PBS
Stephen King reflects on his iconic career and latest release ‘You Like It Darker’
Fifty years ago, a 26-year-old rural Maine school teacher wrote the horror novel “Carrie.” That man, Stephen King, has gone on to write more than 60 books and many have been turned into such films as “The Shining” and “Shawshank...
PBS
How Sloths Went From the Seas to the Trees
The story of sloths is one of astounding ecological variability, with some foraging in the seas, others living underground, and others still hiding from predators in towering cliffs. So why are their only living relatives in the trees?
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: First person vs. Second person vs. Third person | Rebekah Bergman
Who is telling a story, and from what perspective, are some of the most important choices an author makes. Told from a different point of view, a story can transform completely. Third person, first person, and second person perspectives...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: In on a secret? That's dramatic irony - Christopher Warner
You're in a movie theater, watching the new horror flick. The audience knows something that the main character does not. The audience sees the character's actions are not in his best interest. What's that feeling -- the one that makes...
TED-Ed
TED-ED: How to make your writing suspenseful - Victoria Smith
What makes a good horror story? Hideous monsters and fountains of blood might seem like a good place to start, but as horror author H.P. Lovecraft wrote, _The oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." Writers harness...
Curated Video
Foreshadowing
New ReviewA video on how an author uses foreshadowing to drop hints and build suspense.
Curated Video
Plot Development
New ReviewA video titled "Plot Development" addressing author's building tension and suspense to lead to the story's turning point.
Curated Video
Facing the Unknown
New ReviewA video titled "Facing the Unknown" that explains how to create tension within a narrative.
Curated Video
Adding Suspense
New ReviewA video titled "Adding Suspense" that explains how to effectively add suspense into a narrative.
Curated Video
Planning a section of a narrative based on 'The Borrowers' (part 2)
Pupil outcome: I can plan a section of the build-up of ‘The Borrowers’. Key learning points: - The purpose of the build-up is to build action and suspense leading up to the climax. - In this section of the build-up, Arrietty explores the...
Curated Video
Planning a section of a narrative based on 'The Borrowers'
Pupil outcome: I can plan a section of the build-up of 'The Borrowers'. Key learning points: - The purpose of the build-up is to build action and suspense leading up to the climax. - In this section of the build-up, Arrietty sets off on...
Curated Video
Writing the build-up of 'The Iron Man' (part two)
Pupil outcome: I can write the second paragraph of the build-up of 'The Iron Man'. Key learning points: - In part two of the build-up, humanity responds angrily to the Iron Man by trapping and burying him. - There is a contrast between...
Curated Video
Writing the build-up of 'The BFG' (part one)
Pupil outcome: I can write the first part of a build-up of a narrative based on ‘The BFG’. Key learning points: - The purpose of the build-up is to build tension and suspense. - Saying sentences aloud before they are written helps to...
Curated Video
Planning the climax of a 'A Christmas Carol'
Pupil outcome: I can generate precise vocabulary to plan the climax of ‘A Christmas Carol’. Key learning points: - The purpose of the climax is to describe the main action and take the suspense to its highest point. - The climax of ‘A...
Curated Video
Planning the build up of 'A Christmas Carol'
Pupil outcome: I can generate precise vocabulary to plan two paragraphs for the build-up of 'A Christmas Carol'. Key learning points: - The build-up of ‘A Christmas Carol’ creates an eerie atmosphere leading up to the Ghost of Marley...
Curated Video
Planning the build-up of 'The BFG' (part one)
Pupil outcome: I can plan the first part of a build-up of a narrative based on ‘The BFG’. Key learning points: - The purpose of the build-up is to build up suspense and excitement. - Precise and ambitious vocabulary is logged on a plan...
Curated Video
Planning the build-up of 'The BFG' (part two)
Pupil outcome: I can plan the second part of a build-up of a narrative based on ‘The BFG’. Key learning points: - The purpose of the build-up is to build up suspense and excitement. - Precise and ambitious vocabulary is logged on a plan...
Curated Video
Planning the climax of 'The Iron Man'
Pupil outcome: I can plan the climax of 'The Iron Man'. Key learning points: - The purpose of the climax is to describe the main action and take the suspense to its highest point. - In the climax, the Iron Man resurfaces from the earth...
Curated Video
Understanding Lila's feelings in the build-up of 'The Firework Maker's Daughter'
Pupil outcome: I can identify and understand the emotions of Lila in the build-up of 'The Firework Maker's Daughter’. Key learning points: - Lila faces physical and emotional challenges that the reader does not know if she will overcome....
Curated Video
Using paragraphs effectively
Pupil outcome: I can use paragraphs accurately and effectively in my writing to reveal details about a character. Key learning points: - We use paragraphs to organise our ideas clearly. - Paragraphs are needed when you introduce a new...
Curated Video
Reading the build-up in 'The Firework Maker's Daughter'
Pupil outcome: I can summarise the build-up of 'The Firework Maker's Daughter’. Key learning points: - Lila’s quest intensifies in the build-up in Chapter 4 of ‘The Firework-Maker’s Daughter’. - Suspense is a key feature in the build-up...
Curated Video
Pat Barker's 'The Silence of the Girls': understanding the extract
Pupil outcome: I can show understanding of Pat Barker's ‘The Silence of the Girls’ through comprehension and annotation. Key learning points: - Briseis is a character from Greek mythology; she is given to Achilles (a renowned warrior) as...
Curated Video
Analysing Saramago's use of structural devices in 'Blindness'
Pupil outcome: I can confidently write a piece of structural analysis about an unseen fiction text. Key learning points: - Considering the ordering of ideas is important when analysing the structure of a text. - Saramago purposely...
Curated Video
Writing paragraph two of the build up of 'A Christmas Carol'
Pupil outcome: I can write the second paragraph of the build-up of ‘A Christmas Carol’. Key learning points: - The second paragraph of the build-up heightens the suspense and reveals the Ghost of Jacob Marley. - Precise vocabulary is...