Teach-Primary-Issue-19.4

Skipping time might look like this; look at the contrast between the third paragraph and the previous two: Long, long ago, back when gods and goddesses ruled the world, in ancient Greece there lived a leader whose name was King Acrisius. Desperate for a son to become his heir and carry his name, one misty, moonlit night, he travelled to visit the oracle. In the dark cave, where the shadows danced on the wall, he met the old hag and paid her three gold pieces to foretell his fate. “You will not have a son,” the fortune-teller told him, “But you will have a grandson and he will be the one to bring your death.” The words stabbed the King in his heart and a cold Before: When Perseus reached the Gorgons’ lair, he was scared, but picked up his shield and entered the chamber. After: Finally, he reached the desolate lair of the Gorgons. The air hung heavy with an eerie silence, and the hair on Perseus’s neck stood on end. Fear gripped his heart, threatening to paralyse him. But he remembered Athena’s words and reached for the reflective shield she had bestowed upon him. He steeled himself and entered the chamber, sweat trickling down his forehead. If, instead, children need to speed up a scene or skip time, they could: · switch to an omniscient narrator to give the reader information · use adverbials to jump in time, e.g. days passed; years passed; week after week · add dialogue, including a quick back-and-forth including conflict · use short sentences and paragraphs · cut unnecessary adjectives and adverbs fear gripped him. Many years passed and to the King’s horror, he discovered his only daughter was pregnant. Give these ideas a go and see what difference they make to your pupils’ writing. Maybe everything will be alright in the end. TP Chris Youles has 19 years of experience in class teaching and leadership, and is the author of the bestselling books Sentence Models for Creative Writing and Teaching Story Writing in Primary . Story beats If you’re not sure whether something is essential to your story, ask yourself: Is it a part of the plot? Is it a setting or character description that adds to the story? Does it reveal the character’s goal? Does it build tension? Can we cut it and skip to the important parts? @ChrisYoules Perseus is born Thrown in the sea King Polydectes Sets off to kill Medusa Gifts from God Finds Medusa Kills Medusa SU SU SU SD SD SD SD Fig. 2 www.teachwire.net | 57 T E ACH RE AD I NG & WR I T I NG