Year 6 English Wednesday 20th May 2020

Over the next few weeks, you should be able to complete this English work independently.

You can still use a dictionary or thesaurus to improve your writing.https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english

You can complete this work in your homework book.

If you have any questions, write them down and we can discuss them during our weekly phone call.

Wednesday 20th May 2020LO to write a letter to a friend.

This week, our English work is going to be based on the poem ‘The Raven’ by Edgar Allan Poe.

This poem was written in 1845 (the Victoria era) and therefore some of the language in the poem is challenging.

Don’t worry if you don’t understand every word of the poem-although you can always use a thesaurus or online search to find out definitions.

You will be able to follow the story of the poem in the same way we followed the story of the Highway Man.

You can also listen to a reading of the poem here… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BefliMlEzZ8&t=27s

In your book, answer these questions about the poem.

1) 2) Explain how the main character’s feelings changed through the poem. Use evidence from the text to support your answer.

1) 2) At the start of the poem, the main character is sleepy and thinking about the woman he lost. He is tired and sad….“weak and weary”, “nearly napping”, “sorrow for the lost Lenore”.

When he hears the tapping at the window, the man becomes nervous and scared. He is frightened when he sees the raven... “filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before”, “all my soul within me burning”.

Lamenting means to express passionate grief or sadness about

something- in this case, the death of Lenore.

The experience of the raven’s visit must have been very scary for the man! Do you think he would tell anyone about his encounter with the raven? Why or why not?

Today you are going to write a letter to your friend from the point of view of the man, explaining what happened that night with the raven.

This poem was written in the Victorian era- what tone do you think letters of the that time would have been written in?

What sort of language would they include- formal or casual?

First person - writer is writing about themselves.

Past tense - writer writes about what has already happened.

Formal tone- this poem is from the Victoria era where letters were much more formal, even to friends. Can you show the time the letter was written in your language choice?

Self-reflection- writer writes about their feelings, thoughts, hopes and fears.

Different sentence starters- I was, I saw , I felt…. is very boring for the reader. You could start with a verb or an adverb to mix your writing up.

Paragraphs- used when a new time, place, person or event is written about.

Your letter must be written using….

On the next page, is my example.Can you spot these features in my example?

Here is my example of a letter to a friend. I have only written the beginning but your letter should include the whole story.

Wednesday 20th May 1845

My dear friend Charles,

I am writing to inform you that I have been fortunate enough to escape the horrors of a ghostly presence in my chambers last night. Luckily, I believe am one of the very few survivors of a visit from such an omen of death and I feel that I must share with you my story.

It started like any other day. I had taken to my desk in the late afternoon to compete some important paperwork and before I knew it, the candle on my desk had burnt itself down to nothing but wax! I must have been working for hours, absorbed in my task, without noticing the darkness creeping in. Looking out of the decadent window, nothing but gloomy night stretched before me. The clock struck midnight.

Perusing my collection of dusty books, I came across an old favourite and settled into bed with it. Feeling sleepy and with my eyes half closed, I almost drifted off into a peaceful slumber. Suddenly, I was awaken by a loud rapping at the door. My eyes darted immediately to the picture of beautiful Lenore, framed immortally above the fireplace- you know how I miss her so.

Feeling apprehensive- for who could be calling at this time of night?- I made towards the heavy oak door.

TaskWrite the date and learning objective.Wednesday 20th May 2020Lo to write a letter to a friend.

Write a letter to a friend from the point of view of the man in the story, describing what happened with the raven.

Success CriteriaFirst person Past tenseFormal toneSelf-reflectionDifferent sentence starters Paragraphs

If you are finding it difficult to write your own

letter, look at the next slide.

Imagine you are the man the raven came to see.Use these sentences starters to write a letter to your friend.

Dear Charles…

I was lying in bed when…..I felt…I went to the door but…I opened the window and saw….It was….The raven said…I felt….

Write soon my friend.