Adventure and Survival

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infoWhy this? It is important for students to be exposed to gripping, accessible narratives that motivate reluctant readers and sustain engagement over longer texts. Provide a balance of fiction and non-fiction, enabling comparison of true stories and imagined narratives. Students can open up rich discussion around resilience, problem-solving, ethical choices and the psychology of survival.

scheduleWhy now? This unit allows students to build on challenging vocabulary they were exposed to in the opening unit. Prepares students for more complex narrative and non-fiction analysis later in the year, particularly around structure. Provides students with an insight into different perspectives and viewpoints in narration. Students will also be reassessed on elements of spelling, grammar and punctuation which were covered in the previous unit and on new elements from this unit.

Grimacing means making a facial expression of pain or disgust; hesitate means pause because of uncertainty; momentarily means briefly; instinctively means acting without conscious thought.
Pine boughs are the branches of pine trees; gusts are sudden, strong bursts of wind; a downpour is a heavy fall of rain.
Spout means to send out liquid forcefully in a stream; swarms are large groups of insects or other creatures moving together; a floe is a sheet of floating ice.
Morale is the confidence and enthusiasm of a person or group; mustered means gathered together people, strength or courage; will can mean determination or a legal document stating someone's wishes after death.
Relentless means continuing without easing or stopping; annihilating means destroying completely; maniacal means wildly frantic or uncontrolled; insanity is a term for severe mental disturbance, often used figuratively to suggest extreme foolishness.
A forecastle is the forward part of a ship's upper deck, or crew accommodation near the bow; a tarpaulin is a large waterproof sheet; claustrophobic describes fear or discomfort caused by confined spaces.
Laterally means sideways; descended means moved downwards; traverse means travel across or through something.
Teeters means sways unsteadily as if about to fall; ricochets means rebounds from a surface; friction is a force that resists movement between touching surfaces; exertion is physical or mental effort.
Dilates means becomes wider or larger; geometry is the branch of mathematics concerned with shapes, sizes and space; imperceptible means too slight to be noticed.
An apocryphal story has doubtful authenticity despite often being repeated; prejudice is a preconceived judgement not based on adequate knowledge; ostentation is a showy display intended to impress.
Infirm means physically weak, often because of age or illness; redemption can mean being saved from wrongdoing or making amends; seized means took hold of suddenly or forcefully.
An apostrophe marks omitted letters in contractions or possession, with singular possessors usually taking apostrophe-s and plural possessors ending in s taking an apostrophe after the s.
A fronted adverbial comes before the main clause, gives information such as when, where or how something happens, and is usually followed by a comma.
A semi-colon can join two closely related main clauses without a coordinating conjunction, and each clause must be able to stand as a complete sentence.
Homophones are words with the same pronunciation but different meanings, often with different spellings, such as their, there and they're.
A superlative identifies the highest or lowest degree of a quality within a group, commonly using the ending -est or the words most or least.
An ellipsis consists of three dots and can indicate omitted words, hesitation or speech trailing off.
A colon can introduce an explanation, example or list after a complete main clause.
Synonyms are words with the same or similar meanings, but differences in connotation, intensity or formality mean they are not always interchangeable.
A precise verb conveys an exact action or manner of movement, so seized suggests a more sudden or forceful action than took.

rocket_launchYou must be able to

Use the scheme's vocabulary in original sentences that demonstrate its meaning and use the correct grammatical form.
Place apostrophes correctly in contractions and possessive nouns, distinguishing singular possessors, regular plural possessors and irregular plural possessors.
Construct sentences with fronted adverbials of time, place or manner, using commas to separate them from the main clause.
Join two closely related main clauses with a semi-colon, checking that both clauses could stand as complete sentences.
Select the correct homophone by checking the intended meaning and grammatical role of the word.
Form and use superlatives accurately, including irregular forms such as best and worst, without combining most with an -est ending.
Use an ellipsis purposefully to show hesitation, trailing speech or an omission from a quotation without distorting its meaning.
Use a colon after a complete main clause to introduce a relevant explanation, example or list.
Replace vague words with suitable synonyms and precise verbs, preserving the intended meaning while controlling intensity and tone.

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