Curriculum Portal

neurologyYou need to know

• Harmony is a state of peace or agreement, prosperous means successful or wealthy, and abundance means a very large quantity of something.
• Blight is a disease or destructive influence affecting plants or communities, maladies are illnesses, and moribund means approaching death or no longer developing.
• Pollination is the transfer of pollen that enables plants to reproduce, and a specter is a ghostly figure or something that causes fear.
• Resounded means echoed or made a loud sound, tumult means great noise or confusion, and phenomena are observable events or occurrences.
• Foliage refers to the leaves of plants, inert means lacking movement or activity, and luxuriant means growing richly or abundantly.
• Apace means at a rapid speed, and an influx is the arrival of a large number of people or things.
• Exhilarating means making someone feel excited or energised, fragrance is a pleasant smell, and patriarchs are male leaders or older, respected figures.
• Lithe means flexible and graceful, ecstasy is a feeling of overwhelming happiness, and exuberance means lively energy or enthusiasm.
• Suburbia refers to residential areas outside city centres, ensconced means settled comfortably or securely, and inexplicably means in a way that cannot easily be explained.
• Dismantled means taken apart, enchantment is a feeling of delight or wonder, instinct is an automatic or natural response, and bias is an unfair preference or prejudice.
• Eroded means gradually worn away, innumerable means too many to count, and partitions are structures or divisions separating spaces.
• A canopy is an overhead covering, latticework is a framework of crossed strips, and a nave is the central part of a church.
• Incantations are words spoken or chanted as part of a ritual or magical practice.
• Nature writing is a form of non-fiction that uses observation, description and reflection to explore the natural environment.
• Rachel Carson's Silent Spring begins with an idyllic town that experiences a mysterious environmental disaster, using contrast to introduce concerns about pesticides.
• A structural shift occurs when a writer changes the focus, mood, time or perspective of a text.
• Henry David Thoreau's Walden uses similes, personification and close observation to describe seasonal change and the renewal of nature.
• A simile compares two things using like or as, while a metaphor describes one thing as though it were another.
• Personification gives human qualities or actions to non-human things.
• John Muir's A Wind-Storm in the Forests uses energetic verbs and sensory description to communicate excitement and enjoyment of wild weather.
• A dynamic verb expresses an action or process, while a present participle is the -ing form of a verb that can help describe ongoing action.
• Annie Dillard's Living Like Weasels moves from a personal encounter with an animal to a reflection on human behaviour and ways of living.
• An anecdote is a short account of an event, while reflection involves considering the deeper meaning or significance of an experience.
• An abstract noun names an idea, quality or feeling rather than a physical object, such as freedom, courage or happiness.
• Robert Macfarlane's The Wild Places describes a holloway, a sunken pathway formed through centuries of use and erosion, to explore wildness within familiar landscapes.
• Contrasting connectives such as but, yet and however introduce differences or opposing ideas.
• Paragraphs organise writing into sections and can signal changes in place, time, focus or ideas.

• Define and accurately use the unit's Tier 2 vocabulary in original sentences.
• Identify how nature writers use close observation to describe landscapes, animals and natural events.
• Explain how Carson uses contrasting descriptions to communicate environmental concerns.
• Identify and explain the effects of similes, metaphors and personification in Thoreau's writing.
• Analyse how Muir uses dynamic verbs and sensory imagery to communicate movement and excitement.
• Explain how Dillard develops an observation into a wider reflection on life.
• Identify how Macfarlane uses figurative language and contrasting settings to describe a holloway.
• Use contrasting connectives to communicate changes in atmosphere, ideas or description.
• Create effective similes, metaphors and examples of personification.
• Select precise sensory vocabulary and dynamic verbs to describe a natural environment.
• Use present participles to communicate ongoing movement and action.
• Recognise and use abstract nouns to express ideas and feelings.
• Maintain appropriate tense or use deliberate tense changes to communicate shifts in time or perspective.
• Organise writing into paragraphs that move logically from observation to reflection.
• Write a descriptive piece about a natural place using precise vocabulary, figurative language and accurate punctuation.