1. Improving a description What do you know about dragons? Look at the picture of the dragon below and read the description. How could it be changed to make it more effective? Work with a partner to share your thoughts and then rewrite the description in the space below. On a black rock, stood a big scary dragon. It had sharp teeth, spikes on its back and huge wings. It had greenish grey skin covering its body and an orange underbelly. It stood surrounded by clouds of grey smoke which illuminated its body. www.teachitprimary.co.uk 2018 30814 Page 1 of 7
2. Punctuating direct speech 1. Highlight the words that you would hear spoken in the story. 2. Place speech marks ( ) around what is said and add any other punctuation needed such as commas and full stops. 3. Rewrite the correctly punctuated sentences on the lines below. I will offer my daughter s hand in marriage to anyone who can kill the dragon announced the King. The Prince announced I will kill the dragon and marry The Princess. You ll never defeat The Dragon the King told The Cobbler. Do not worry replied Krak I will give him a meal that he will not forget in a hurry! Dinner time my beauty the Cobbler called to the Dragon. Hooray the villagers cheered. www.teachitprimary.co.uk 2018 30814 Page 2 of 7
3. Write a letter Read the following three letters with a partner. Dear Brother, What shall I do? There is a fearsome dragon terrorizing our village. It has already eaten all of the cats, dogs, sheep and cows. Now it has started eating all of the people. I am terrified that my precious daughter may be eaten by the dragon, or even worse, I could be eaten by the dragon! What shall I do? Love, The King Dear Princes of the Realm, Desperate times call for desperate measures. No-one in our village can defeat the fire-breathing dragon living outside our village and swooping down from the skies to eat its inhabitants. He must be killed and soon. I offer any one of you my daughter s hand in marriage if you can defeat the huge dragon. Please come quickly. Yours faithfully, The King PS Bring your armour and sharpest sword. Dear Cousin, My father has promised my hand in marriage to anyone who can defeat the dragon. I know that we are in a desperate situation but how could he care so little for my feelings? Why should I have to marry someone just because they are good at fighting? The Princes who have been here so far have all been terrible bores. I would hate to marry one of them. Luckily, they have all been killed by the dragon or fled in terror. I just hope that the dragon decides to leave us all alone in future. Love, The Princess www.teachitprimary.co.uk 2018 30814 Page 3 of 7
Discuss the following questions with your partner. 1. Who is each letter written to? 2. Who are they from? 3. What is the main subject of each letter? 4. Which words can you find in the letters that are specifically used in letters? 5. What does it mean if there is a PS at the bottom of a letter? Now choose one of the following characters and scenarios to write your own letter as. 1. The Princess writing to the Cobbler to explain that she won t marry him unless she loves him. 2. The Cobbler writing to the Princess to explain that she doesn t have to marry him. 3. The villagers writing to the Cobbler to thank him for getting rid of the dragon. 4. The King writing to his brother to explain what happened................... www.teachitprimary.co.uk 2018 30814 Page 4 of 7
4. Comparing stories Choose another dragon story such as St. George and the Dragon and compare and contrast it to The Dragon and the Cobbler. Similarities Differences www.teachitprimary.co.uk 2018 30814 Page 5 of 7
5. Planning an alternative version of The Dragon and the Cobbler. Choose between three and six things to change in your story and write your own ideas in the right hand column. Part of Story Original Version My Version What was the dragon doing? Eating the animals then the people. Who came to kill the dragon first? Different princes Who successfully killed the dragon A cobbler How was the dragon killed? A cow skin full of hot foods and explosives. What did the dragon do to try to solve the problems? Drank water from the river. How did the story end happily? Town was named Krakow after the cobbler. www.teachitprimary.co.uk 2018 30814 Page 6 of 7
The Dragon and the Cobbler teaching notes 1. Improving a description Before introducing and reading the story, discuss with children what they know about dragons. Look at the picture of the dragon and improve the description. Feed back improvements to create a class version for display. 2. Punctuating direct speech Remind children of how to punctuate direct speech before tackling the exercise. 3. Write a letter What are the features of a letter? What is the layout? What vocabulary is used in letters e.g. Dear, To, From, Yours sincerely and Yours faithfully. Read through the letters inspired by the story and ask pairs of children to discuss the questions. Children go on to choose a letter writing task. 4. Comparing stories Read another story based around a dragon such as St. George and the Dragon, and use it to compare and contrast the characters, events and themes. 5. Writing an alternative version Model how to create an alternative version of The Dragon and the Cobbler before asking the children to plan and write their own. www.teachitprimary.co.uk 2018 30814 Page 7 of 7