. No part of this publication should be placed online, shared or reproduced without permission. www.talk4writing.com

Year 5

©TalkforWriting 2

The Game Year 5 Workbook By Maria Richards

Welcome to The Game workbook.

Inside,youwillfindlotsofthingstoworkthroughthatwillhelpyouwithyourreadingandwritingskillsandbuildontheworkyoudoatschool.

©TalkforWriting 3

Stimulus – The World of Jumanji In1981ChrisVanAllsbergwroteabookcalledJumanji.Inthestory,abrotherandsisterdiscoveragamethat turns fictioninto real life. Whatever square you land on in the game,bringsanewchallengetoovercome.Worststill,thechallengebecomesarealityforeveryonearound.IfyouhaveaccesstotheInternet,typethisintoGoogle:

https://cutt.ly/JtxrUyf

This isa link totheoriginalmovietrailerforJumanji in1995andyoucanseetheconsequencesofplayingthegame!Firstcheckwithanadultthatit’soktodothis.

©TalkforWriting 4

Get Plotting!

Now let’s take a look at a story that follows thesameplot idea as Jumanji. TheGame is a findingtaleandhasthissimpleunderlyingplotpattern:

Basic story structure Structure of a finding tale

Opening Introducethemaincharacter/s(MC)

Buildup MCgoessomewhereandfindsanunusual/amazing/importantobject

Problem Somethinggoeswrong–itisthefaultoftheobject

Resolution MCputsback/hides/throwsawaytheobject–theproblemissolved

Ending Alliswellagainandlessonshavebeenlearnt

YoucanlistentoarecordingofTheGamestorybelowhere:https://soundcloud.com/talkforwriting/game The Game Danny and Susie were bored. It was wet play again and it felt like they hadn’t seen the playground for weeks. Rivers of greasy rain streaked the classroom windowpanes and pooled to make gigantic puddles in the centre of the netball court. Another lunchtime inside was clearly stressing Mrs Allbright, as she seemed to be tense and a bit more snappy than usual. She sat at her desk with a steaming cup of tea and marked books with the ferocity of a wild beast. To top it all, every good game was being used and only the tub of dominoes was left. Everyone knew that half of them were missing and the other half had been chewed by the school ‘Reading Dog’. Danny and Susie searched the classroom for something to do. To their dismay, the comic box was empty, the iPads had been snapped up by Freya and her gang and Billy seemed to have started a resurgence of the game Slap, which didn't look like fun at all. As the two friends

©TalkforWriting 5

squeezed past the art table to get to the wet-play books, a tatty, cardboard box fell from the top shelf of the bookcase. Susie picked it up. “I’ve never seen this game before,” she said, wiping the dust from the unusual lid. It was embossed with intricate patterns and around the edges were pictures of animals, insects and other strange creatures. “An animal game? Boring!” said Danny, already losing interest. “Oh come on, let’s play. There’s nothing else to do,” suggested Susie, smiling widely and shaking the box. They sat down in a quiet corner, lifted the lid and took out the board.

Whatnext?We’vestoppedataninterestingpartofthestory.Summarisebelowwhatyouthinkcouldhappennext.

Nowlet’sfindouthowcloseyourpredictionswere.Readon!

“Looks simple enough,” said Danny, ever impatient, as he set the counters onto the start line. They were jungle animals: a rhino and a jaguar. He also shuffled the game cards and laid them in a neat pile. “Let’s just start and learn as we go.” Susie went first. She grasped the dice and threw them down onto the centre of the board. An eight! She moved her rhino eight paces, to land on an orange-coloured square. It showed a picture of a giant Tarantula. She lifted a game card and read it out. “If you do not catch this beast,

I predict…

©TalkforWriting 6

then you’re on the menu for its next feast.” She stared at Danny and shrugged. “I don't get it!” she said. At that moment, the table began to shake, the windows rattled and the floor vibrated. Everyone stopped what they were doing and the room fell silent. “EARTHQUAKE!” shouted Billy, bursting into laughter. He soon stopped, as in a blink of an eye, an enormous spider, bigger than a horse, shot out of the game and landed in the centre of the crowded classroom. Everyone froze. Its enormous, hairy legs were tensed, ready to pounce and its whole body seemed to pulse. Eight, bulging eyes scanned the room and then … It sprung into action. It crushed the tables, smashed the windows and flung children all around the classroom with a flick of its legs. It powered towards Mrs Allbright as she stood rooted to the floor in terror. The room was filled with shrieks of panic and despair. “What shall we do?” shouted Danny desperately, pressing himself tightly against the wall. “Read the instructions,” ordered Susie. “We have to stop it!” Quickly, they scrabbled around to find the box underneath all the mess. They rescued it from under a pile of maths books and scanned the upturned lid to read the instructions. All the while, the spider got closer and closer to their teacher. It stretched out its forelegs, ready to grab her. Her eyes widened in horror as she realised what was coming next. “It says we’ve got to throw two sixes to end the game,” screeched Danny, looking pale. Susie grasped the dice again. She threw and she threw and she threw. No luck. She glanced up and saw the spider had her teacher in its grasp. Its striped legs were holding her in a vice-like grip. She threw again and then again, faster and faster each time and then, just as she was losing all hope, TWO SIXES! Suddenly, out of nowhere, there was a loud hissing sound. It pierced the air and everyone covered their ears. A flash of light streaked through the classroom and the game rattled into life. It started to suck everything into a vortex in the centre of the room: the mess, the

©TalkforWriting 7

children, the spider, Mrs Allbright. There was an almighty boom and then … nothing. Danny and Susie opened their eyes. Everything was back to normal; even Mrs Allbright was back in her chair, marking with the ferocity of a wild beast. Then the bell went. “Pack up, Class 5!” ordered Mrs Allbright. “Science starts in two minutes and we’re looking at animals in their habitats.” Susie looked at Danny and raised her eyebrows. They carefully packed the contents of the game back into the box. Everything went in except the dice and the animal counters, which Susie wrapped in a paper towel and placed into the bin instead. They put the lid on the box and lifted it high up onto the bookshelf. They never wanted anyone to play that game, ever again! Everyone settled down to afternoon lessons. Everyone, that was, except Billy. He had spotted something on top of the bookshelf that he’d never noticed before and he intended to investigate it, the very next time they were in for wet play … © Maria Richards 2020

What Do the Words Mean? Gobackthroughthestoryandunderlineanywordsyoudon'tknowthemeaningof.

Nowlet’sinvestigatesomeofthemtogether. TheSentenceChallenge: Takealookatthedefinitionsofthefollowingwordsfromthetext.Takeeachwordandputthemintonewsentences.Howmanysentencescanyoucreate?

©TalkforWriting 8

… rain streaked the c lassroom windowpanes To streak along – to move rapidly e.g. John streaked along the pavement towards the crowd.

Nowwriteyournewsentences:

… a resurgence of the game s lap A resurgence – something that returns or starts again after disappearing for a while e.g. The teachers have seen a resurgence of skipping games in the playground.

Nowwriteyournewsentences:

©TalkforWriting 9

… the ferocity of a wild beast Ferocity – extremely fierce (fierce = strong, powerful, violent or frightening) e.g. We were surprised by the ferocity of the storm.

Nowwriteyournewsentences: Likes, Dislikes, Puzzles & Surprises!

Nowyouhavereadthewholestory,whatdidyoulike&dislike?Whatpuzzledyou(whatquestionsdoyouhave–why,what,how…)and

whatsurprisedyou?

©TalkforWriting 10

I l iked …

I dis liked …

I would l ike to know …

I was surprised …

©TalkforWriting 11

Let’s Think About the Text a Little More

We’regoingtorereadthetextcarefullyandanswer

somecomprehensionquestionsaboutTheGame.

1.DoesTheGameremindyouofanyotherstoriesthatyouknow?Listthembelow.2.DannyandSusiehadagoodchoiceofthingstodoatwetplaytime.IsthatTRUEorFALSE?Circletheanswer3.Findandcopyawordthatisclosestinmeaningtodisappointment.4.Writedowntwothingsthatchildrenaredoingintheclassroom.5.IsMrsAllbrighttheteacherintheclass?YESorNO?(Circleone)Whatarethecluestosuggestthis?

©TalkforWriting 12

6.WhymightanotherlunchtimeinsidebestressingMrsAllbright?7.LookatthiscommentfromDanny:“Ananimalgame?Boring!”saidDanny,alreadylosinginterest.WhymightDannythinkthegamewouldbeboring?8.Whatwerethethreesignsthatsomethingbadwasgoingtohappenoncethegamestarted?9.Listthethingsthespiderdidonceitwasoutofthegame:

©TalkforWriting 13

10.Thetextsays:“Hereyeswidenedinhorrorassherealisedwhatwascomingnext.”WhatmightMrsAllbrightbethinkingatthispoint?

11.WhydidSusieputthediceandcountersintothebin?12.Billyspottedthegameontheshelfattheendofthestory.Whatdoyoupredictmighthappenthenexttimeit’swetplay?

©TalkforWriting 14

Now for Some Grammar 1.RelativeclausesTheseclausesgivemoreinformationaboutsomebodyorsomethinginasentence.Theybeginwitharelativepronounlikewhich/who/whose/that.Let’s add some relative clauses into sentences that could be used inourstory.ThisistheDrop-InGame:We’regoingtodroparelativeclauseintosentencesusingwho.Forexample:Mrs Al lbright was marking books. Mrs Al lbright, who was tired and cross, was marking books. Now you drop in a clause into the sentences below, usingwho: Danny was looking out of the window. Susie ran to the door with the box . Freya watched The Voice on the iPad.

©TalkforWriting 15

Now have a go at dropping a relative clause into thesentencesbelowusingwhich.Forexample:

The desks were covered in board games. The desks, which were bright blue, were covered in board games.

The board game intrigued Susie. The netbal l court looked slippery. The dominoes were in the basket.

Nowforsomesentenceimitation:Let’stryusingsomesentencepatternsfromTheGameandcreatenewsentencesusingthesamestructure.

1. Openingastorywithnames+ashortsentence

Danny and Susie were bored. ____ and ____ were _____. Try your imitations: e.g. Gaby and Jonathan were exc ited.

2.Sentenceof3fordescription

It crushed the tables, smashed the windows and flung children all around the classroom with a fl ick of its legs. It___________ , ___________ and ___________.

©TalkforWriting 16

Try your imitations: e.g. It ran down the road, crossed the bridge and jumped into the boat.

Write Away!

Now let’s concentrate on writing a story. Beforewestart,let’sdosomewarmingup,sowe’rereadytobecreative!

TheAdjectiveGame

Adjectivesdescribeanoun,forexample: The red car drove down the misty lane.

Youcanchangethemoodofyourwritingbychoosingyouradjectivescarefully.ReadthisdescriptionoftheTarantula.The handsome Tarantula looked at the children. Its gl istening, hazel eyes scanned the room. Delicate hairs covered its plump body and swayed l ike shimmering grass. Its solid legs, l ike thick branches, stood strong. The spider sounds quite pleasant. However, if we change theadjectives,youcanmakeitsoundmuchmorescary.Giveitatry!Fillinthe gaps with an adjective that will help to make the spider soundgruesome.The __________Tarantula looked at the children. Its _________ , ________ eyes scanned the room. _________ hairs covered its _________ body and swayed l ike __________. Its ______ legs, l ike ____________, stood strong.

©TalkforWriting 17

Youcouldalsochangetheverbs(underlinedinbrightblue),tomakeitsoundevenscarier!Writeanewverbunderneaththeoriginalone.

It’s now your turn to be an author. Let’s look attheproblemsectionofTheGame.We’regoingtore-writeitwithnewideas.Theproblem:

At that moment, the table began to shake, then the windows rattled and the floor vibrated. Everyone stopped what they were doing and the room fell silent. “EARTHQUAKE!” shouted Billy, bursting into laughter. He soon stopped, as in a blink of an eye, an enormous spider, bigger than a horse, shot out of the game and landed in the centre of the crowded classroom. Everyone froze. Its enormous, hairy legs were tensed, ready to pounce and its whole body seemed to pulse. Eight bulging eyes scanned the room and then… It sprung into action. It crushed the tables, smashed the windows and flung children all around the classroom with a flick of its legs. It powered towards Mrs Allbright as she stood rooted to the floor in terror. The room was filled with shrieks of panic and despair. “What shall we do?” shouted Danny desperately, pressing himself tightly against the wall. “Read the instructions,” ordered Sally, “We have to stop it!” Whatotherproblemscouldthegamecause?Whatelsecouldcomeoutofthegameandwhatwoulditdo?

Keeptheclassroomsettingthesamefornowandplan a new idea below. You can make notes ordrawwhatwillcomeoutofthegameandwhatitwilldoonceit’sreleased.

©TalkforWriting 18

Instead of: Your ideas:

… crushing the tables

… smashing the windows

… fl inging children round the room

… grabbing the teacher

… extra ideas

Usingtheideas&sentencesfromtheproblemsectionofTheGame,onaseparatepieceofpaper,tryoutyournewplans.

©TalkforWriting 19

Followthispattern:Startwiththefirststrangeeventsasasentenceofthreeandthenshowhowthechildrenreact:At that moment, the table began to shake, the windows rattled and the floor vibrated. Everyone stopped what they were doing and the room fell silent. At that moment, … Next, introduce the new threat. Tell uswhere it came fromandwhatitlookedlike:In a blink of an eye, an enormous spider, as big as a horse, shot out of the game and landed in the centre of the crowded classroom. Everyone froze. Its enormous, hairy legs were tensed, ready to pounce and its whole body seemed to pulse. Eight bulging eyes scanned the room and then … In the bl ink of an eye, …

©TalkforWriting 20

Where else could this happen? Try a newsetting for The Game. Change the classroomsetting to somewhere else.Where could thishappen? Plan a new idea below. You can

makenotesordraw.Whatwillcomeoutofthegame in thenewsettingandwhatwillitdoonceit’sreleased?

Insteadof: Yourideas:

… what comes out of the game?

… what wi l l it do?

… extra ideas

Nowwriteyournewproblem,setsomewhereelse:startwiththe first strange event, then introduce the new threat andfinally describewhat the threat does.Do this on a separatepieceofpaper.

©TalkforWriting 21

Get Plotting Again!

Now let’s write a brand new finding tale. Itdoesn't have to be set in school or involve agame. I have put a few of my ideas below tohelp your thinking. You could even write theprequelofthestoryaboutwhathappenswhenBilly investigates the game the next time it’swetplay!

Think about: Your ideas Wherecouldthestorytakeplace?e.g.a field , a football match, a restaurant, at home – where else?

Whatcouldtheobjectbe?e.g. a book, shoes, wand, a phone, a bucket, a pen - what else?

What happens when theobjectisfound?e.g. events in the book come to l ife, shoes turn you into different people, wands cast disastrous spells , phones turn people into robots – what else?

©TalkforWriting 22

Nowaddyourideastotheboxed-upplanner,basedonTheGame,soyoucanplanyourwholestory:

Introduce the main characters (MCs)and where they are

MCs find something they have not seen before

The object that has been found causes strange things to happen

MCs work out how to stop the strange things

Everything is back to normal

©TalkforWriting 23

Areyouready?Then

« writeit, « readit « andcheckit! « Seeyouattheend!

Welldone!Nowthat youhaveanewstory,why not publish it? Below are some simpleinstructions formaking amini book from apieceofA4paper.

IfyouhaveaccesstotheInternet,typethisintoGoogle:

https://cutt.ly/QtvAkwq

Here,youcanwatchamini-bookbeingmadeandfollowtheinstructions.Ortrythis:

©TalkforWriting 24

©2012Book-makingActivityforTellMeAboutYourDayTodaycreatedbyLaurenStringer,www.laurenstringer.com

Makeyourbookandillustrateit–enjoy!We’vereachedtheendofourjourney.Ihopeyou’vehadfun!

©TalkforWriting 25

I would rate my journey through this booklet (tick hot orcold):

I really enjoyed …

©TalkforWriting 26

This workbook has helped me learn …

©TalkforWriting 27

©MariaRichardsforTalkforWritingMariaRichards,formerteacherandNationalStrategyLiteracyConsultant,nowworkswithTalkforWritingtohelpschoolsdeveloptheapproach.TofindoutmoreaboutTalkforWriting,visitwww.talk4writing.com.Thisresourceiscopyright.Allmaterialsherein,textsandsupportingresourcesarecopyrighttoMariaRichards&TalkforWriting.Theyaretobeusedtosupportchildren/staff/parentsinhome-learningONLYandnotforcommercialgainorfortrainingorsharingwidely,intheiroriginalformoranyvariations.Theymustalsonotbesharedonlineoronanysocialmediaplatforms. ThankstoJonRalphs,LaurenStringer,graphicsauthorsDinosoftLabsonFlaticon.comandphotographersMarkusSpiske,FransVanHeerdenandPCfromPexels.com,for sharingtheircontent.