English

Activity One

Watch a clip of the 2019 version of Worzel Gummidge or look at picture of Worzel Gummidge.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9EZbsH6gJY

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000cskw

Worzel is a scarecrow that has been made by the Green Man to keep the fields of corn at Scatterbrook Farm safe from the crows.

 

Create your own scarecrow character – what will they be made of?  Will they have a pumpkin head and be filled with sawdust or have a large sunflower for smaller birds in their hat and the farmers scuffed old boots on their feet?

 

Draw your character in as much detail as you can and then add adjectives to describe it.  

 

How many sentences can you write, using two adjectives before the noun, to describe your character? E.g. Worzel had an ancient, tattered coat which has a tiny, baby birds nest in its pocket.

 

Challenge:  Can you write some sentences using adverbs to describe how your character moves?  E.g. Worzel slowly fluttered his fingers in the warm evening breeze. 

 

Activity Two

Worzel Gummidge is a most unusual scarecrow as he doesn’t just stay in his cornfield but moves around visiting many different places including allotments, a museum, a grand house and a car park.

 

Can you create a setting for your character?  Could your scarecrow visit the beach or maybe they live in your garden?

 

Could you paint or draw a picture of your new setting or have you seen the perfect setting on a fitness walk and could capture it in a photograph? Maybe you could use old magazines to create a collage (check with your adult first to make sure you can use old magazines) or make a recycled model of your setting.

 

Describe your setting to a member of your household – use as many adjectives as you can. 

Challenge:  Can you or your household member upgrade some of your adjectives? You can use a thesaurus to help you, if you don’t have one, have a look online.  E.g. Long ears of corn could become Elongated ears of corn.

Activity Three 

Plan and write a story about your scarecrow. 

Your story will need a beginning, a build-up, an event or problem, a resolution and an ending.  The attached story boxes might help you – the sheet doesn’t need to be printed.

 

 

What could happen to your scarecrow?  Maybe they get lost when they wander away from their field and need to find their way back or maybe they find a sheep wandering in a supermarket that needs to be returned to its flock before someone sees it?  Who will help your scarecrow?  Could you be another character in your story to help resolve the problem?

 

When you have planned your story talk it through with a member of your household – does it make sense – can you improve it before you start to write?

 

Before you write your story think carefully about what you want to write and form your sentences first – remember to use lots of the great adjectives and adverbs you have thought of for your scarecrow and setting!

 

Remember to stick to one tense as you write – have the events already happened?

 

Try to write in paragraphs – you could try and write one paragraph for each planning box.  If you are going to add speech to your story you might want to try the speech activity (activity four) first to help you.

 

Purple polish; check using the check list that you have included everything you need for narrative writing.

We are really looking forward to reading your stories!

 

Activity Four

 

Practise writing direct speech in your work using inverted commas and commas – work attached.

“We love to see your work!” exclaimed the year four teachers.