Meerkat English – Week 3 – 15.06.

20
This week we are going to write our own version of
‘The Lost Thing’

Again, please photograph or scan completed work as I would love

to see your learning journey across the week.
If you have any questions regarding the activities set, please
email:
meerkats@bratton.wilts.sch.uk
Thank you,
Mrs Stokes and Mrs Jeffery
 Activity 1
• This week we are going to write our own versions of
‘The lost thing’.

• We will use the character we drew last week to be our

new lost thing, but please do go back and
improve/change this if you wish.

• A few key elements of the story will remain the same,

in order for us to keep some similarities, whereas
other areas can be adapted to make the story your
own.

• First we need to think/plan some ideas.

 This week’s lessons
• Today we are going to
think of ideas for our story
and create a plan.
• Tuesday will be writing out
our opening (row 1 in our
table)
• Wednesday will be writing
the next row in our table
etc.
Writing the story in sections
like this will give our brains
the chance to produce high
quality work and allow time
for reflection and editing.
 Planning
• On the next slide you will find a planning template.
• On the left hand side of the template, we have the original
story split into 4 key parts.
• On the right hand side you will be planning your own ideas for
those 4 keys parts.
The table below will give you some ideas to think about.
I have completed an example plan on the next slide…
Mrs Stokes’
plan
End of Activity 1
 Activity 2
Today we are going to start writing our story.

We are only focusing on the beginning, which

means we will only use the first row in our
planning.

To write the beginning of our story we are going

to use the progressive past tense, which the
next few slides will explain.
 Progressive past tense
• This sounds challenging but we do use this in our
writing more than you may realise. For example:
I worked = past tense
I was working = progressive past tense.
I played = past tense
I was playing = progressive past tense.

We add in the word ‘was’ and instead of using – ed

on the end of a word, we change it to - ing.
Let’s have a go at using the progressive past
tense for these sentences.

You can choose whether to practise these

verbally or write them down.

• I played in the sand with my friend Amy.

• I jumped every time I heard the siren.

• Later that day, I sprinted to the bottom of the

garden chasing my dog.

I have put the answers on the next slide…

 Answers
• I was playing in the sand with my friend Amy.

• I was jumping every time I heard the siren.

• Later that day, I was sprinting to the bottom of

the garden chasing my dog.
 Task 1 – Writing the beginning
Lets take a look at the beginning part of the original story.
So you want to hear a story? Well, I used to know a whole lot of pretty interesting
ones. Some of them so funny you’d laugh yourself unconscious, others so terrible you’d
never want to repeat them. But I can’t remember any of those. So I’ll just tell you
about the time I found that lost thing. This all happened a few summers ago, one
rather ordinary day by the beach. Not much was going on. I was, as usual, working
tirelessly on my bottle-top collection and stopped to look up for no particular reason.
That’s when I first saw the thing. I must have stared at it for a while. I mean, it had a
really weird look about it – a sad, lost sort of look. Nobody else seemed to notice it was
there. Too busy doing beach stuff, I guess. Naturally, I was intrigued. I decided to
investigate. Sure didn’t do much. It just sat there, looking out of place. I was baffled. It
was quite friendly though, once I started talking to it. I played with the thing for most
of the afternoon. It was great fun, yet I couldn’t help feeling that something wasn’t
quite right.
As the hours slouched by, it seemed less and less likely that anybody was coming to
take the thing home. There was no denying the unhappy truth of the situation. It was
lost. I asked a few people if they knew anything about it, but nobody was very helpful. I
took the lost thing over to Pete’s place. Pete has an opinion on just about everything.
“Cool,” he said.
“I’m trying to find out who owns it,” I told him.
“I dunno man,” said Pete. “It’s pretty weird. Maybe it doesn’t belong to anyone. Maybe
it doesn’t come from anywhere. Some things are like that…” He paused for dramatic
effect, “…just plain lost.”
 Your beginning – You will need to:
• Start with the same opening line of: So you want to hear a
story?
• Write a similar amount (more if you can challenge yourself)
• Write up to the same part
• Include at least one sentence using the progressive past
tense.
• Think about if you want to magpie (use) some of the
original story for support.

I have completed an example on the next slide to help you

and show you the beginning of my story. You will be able to
see that I kept quite a few things the same but edited other
parts to make the story my own.
So you want to hear a story?
Mrs Stokes’ example
Well, I used to tell lots of stories. I would often stop people in the street, trying to make them laugh
with all of the stories and jokes that I knew. I do this even more so now. I’ll tell you about the time
that my life changed…a time where things seemed quite usual… yet quite…exciting.
This all happened about 5 months ago, one rather ordinary day in the city. Not much was going on. I
was, as usual, walking through the park on my way to work when I saw a strange thing sat on the
park bench. I must have stared at it for a while. I mean, it had a really weird look about it – a sad, lost
sort of look. Nobody else seemed to notice it was there. Too busy rushing to work I guess. Naturally, I
was intrigued. I decided to investigate. It was quite friendly though, once I started talking to it and
telling it all of my stories and jokes . The thing flapped its umbrella and I soon realised that once
again I would be in trouble as I was late for work.
As time ticked by, it seemed less and less likely that anybody was coming to take the thing home.
There was no denying the unhappy truth of the situation. It was lost. I asked a few people if they
knew anything about it- had they seen this little thing’s parents, but nobody was very helpful. I took
the lost thing over to Amy’s place. Amy was one of the popular girls at school. She knew everyone
and everything in this city and surely she would be able to reunite this lost thing with someone she
knows?
“You can’t just kidnap a lost thing,” she spat.
“I’m was trying to find out who owns her.” I replied.
“How do you know it is a HER?” said Amy.
“She told me. She shakes her fin from left to right and up and down when I ask questions.” I
mentioned with a shrug of the shoulders.
Maybe it is lost and does not belong to anyone. Maybe it doesn’t come from anywhere. Some things
are like that…” Amy suggested.
 Task 2
I would like you to check your work thoroughly. Use
a different colour when doing your editing and
corrections. These are the things I would like you to
check:
• Checking that all sentences start with a capital
letter (and that there are no random capitals in
your words).
• All sentences end with a form of punctuation.
• Spellings – to the best of your ability. Remember
to use your have a go sheet / spelling strategies
to help you.
• New line for new speaker when writing speech.
• Starting sentences in various ways.
End of Activity 2
 Activity 3
Today you are going to write the next part of your story from where
the character takes the lost thing home.
This is the part from the original story:
There was nothing left to do but take the thing home with me. I mean, I couldn’t just
leave it wandering the streets. Plus I felt kind of sorry for it. My parents didn’t really
notice it at first. Too busy discussing current events, I guess. Eventually I had to point
it out to them
“Its feet are filthy!” shrieked Mum.
“It could have all kinds of strange diseases,” warned Dad.
“Take it back to where you found it,” they demanded, both at the same time.
“It’s lost,” I said, but they had already started talking about something else. I hid the
thing in our back shed and gave it something to eat, once I found out what it liked. It
seemed a bit happier then, even though it was still lost.
I checked the local paper for any lost pet notices, but only found a lot of good deals
on refrigerator repairs. I remember thinking then that Pete was probably right, that
some things were just plain lost. In any case, I sure couldn’t keep the thing in the
shed forever. Mum or Dad would eventually notice it when they came out looking for
a hammer or something.
It was a real dilemma. I was wondering what to do when a small advertisement on
the last page of the paper happened to catch my eye.
 Task 1 - Expanding our story
For this part of the story I would like you to add some
additional sections such as:
• A character description (use your expanded noun phrases
work from last week)
• You may even want to include some of the work you did
when writing how to look after your lost thing.
• Include the advert you wrote last week in your story (the
film shows this advert but it is not written in the actual
story.)
Remember to use your plan along with the points above. You
might find it useful to tick off each part once you have
included it.
I have completed the next part of my story and I have put it
on the next slide for you.
I have underlined all of the extra parts I added in from the
bullet points above.
 Mrs Stokes’ example
There was nothing left to do but take the thing home with me. I couldn’t leave the poor thing looking
sad and lost on its own. I felt sorry for her and wondered how she managed to lose her friends or
family in the first place. When inspecting the lost thing further, I could see that her golden, smooth
sand with specs of dark brown was flowing slower and slower with each passing second. Her multi-
coloured umbrella with stripes of purple, green, blue and orange were open as if it was protecting
her from the non-existent rain. She looked miserable. I had no choice. She needed a friend. I
mentioned to my new companion that she was coming home with me and her umbrella started to
slap open and shut frantically and her sand was flowing at a faster rate. It was clear to see from her
actions that she was happy to be coming home with me. What a strange way to communicate I
thought.
I have a room mate and she didn’t like the idea of having a strange lost thing in the flat.
“She could be a thief and rob us when we are asleep in bed.” Anna whispered when the lost thing
starting looking around the garden.
“Well… I couldn’t exactly leave her on her own in the park overnight!” I replied, whilst trying to keep
my voice down.
“Why don’t you just take it to the ministry of odds and ends?”
“ The ministry of what?” she replied with an intrigued look on her face.
“Look at this advert in the paper.” Anna threw the paper on the table for her to see and walked off.
The advert said…
Are you experiencing strange things?
Do you suffer from paranoia?
Have you discovered bizarre things in your own back garden?
Do not fear!
We have got just the place to store your lost thing.
The ministry of odds and ends.
 Task 2
I would like you to check your work thoroughly. Use
a different colour when doing your editing and
corrections . These are the things I would like you to
check:
• Checking that all sentences start with a capital
letter (and that there are no random capitals in
your words).
• All sentences end with a form of punctuation.
• Spellings – to the best of your ability. Remember
to use your have a go sheet /spelling strategies to
help you.
• New line for new speaker when writing speech.
• Starting sentences in various ways.
End of Activity 3
 Activity 4
• Today you are going to write the next part of your
story, where they go to the federal department of
odds and ends, meet the cleaner and start following
the arrows.
• You can change the person they meet (cleaner) and
also what object they are given (arrow card).

Challenge – Try to include parenthesis and at least one

relative clause. You may find it easier to add in at the
end. I have underlined the examples of these in my
work.
 This is the part from the original story.

The next morning we caught a tram into the city.

We arrived at a tall grey building with no windows. It was pretty dark in
there, and it smelt like disinfectant. “I have a lost thing,” I called to the
receptionist at the front desk. “Fill in these forms,” she said. The lost thing
made a small, sad noise. I was looking around for a pen when I felt
something tug the back of my shirt.
“If you really care about that thing you shouldn’t leave it here,” said a tiny
voice. “This is a place for forgetting, leaving behind, smoothing over. Here
take this.”
It was business card with a kind of sign on it. It wasn’t very important
looking but it did seem to point somewhere. “Cheers,” I said.
At this point we left that tall grey building and hunted all over the place for
this sign. It wasn’t an easy job and I can’t say I knew what it all meant.
Eventually, we found what seemed to be the right place, in a dark little gap
off some anonymous little street. The sort of place you’d never know
existed unless you were actually looking for it.

I have put my example on the next slide…

 Mrs Stokes’ example – Page 1 of 2
The next morning, we walked (or in her case swam) into the city. We
arrived at a small blue building with dusty looking windows. It was pretty
grim in there; bright lights shone on us and it felt like we were on a stage
about to perform. It smelt like a dump site and the place gave me a bad
feeling.
“I have found a lost thing and I saw your advert in the local paper.” I said
to the large man stood by the entrance.
“Hello, you will need to speak to Sandra. She is sat at the last desk on the
right.” he said.
The lost thing’s sand was slowing down, which was odd, as I hadn’t seen
her do that since I first saw her in the park. Was she scared or was she
feeling sad? We were walking towards Sandra when a glowing green light
came from the door to our left. A tune was flowing out the door and I
was too curious to ignore it. I turned the handle and inside was a bright
green lava lamp with floating keys. One of the keys was flashing in yellow.
 Mrs Stokes’ example – Page 2 of 2
“If you really care about that thing you shouldn’t leave it here,” said
the tune, repeating it in a trance-like manner. “This is a place for
forgetting, leaving behind your lost thing where it will get disposed of
like trash. If you want to help her, take the glowing key and listen to
the tune. It will take you to the place you need to go to keep her safe.”
I grabbed the key and the tune starting singing instructions to me in a
soft wispy voice.
At this point we left the small blue building and followed the tune with
all its directions . It wasn’t an easy job and I can’t say I knew where we
were going. After about an hour of walking, we found what seemed to
be the right place, in a dark little gap off some anonymous little street.
The sort of place you’d never know existed unless you were actually
looking for it.
 Task 2
I would like you to check your work thoroughly. Use
a different colour when doing your editing and
corrections. These are the things I would like you to
check:
• Checking that all sentences start with a capital
letter (and that there are no random capitals in
your words).
• All sentences end with a form of punctuation.
• Spellings – to the best of your ability. Remember
to use your have a go sheet /spelling strategies to
help you.
• New line for new speaker when writing speech.
• Starting sentences in various ways.
End of Activity 4
 Activity 5
Today you are going to write the ending of your
story.
• Your lost thing will need to find a happy place,
resulting in a happy ending.
• You can choose to keep it similar or you may
want to write a completely different ending.

On the next slide you will find the ending of the

original story and on the slide after is my
example.
This is the ending from the original
story:
I pressed a buzzer on the wall and this big door opened up. I didn’t know
what to think, but the lost thing made an approving sort of noise. It seemed
as good a time as any to say goodbye to each other. So we did.
Then I went home to classify my bottle-top collection. Well, that’s it. That’s
the story. Not especially profound, I know, but I never said it was.
And don’t ask me what the moral is. I mean, I can’t say that the thing actually
belonged in the place where it ended up. In fact, none of the things there
really belonged. They all seemed happy enough though, so maybe that didn’t
matter. I don’t know…
I still think about that lost thing from time to time. Especially when I see
something out of the corner of my eye that doesn’t quite fit. You know,
something with a weird, sad, lost sort of look. I see that sort of thing less and
less these days though. Maybe there aren’t many lost things around anymore.
Or maybe I’ve just stopped noticing them. Too busy doing other stuff, I guess.
 Mrs Stokes’ example
The key had stopped glowing so I put it into the key hole. The stone crumbled
into tiny pieces and in front of us was a lift. We entered the lift and it went
underground. The lost thing’s sand had stopped, which I took as a sign that
she was scared. When we came to a halt the door opened and in front of us
was a paradise of lost things. The lost thing’s sand started running again and
her fin was urging her to move forward and investigate.
I was in awe looking around at all the beautiful lost things in front of me. My
new friend starting flapping her umbrella in and out and her tail was moving
rapidly. I followed her gaze and saw she was looking at another lost thing
which looked like a bigger version of her. They both swam to each other at
speed and entwined their fins. After asking lots of questions, I found out that
it was her mother! The lost thing was finally home (with her mother) and
where she belonged. They both looked at me and showed their excitement.
I left feeling happy to have reunited my new friend with her mother but also
sad to lose a new friend. I made a promise to myself to go and visit them
again one day.
 Task 2
I would like you to check your work thoroughly. Use
a different colour when doing your editing and
corrections. These are the things I would like you to
check:
• Checking that all sentences start with a capital
letter (and that there are no random capitals in
your words).
• All sentences end with a form of punctuation.
• Spellings – to the best of your ability. Remember
to use your have a go sheet/spelling strategies to
help you.
• New line for new speaker when writing speech.
• Starting sentences in various ways.
End of Activity 5