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The Little Shop of Treasures
Pre-reading Have you ever been inside a really interesting shop? What made it interesting? What did it look like from the outside? What did the inside of the shop look like? What did it sell? Who was behind the counter?
Learning Outcomes
In this lesson you w ill learn about: • Description writi ng • Visualising • Using examples • Common and pr oper noun
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The Old Curiosity Shop of a row of white houses, is a
Down Baker ’s Lane, in the middle Shop. The shop is bursting treasure trove called The Old Curiosity the shiny windows are with special treasures. On display in s and shapes. Purple velvet vases and ornaments of different size windows. curtains with pink tie-backs line the the old record player Inside, soft music can be heard from m the ceiling like in the corner. Orange lights hang fro black till sits proudly pumpkins on Hallowe’en night. The o boxes of tasty fudge on the shop counter. Beside it are tw bons. The shop counter wrapped in pink tissue with gold rib by hand by a local is a blue mosaic table. It was made ist collected artist. Over a number of years, the art d enough, he broken plates and cups. When he ha most beautiful table. pressed them into putty to create the lcoming customers with Jeanie Burton stands behind the till, we lsh accent. She is a tall a ‘Hello, how are you?’ in her thick We skirts. Her nails are painted and s rve sca ing flow in d sse dre n ma wo her happy face. Over the a bright green. Blonde curls fall around g customers. She tells stories years, Jeanie has met many interestin ng by to gaze at her lovely of famous musicians and actors stoppi hs hang from the walls jewels. Their black and white photograp sitting in a tea shop. watching the world go by like a granny
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Description r with pretty cups and plates. sse dre y ntr cou ge hu a is ll wa e on On of rose patterned jugs Standing on top of the dresser is a row . Inside the cupboards there lined up like soldiers ready to march ts. are hundreds of sparkling silver teapo bookshelf where rows of On another wall there is a huge white ndmade from leather and ha are ey Th w. sho on are es sho l colourfu s. Pouring out of the shoes decorated with bright buttons and bow e evening sunlight catches the Th . ces kla nec d an ets cel bra ss gla are and creates cheerful rainbows glass in the bracelets and necklaces on the oak floor. ough a magical land. It is A visit to this shop is like waltzing thr ernoon. a wonderful way to spend a rainy aft
 Oral Language Work in pairs. Pretend that you bought a jug last week in The Old Curiosity Shop. When you got home the jug was chipped. You did not see the chip in the shop. You want to return the jug and you would like your money back. However, Jeanie does not believe that the jug was chipped when it was bought. She does not want to take it back or give you a refund. Take turns playing the parts of Jeanie and the customer.
 Comprehension Skills and Strategies Visualising When you read your mind creates pictures. This is called visualising. Now that you have read the description of The Old Curiosity Shop, pretend you are there now. What do you see? What do you smell? What can you feel? What can you hear? Describe this to your partner.
When I read, I like to create pictures in my mind.
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Literacy Leap 4th Class
Genre Features The aim of descriptive writing is to describe a person, place or thing in such a way that a picture is created in the reader’s mind. A description is filled with adjectives and similes. When writing a description try to include: A title An opening paragraph – Use an opening statement to tell the reader what is being described, for example, ‘Down Baker’s Lane, in the middle of a row of white houses, is a treasure trove called The Old Curiosity Shop’ Characteristics – Describe what the person, place or thing looks like and what they do Appeal to the senses – What can you smell? What can you see? Rich language, for example, use adjectives and similes A concluding paragraph – Contains your concluding statement and may include a personal opinion on what was described Examples of descriptive writing can be found in: Stories Guidebooks Poetry Newspapers
Examples of descriptive writing
Genre Analysis Read the story again. Complete the following questions and activities. 1. What is the title of the description? 2. What does the writer describe in the opening paragraph? 3. Write down an example of rich language found in the description. 4. List three adjectives to describe the dresser. 5. How does the writer finish the piece of descriptive writing? 10
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Description
Comprehension Activities Remember 1. Where is The Old Curiosity Shop located? 2. How does the writer appeal to the reader’s sense of sight? 3. What is for sale beside the till? How is it presented? 4. How is Jeanie Burton dressed? Draw a picture of Jeanie Burton and label it with adjectives.
Think 1. Why do you think the shop is called The Old Curiosity Shop? 2. What country do you think the shop is in? Why? 3. If you owned this shop, what would you call it? Why? 4. The writer states that a visit to The Old Curiosity Shop ‘is a wonderful way to spend a rainy afternoon’. Why do you think it would be a good way to spend a rainy afternoon? 5. ‘Orange lights hang from the ceiling like pumpkins on Hallowe’en night’ is an example of a simile from the text. Write a sentence describing lights at a funfair or lights on a street at night-time. Remember to include a simile.
Over to You 1. If you were to set up a shop in your local area, what would you sell? Why? 2. Design a clock for The Old Curiosity Shop to be displayed on the wall behind the till. Label your design using rich language such as adjectives and similes.
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Literacy Leap 4th Class
Vocabulary: Using Examples Examples help writers not just to tell but to show what they mean. For example, here is the description of the shop counter in The Old Curiosity Shop: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The shop counter is a blue mosaic table. It was made by hand by a local artist. Over a number of years, the artist collected broken plates and cups. When he had enough, he pressed them into putty to create the most beautiful table.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; You might not have known what a mosaic was at the start of the paragraph, but after reading the paragraph the writer has shown you what a mosaic is. Pick three describing words from the description of The Old Curiosity Shop. Using the example above, write a short paragraph on each to show what they mean.
Grammar: Common and Proper Nouns A common noun is a person, thing or place. A proper noun is the name of a specific person, thing or place and always has a capital letter. Proper nouns are capitalised because they are names. Look at the following examples. Common Nouns
Proper Nouns
woman
Jeanie Burton
shop
The Old Curiosity Shop
tower
Eiffel Tower
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Description
Grammar: Common and Proper Nouns 1. Write a descriptive paragraph. Include three sentences that have common nouns and proper nouns. Underline the common nouns in blue and the proper nouns in red. Remember to give the proper nouns capital letters. 2. Work in pairs. List six common nouns. Now think of six proper nouns to match, for example, the common noun tower and the proper noun Eiffel Tower. Remember to include people, things and places.
Writing: What an Interesting Shop! Describe an interesting shop you have been to. Before you start writing your description, draw the shop and label it using rich language such as adjectives and similes. Write your description of the shop underneath your drawing.
Top Tip!
The description should appeal to the senses.
Include the following: A title that gives the reader an idea of the shop An opening paragraph – Use an opening statement to tell the reader what you are describing A new paragraph for each aspect of the place you want to describe, for example, location and the people there A concluding paragraph – Contains your concluding statement and may include a personal opinion on what was described
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