Lesson 1 The lighthouse.

Watch the clip ‘The Lighthouse’ using this link: https://www.literacyshed.com/the-lighthouse.html. You may

recognise part of this clip from a Kensuke writing unit at the beginning of year 6!

Your challenge over the next two weeks of home learning is to report on the incident in the clip. Why do you think

this might be newsworthy? Your first task is to write take notes on the: who, what, where, when and why for the

clip. Next you need to write the orientation for your report and the headline. To help you, firstly look at the headline

examples below and match them to the type of headline it is.

Now write your own headline for this incident. Next is

the orientation. Remember, the purpose of the

orientation is to understand that it needs to grab

attention and be no longer than 2 sentences to

summarise the story. Look at the examples blow,

which do you think is the best and why?

Use your notes on the 5W to write your own orientation for the report.

Lesson 2

Using the characters: LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER, VILLAGERS, SHIP’S CREW.

Watch the clip again and come up with as much information about that person/people as they can. You can infer

and deduce information. Today, you will be members of the press and will interview these characters. Write down

some questions they would like to ask these characters about the incident. Remember to pose open questions so the

answers are not just a simple yes or no and remember you want to find out information which will be interesting for

the reader. Create questions and answers for each of the character’s outlines above.

Now, use these question and answer examples ad turn them into quotations to use in your report.. Use the

examples below to see how to structure and use correct dialogue punctuation.

1) ‘The whole experience was terrifying!’ recalls Piggy Number Two, the victim in this heinous crime. ‘I hope a

guilty verdict is returned and that the Big Bad Wolf receives a lengthy prison sentence.’

2) A spokesperson for the King’s men said, ‘We were asked to attend an accident at the castle wall, whereby Mr

Dumpty appeared to have fallen from a considerable height. We arrived shortly after the incident, though we

were unable to put him back together again.’

3) ‘I did see a young lady entering the property,’ an eyewitness told us, ‘though I believed she must have known

the three bears and so I decided not to challenge her.’

4) ‘Potter’s broomstick collided with the end of an opposing player and he fell quite heavily onto the floor of the

stadium. The medical team were dispatched and he is now recovering in the hospital wing,’ explained Albus

Dumbledore, headmaster at Hogwarts.

5) A member of the crowd described the sighting, ‘I looked up and could see something flying towards us. We

thought it was a bird or a plane at first, though as it came closer we realised it was a man in a cape and a

blue and red outfit. He flew overhead and down towards the burning building!’

6) ‘I awoke and noticed that it was very dark outside, but when I got to the window I realised that it was

because of the huge beanstalk that was blocking the daylight!’ Jack’s mother reported.

Lesson 3

Watch the clip again and this time jot down the key facts that would be important in responsible journalism. The

detail we might use in a piece of narrative is not necessarily relevant in report writing. It is important that we stick to

the facts and report accurately what happened. Witnesses might provide additional information. Record the facts of

the evening in a list or as additional information into your 5Ws from lesson 1.

Look at this example:

We do not learn all of this information from the clip and so some of this has to be added by the writer. In

professional journalism this would not be invented by the journalist. The paragraphs should develop the 5ws, though

you should not restrict yourselves to writing the paragraph solely about one of the Ws each time. You should also be

aware that they may have more information to add into some paragraphs.

Bullet point plan the report ensuring all 5Ws are covered. Leave section for re-orientation. Begin to construct the

first paragraph. The orientation should have been constructed on Monday. Use the example below to see how set

this out:

Lesson 4

Stop the clip at 00:46 and note down some preposition that you could use within your report when you write it. E.g.

on the clifftop, above the village, inside the houses.

Look together at the reorientation:

Members of the local community are now assisting Mr Thomas with the repairs to Briar’s Rock lighthouse and are

planning to fit a remotely-operated lantern to the clifftop as a temporary measure.

Look at the tense used, and the use of the adjectives local and temporary and the structure of the sentence. Using

this a guide, write their reorientation ready to add to your piece. It does not matter that you have not finished

writing their report, you are drafting their reorientation ready to add it to their work.

Lesson 5

Play the clip and stop at 0m40s. Our writing this week will be a mixed first-person/third person narrative. Therefore

we will include many references to the character’s emotions and thoughts about the incident. To open we are going

to try to set the scene and introduce our character together.

Use the following table format to add information, which you know already, about the character. You also need to

look out for setting information in the first seconds. E.g. full moon, cloudy, waves were gathering.

The Lighthouse Keeper The Setting

By giving an insight into the life of the lighthouse keeper, we are providing information to his background. It is also

an exciting way to explore the movement between different forms of the past tense. Today you are going to focus

upon weaving the details from the lighthouse keeper (and his past) with the setting.

E.g. I was always fond of the sea and would spend hours, as a child, out on the beach collecting shells and staring at

the waves (Lighthouse keeper). The rocks below the lighthouse were perilous and constantly gnawed by the waves

(setting).

These could then be combined.

E,g, I was always fond of the sea and would spend hours, as a child, out on the beach collecting shells and staring at

the waves. Though I learned as an adult that the peace and tranquillity of the sea could change at any moment. The

rocks beneath the lighthouse were perilous and constantly gnawed at by the waves, and the walks I’d had as a child

were rare because of the high tides and dangerous currents.

Write sentences using your table which entwines the character and the setting.

This unit of writing will continue next week!

WEEK 2

Lesson 1

Play the clip again until the point where the candle goes out. What does the lighthouse keeper feel about the people

outside? What makes them think this? Why is this in the clip? How does it make us feel about the man the cheering

people? What time of year could it be? (perhaps New Year or Christmas).

Using the still image below, complete a plan of using different sentence types and features.

Complete the paragraph of setting description, ensure you create grammatically complex structures.

Lesson 2

Look at the short section of film between 0.44 secs and 1 minute. This is where we will go back to our first-person

narrative again. This will be a simple series of steps. As you watch the clip, note down what happens in order. E.g. I

was working at a table, I was distracted by the sound, I shut the window, the light went out, the villagers stopped

cheering, the window blows open, the candle blows out.

Using this example look at the openers and the variety of sentence lengths.

Write your notes in a similar paragraph.

Watch the clip until 1m 34s. Make notes about how the actions are performed, what details are missing?

Use the below as a guide and turn into a paragraph.

Lesson 3

Watch the clip from 1m36s until the point where the lighthouse keeper throws open the door. To begin we will

write a short first person account of what the lighthouse keeper does up to the point where the dome smashes.

Write the first person narrative paragraph up to the point where the glass smashes. Use onomatopoeia and

repetition for effect.

Looking at the example below – the second paragraph returns to third person to explain how he is feeling. Complete

your own example of this, by considering words, phrases and sentences to explain his feelings around the situation.

Lesson 4

Watch the clip from 2m03s to the end. We will return to third person for the final part. Watch the clip and note

down everything that happens, include information that you don’t see but can infer. Complete writing section.

Now you have all of the differing pieces written for your overall report. Considering the structure of your text, put all

of these sections together and check for errors and make any editing changes you want to improve the writing and

the effect it has. You should have: headline, orientation and all of the internal paragraphs.

Lesson 5

Check through again for any errors and rewrite your final report in full. Post these to us on twitter so we can see!