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Week 3 Overview

Theme: Narrative structure and dialogue for animation-inspired storytelling
Class: Year 5 (ages 9-10)
Class size: 30 pupils
Duration: 60 minutes per lesson
National Curriculum link: English - Writing - Composition (Years 5-6), Spoken Language, Reading - Comprehension
Approach: Procedural Implicit Pedagogy (PIP) embedded via creative animation activities, supporting neurodiverse learners and multisensory learning, aligned with Quality First Teaching (QFT).

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Day 1: Introduce Story Structure

WALT:
We are learning to identify and use key parts of a story structure (beginning, build-up, dilemma, resolution, ending).

Success Criteria:

• Recognise components of story structure.
• Understand how stories build tension and resolve.
• Plan and annotate a storyboard with 3-6 scenes following story mountain.

Curriculum Links:

• Writing: Plan their writing by identifying audience and purpose, and by noting and developing initial ideas.
• Spoken language: participate in discussions, use spoken language to develop understanding.

Resources

• 2-3 short animations (carefully chosen to highlight clear story structure, approx 3 minutes each)
• Story mountain poster/handouts
• Online storyboard app or printed templates
• Whiteboard/interactive board

Activities

1. Starter (10 mins):
   • Watch 2 short animations (e.g., an age-appropriate, simple story animation such as a classic folk tale or Aesop’s fable).
   • Discuss as a class: What happened first? What was the problem? How was it solved? What was the ending?
2. Modelling (10 mins):
   • Introduce story mountain (Beginning, Build-Up, Dilemma/Problem, Resolution, Ending).
   • Map each animation quickly onto the story mountain on the board.
3. Guided Practice (20 mins):
   • Pupils begin planning their own story using the story mountain structure. They draft an annotated storyboard with 3-6 scenes, reflecting story mountain stages. Use online storyboard app or printed sheets for accessibility.
   • Teachers circulate, prompting focus on clear major points and encouraging visual/pictorial annotations to assist neurodiverse learners.
4. Plenary (10 mins):
   • Volunteers share their storyboard plans.
   • Discuss how following the story mountain helps storytelling clarity.

Differentiation

• Support: Use dyslexia-friendly font/story mountain poster; visual exemplars with pictures and keywords; one-to-one or small group scaffolding.
• Challenge: Include additional challenge to add subplots or minor characters to storyboard.

Extension

• Encourage pupils to develop their story into a mini script for animation scene ideas.

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Day 2: Create First Setting and Props

WALT:
We are learning to create detailed settings for stories and incorporate props.

Success Criteria:

• Identify 2 different settings in their story.
• Modify storyboards if needed to have 2 clear settings.
• Create at least one detailed background and related props for the first setting.

Curriculum Links:

• Writing: Describe settings using imaginative language.
• Spoken Language: Present ideas clearly and confidently.

Resources

• Art materials (colour pencils, paper, clay or modelling materials)
• Storyboards from Day 1
• Examples of animation backgrounds to inspire pupils.

Activities

1. Starter (10 mins):
   • Review storyboards from Day 1 with a peer. Check for presence and clarity of two different settings.
2. Main (40 mins):
   • On paper or digital, design/create a detailed background for the first setting, considering sensory details (sight, sound, atmosphere).
   • Make simple props (e.g., clay objects, drawn items) that could be used in animation for that setting.
   • Encourage pupils to talk through their setting and props with partners to explore vocabulary reflecting mood and place.
3. Plenary (10 mins):
   • Share some backgrounds and props.
   • Discuss how settings add to story mood and engagement.

Differentiation

• Support: Provide templates, simpler visuals, and prompts; paired work for verbal rehearsal.
• Challenge: Create a descriptive paragraph to accompany the setting, using expanded noun phrases and figurative language.

Extension

• Use sensory checklists to add detail to settings and props, enhancing narrative imagery.

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Day 3: Build Second Scene and Props — English Links

WALT:
We are learning to develop a second setting and props while linking our creative work to English skills in description and vocabulary.

Success Criteria:

• Develop a second distinct setting with props for their story.
• Use descriptive language linked to setting and atmosphere.
• Identify connections between setting and mood/character feelings.

Curriculum Links:

• Writing: Use varied vocabulary to describe settings.
• Reading comprehension: Infer mood and atmosphere from description.

Resources

• Art and modelling materials
• Storyboards and backgrounds from Day 2
• Word banks and descriptive language prompts

Activities

1. Starter (10 mins):
   • Read aloud descriptive texts or watch clips that emphasise atmosphere. Discuss relevant vocabulary for mood (e.g., eerie, bustling, peaceful).
2. Main (40 mins):
   • Create the second setting and related props.
   • Add descriptive annotations or sentences for the second setting on storyboards.
   • Link these descriptions to the mood and potential feelings of characters.
3. Plenary (10 mins):
   • In mixed-ability groups, share and discuss how the two settings contribute to the story's atmosphere and character experiences.

Differentiation

• Support: Provide word banks, sentence stems, and visual anchors for description.
• Challenge: Write a short descriptive paragraph exploring emotional impact of the setting on a character.

Extension

• Create a sensory poem linked to a setting as a creative English extension.

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Day 4: Conveying Character Through Dialogue

WALT:
We are learning to use dialogue to show characters’ feelings and personalities.

Success Criteria:

• Understand how dialogue reveals character traits.
• Write dialogue using correct punctuation (speech marks, commas, new lines).
• Act out dialogues to explore character emotions and viewpoints.

Curriculum Links:

• Writing: Use dialogue to convey character and advance action.
• Spoken Language: Use role play to develop understanding of character perspectives.
• Grammar: Correct use of speech punctuation and contracted forms.

Resources

• Selected animation clips demonstrating character dialogue
• Rainforest-themed script examples provided by teacher
• Whiteboards or notebooks for writing dialogue
• Props or simple costumes for acting (optional)

Activities

1. Starter (10 mins):
   • Watch a short animation clip that uses dialogue to show feelings. Highlight speech punctuation.
2. Main (35 mins):
   • Introduce rainforest-themed dialogue examples (e.g., “I love this forest…”).
   • In pairs, pupils invent and act out dialogue that shows contrasting character feelings.
   • Write their dialogues down using correct punctuation and contracted forms.
3. Plenary (15 mins):
   • Selected pairs perform their dialogues.
   • Peer feedback on how well dialogue conveys character.
   • Quick mini-lesson on common speech punctuation errors spotted.

Differentiation

• Support: Provide speech bubble templates; sentence starters; visual prompt cards for punctuation.
• Challenge: Compose a short dialogue incorporating indirect speech or complex vocabulary.

Extension

• Transform dialogue into a short narrative paragraph from one character’s perspective.

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Day 5: Dialogue to Advance Story and Reveal Problem

WALT:
We are learning to use dialogue to reveal the story problem and set a goal for characters.

Success Criteria:

• Compose dialogue that introduces the story’s dilemma.
• Use dialogue to move the story forward logically.
• Apply punctuation rules accurately in dialogue writing.

Curriculum Links:

• Writing: Use dialogue to advance action and develop narrative tension.
• Spoken Language: Use role play and collaborative writing to explore problem-solving in stories.

Resources

• Animation clips with conflict dialogue examples
• Rainforest-themed dialogue samples (e.g. “The bulldozers are coming!”)
• Writing materials and recording devices (optional)

Activities

1. Starter (10 mins):
   • Watch or read animation clips showing conflict through dialogue. Discuss how dialogue reveals the problem.
2. Main (35 mins):
   • Pupils work in pairs to draft dialogue that reveals the problem in their story and characters’ goals to solve it.
   • Act out dialogue to explore emotions and motivations.
   • Write down dialogue using speech punctuation and new lines correctly.
3. Plenary (15 mins):
   • Share dialogues; discuss how dialogue hints at tension and future story events.
   • Peer assessment using a simple success criteria checklist.

Differentiation

• Support: Sentence scaffolds for introducing conflict; guided peer feedback.
• Challenge: Write dialogue incorporating problem and motivation with figurative language or metaphors.

Extension

• Create a “problem and solution” flow chart for their story linked to dialogue snippets.

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General Differentiation & Dyslexia-Friendly Strategies Across Week

• Use clear dyslexia-friendly fonts and colour contrasts on worksheets and storyboards.
• Provide concrete, visual examples through animations, images, and physical props.
• Use multi-sensory instructions (visual, auditory, kinaesthetic).
• Use predictable routines; reinforce vocabulary through repetition and embedding.
• Support verbal instructions with written and pictorial cues.
• Offer choice in activities (digital storyboards, drawing, acting).
• Encourage peer support and collaborative work to boost confidence and social learning.

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Assessment

• Formative assessment through observation during paired activities, storyboards, and dialogues.
• Peer and self-assessments at plenary stage using clear success criteria.
• Teacher feedback focused on story structure understanding, effective use of dialogue, punctuation accuracy, and creativity linking setting with mood.
• End-of-week small presentation/activity sharing animated story concept with dialogue and settings.

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WOW Factor / Innovative Aspects

• Embedding animation and manual arts in narrative teaching aligns with current research for inclusive and neurodiverse learning needs.
• Use of Procedural Implicit Pedagogy (PIP) offers ‘learning by doing’, reducing cognitive load and boosting fluency for neurodiverse and mainstream pupils.
• Digital storyboard apps combined with hands-on creation bridges digital literacy with creative writing.
• Drama and role play integrated alongside written English deepen empathy and character insight.
• Clear cross-curricular links: art, English, ICT, and PSHE (understanding different viewpoints).

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This detailed plan promises an engaging, inclusive, and curriculum-compliant narrative and dialogue unit that opens imagination whilst ensuring firm English skills development!