Websink Prep UKKS2 EnglishYear 5 chaptersEnglish textbooksReceptionYear 1Year 2Year 3Year 4Year 5Year 6Year 7Year 8Year 9Browse allPast papersFind a tutorBecome a tutor
Primary English · Year 5Chapter 11 · Writing stories and poems
Year 5 English · Writing stories and poems · Lesson 11.3

Year 5 English: A narrative: setting, characters, atmosphere and plot

Part of the Year 5 English writing stories and poems chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page

11.3

A narrative: setting, characters, atmosphere and plot

Year 5
Write a narrative with setting, characters, atmosphere and plot (WC4, WC-Y5a)
Story. Read the model opening below. Notice how the setting is built with sound and smell, how the characters are introduced, and how the atmosphere grows from quiet to strange.

Model story opening: The Locked Shed

The shed at the bottom of the garden had been locked for as long as anyone could remember. On the morning of the fifth day of half-term, a thin rope of silver light crept beneath its door, and the air smelt of wet soil and oranges.

‘Don’t,’ whispered Nell, but her brother Sam was already reaching for the rusty latch.

The door swung open with a groan. Inside, a single lamp burned on a crate, and a row of tiny clocks ticked in the dark, all of them a little out of step with one another.

Key ideas

  • Setting: the place and time. Build it with sight, sound, smell and touch.
  • Characters: show them by what they do, say and think.
  • Atmosphere: the mood of the story, built with word choice and short or long sentences.
  • Plot: a beginning that sets up a problem, a middle that builds it, and an ending that resolves it.
Worked example 11.3.1
Find one detail in the model that builds the setting with smell.

Method. Look for a sense other than sight.

  1. Find the sense. Smell is used in the first paragraph.
    smell
  2. Write the detail. The air smelt of wet soil and oranges.
    wet soil and oranges
  3. Write the answer.
    the air smelt of wet soil and oranges

Check. The air smelt of wet soil and oranges. ✓

Worked example 11.3.2
What is the mood of the model opening?

Method. Think about what the words make you feel.

  1. Look at the words. A locked shed, a whisper, a groan and clocks out of step make the reader feel uneasy.
    uneasy
  2. Name the mood. The mood is mysterious and tense.
    mysterious
  3. Write the answer.
    mysterious or tense

Check. Mysterious and tense. ✓

Worked example 11.3.3
Who are the two characters named in the model opening?

Method. Look for names.

  1. Find the names. Nell whispers; Sam reaches for the latch.
    Nell, Sam
  2. Write them. The characters are Nell and Sam.
    Nell and Sam
  3. Write the answer.
    Nell and Sam

Check. Nell and Sam. ✓

Exercise 11C  Practice: setting, characters and atmosphere

1
FFind one sound in the model that creates the setting.
2
FWhich word in the model suggests that the shed is old and rusty?
3
FWhat light is in the shed, according to the model?
4
FWrite one sensory detail (sight, sound, smell or touch) about a kitchen.
5
PSWhich sentence builds a strong atmosphere: It was dark or The lane was black and silent, with no lamp to guide us?
6
PSName the three parts of a plot in a simple story.
7
PSIn the model, what problem is set up at the end of the second paragraph?
8
PSWrite a sentence that shows a character by what they do, not by saying what they are like.
9
RWrite one sentence that begins a story in a setting you choose. Use at least one sense other than sight.
10
RExplain how the model's short sentences change the atmosphere in the last paragraph.

Websink Prep UK is an independent site. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR, WJEC, Eduqas, CCEA, SQA, GL Assessment, CEM or the Department for Education. All exam board names and trademarks belong to their owners. Past papers are linked from the exam boards' own websites and are not hosted here.

About Websink Prep UK · Find a tutor · Privacy · Terms · Cookie settings