This week in writing, the children have been turning into masters of suspense. We have been learning how authors carefully build tension in a story to keep the reader hooked and wanting to know what happens next.
The children have been planning and writing their own terrifying narratives, set in places like dark bedrooms, quiet woods and even a terrifying old hotel. Our main focus has been on the different ways writers can build tension. The children have been experimenting with short, snappy sentences, describing what characters can see, hear and feel, and choosing vocabulary for effect so the reader can really imagine the moment.
We have also been practising how to use semi-colons to join two closely linked clauses together in a sentence; a small piece of punctuation that can make writing flow beautifully when used correctly.
There have been some wonderfully eerie ideas appearing across the classroom, and it has been brilliant seeing the children carefully plan their stories and then build the suspense step by step.
Help at home: ask your child to tell you about the spooky narrative they are writing. Can they explain how they are building tension or show you where they have used a semi-colon in their work?