Name: School/Class:

Grade 9 Workbook
Unit 2:
Creative Writing
 Vocabulary Quiz
Lesson 1 Lesson 2
1 1
2 2
3 3
4 4
5 5
6 6
7 7
8 8
9 9
10 10
Lesson 3 Lesson 4
1 1
2 2
3 3
4 4
5 5
6 6
7 7
8 8
9 9
10 10
Lesson 5
1 6
2 7
3 8
4 9
5 10

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 Test Your Skills

Lesson 1

Lesson 2 Lesson 3 Lesson 4

1 1 1

2 2 2

3 3 3

4 4 4

5 5 5

Lesson 5

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 Lesson 1 – Creative Writing
From Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J. K.
Rowling
They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor.
Harry could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to
the right – the rest of the school must already be here – but Professor
McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the
hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would
usually have done, peering about nervously.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term

banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted
into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your
house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of
your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its
own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at
Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house
points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great
honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I
suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on
Ron's smudged nose. Harry awkwardly tried to flatten his hair.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."

She left the chamber. Harry swallowed.

"How exactly do they sort us into houses?" he asked Ron.

"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking."

Harry's heart gave a horrible jolt. A test? In front of the whole school? But he didn't know any
magic yet - what on earth would he have to do? He hadn't expected something like this the
moment they arrived. He looked around frantically and saw that everyone else looked terrified,

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too. No one was talking much except Hermione Granger, who was whispering very fast about all
the spells she'd learned and wondering which one she'd need. Harry tried hard not to listen to
her. He'd never been more nervous, never, not even when he'd had to take a school report home
to the Dursley’s saying that he'd somehow turned his teacher's wig blue. He kept his eyes fixed
on the door. Any second now, Professor McGonagall would come back and lead him to his doom.

Questions

1. Look at the first paragraph. How did the new students feel on their first day at Hogwarts?

A worried
B thrilled
C terrified
D depressed

2. Identify an adverb in the same paragraph that helps to show this.

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3. Look at the third paragraph. Identify two pieces of information from the text that the students
learn about the Hogwarts houses, other than their names.

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4. Look at the final paragraph. Identify one piece of evidence from the text that shows that
Hermione Granger was not feeling as worried as the rest of the students.

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5. Look again at this section of the text:

“Any second now, Professor McGonagall would come back and lead him to his doom.”

In your own words, explain how Harry is feeling in this moment.

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 Figurative language

describes something by comparing it to something else

Simile
using ‘like’ or ‘as’

First, create your own simple similes using the words in the first column. Use the same structure
as the example for quiet.

Next, upgrade your similes using a more unusual comparison, like the example for quiet.

Word Simple simile Upgraded simile

He was as quiet as the shadows that

Quiet He was as quiet as a mouse.
surrounded him.

Brave

Angry

Fast

describes something as something completely different,

Metaphor
usually using the verb ‘be’

First, create your own simple metaphor using one of these ideas: school or rainfall.

Next, try and create your own upgraded version of this metaphor.

Word Simple metaphor Upgraded metaphor

Loneliness is an invisible cloud, drifting across

Loneliness Loneliness is a cloud.
the sky, forever unnoticed and ignored.

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 Writing practice: Fear

The following text is an extract from a short story:

She hid behind the big box. It was hot in the dirty room and she was so scared that she could
hardly breathe. She knew the big tiger was in there with her. She was quiet and felt very small.
Suddenly, she saw it watching her from the corner of the room. It looked angry.

This text needs to be improved to make it more creative.

Rewrite the text in the same structure but make the following changes:

1. change weak verbs to strong verbs

2. use at least two adverbs
3. change base adjectives to strong adjectives
4. use at least one simile and one metaphor.

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 Lesson 2 – Plot
Identifying a plot in a movie

Think of your favourite movie, or a movie that you have seen recently.

Which of the seven basic plots does it have? Character vs… (circle the correct plot type)

character society self god/religion

machines/technology nature the supernatural

What is the main idea in the movie?

What happens in the movie? Break down the plot into three parts.

Beginning

Middle

End

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Story structure

Exposition Rising action Climax Falling action Resolution

Little Red Riding Hood is a children’s fairy tale.

The story has been split into five parts but the parts are mixed up. Read the story and label the
parts with the correct story structure stage above.

When she arrived at the cottage, Red Riding Hood found her grandmother
in bed, but she thought that she looked very strange. She commented on the
size of her ears, her eyes and her teeth. She did not realise that it was
actually the wolf! The wolf jumped out of the bed and tried to eat Red Riding
Hood.

Red Riding Hood and her grandmother lived happily ever after.

A long time ago, there was a girl called Red Riding Hood (because she wore
a cloak with a red hood). One day she was taking a basket of food to her sick
grandmother who lived in a cottage in the woods.

Red Riding Hood began to scream. A woodcutter heard her and rushed in to
save her. He forced the wolf to spit the grandmother out. He pulled the wolf
deep into the forest a long way away so he would not bother anyone again.

On her way to the cottage, Red Riding Hood met a wolf in the woods. She
told him where she was going. The wolf rushed ahead to her grandmother’s
cottage, ate her grandmother and then waited for Red Riding Hood to arrive.

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 Cemetery Path by Leonard Q. Ross

Ivan was a timid little man – so timid that the villagers called him “Pigeon,” or mocked him with
the title “Ivan the Terrible.” Every night Ivan stopped in at the tavern which was on the edge of
the village cemetery. Ivan never crossed the cemetery to get to his lonely cabin on the other side.
The path through the cemetery would save him many minutes, but he had never taken it – not
even in the full light of noon.

Late one winter’s night, when bitter wind and snow beat against the tavern, the customers took
up their usual mockery. "Ivan's mother was scared by a canary when she carried him." "Ivan the
Terrible, Ivan the Terribly Timid One."

Ivan’s sickly protest only fed their taunts, and they jeered cruelly when the young lieutenant flung
his horrid challenge at their quarry. “You are a pigeon, Ivan. You’ll walk all around the cemetery
in this cold – but you dare not cross it.”

Ivan murmured, “The cemetery is nothing to cross, Lieutenant. It is nothing but earth, like all the
other earth.”

The lieutenant cried, “A challenge, then! Cross the cemetery tonight, Ivan, and I’ll give you five
rubles – five gold rubles!”

Perhaps it was the vodka. Perhaps it was the temptation of the five gold rubles. No one ever knew
why Ivan, moistening his lips, said suddenly: “Yes, Lieutenant. I’ll cross the cemetery!”

The tavern echoed with their disbelief. The lieutenant winked to the men and unbuckled his
sabre. “Here, Ivan. When you get to the centre of the cemetery, in front of the biggest tomb, stick
the sabre into the ground. In the morning we shall go there. And if the sabre is in the ground –
five gold rubles to you!”

Ivan took the sabre. The men drank a toast: “To Ivan the Terrible!” They roared with laughter.

The wind howled around Ivan as he closed the door of the tavern behind him. The cold was knife-
sharp. He buttoned his long coat and crossed the dirt road. He could hear the Lieutenant’s voice,
louder than the rest, yelling after him, “Five rubles, pigeon! If you live!”

Ivan pushed the cemetery gate open. He walked fast. “Earth, just earth...like any other earth.” But
the darkness was a massive dread. “Five gold rubles...” The wind was cruel and the sabre was like
ice in his hands. Ivan shivered under the long, thick coat and broke into a limping run.

He recognised the large tomb. He must have sobbed – that was drowned in the wind. And he
kneeled, cold and terrified, and drove the sabre into the hard ground. With his fist, he beat it
down to the hilt. It was done. The cemetery... the challenge... five gold rubles.

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Ivan started to rise from his knees. But he could not move. Something held him. Something
gripped him in an unyielding and implacable hold. Ivan tugged and lurched and pulled – gasping
in his panic, shaken by a monstrous fear. But something held Ivan. He cried out in terror, then
made senseless gurgling noises.

They found Ivan, next morning, on the ground in front of the tomb that was in the centre of the
cemetery. His face was not that of a frozen man’s, but of a man killed by some nameless horror.
And the Lieutenant’s sabre was in the ground where Ivan had pounded it – through the dragging
folds of his long coat.

That was the first time that “Ivan the Terrible” had taken the cemetery path and it turned out to
be his very last journey on this Earth.

Questions
1. Identify one word in the first paragraph that suggests that Ivan has no friends.

2. The customers jeered at Ivan cruelly. What is the meaning of the word jeered?

 questioned  cheered  mocked  fought with

3. The lieutenant and the villagers made Ivan their quarry. What is the meaning of the word
quarry, as used in this sentence?

 brother  victim  friend  boss

4. Look again at the tenth paragraph, beginning with “Ivan pushed…”. Identify one example of a
metaphor and one example of a simile.

Metaphor __________________________________________________________________________

Simile ____________________________________________________________________________

“His face was not that of a frozen man’s, but of a man killed by some nameless horror.”

5. What do you imagine his face looked like?

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Story mountain What is the most challenging thing
to happen?

What challenges does the main How does the character deal with
character face? the challenge?

What happens at the beginning of How does the story end?

the story to introduce the
characters/setting?
Storyboard of five-part story structure
 Lesson 3 – Openings and Setting
Story openings

Underline the words or phrases in each of the following story openings that make you want to
keep reading, and write which technique(s) the writer used. You can choose from: dramatic
statements, description of character or setting, leaving the reader with questions, starting with
action, interesting dialogue, and opening with a question. Some texts may use more than one.

Extract 1, from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Marley was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about
that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk,
the undertaker, and the chief mourner. Scrooge signed it. And
Scrooge’s name was good upon exchange for anything to put his hand
to.

Old Marley was as dead as a doornail.

How does the extract make you want to keep reading?

Extract 2, from Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White

“Where’s Papa going with that axe?” said Fern to her mother as they
were setting the table for breakfast.

“Out to the hoghouse,” replied Mrs. Arable, “Some

pigs were born last night.”

“I don’t see why he needs an axe,” continued Fern,

who was only eight.

“Well,” said her mother, “one of her pigs is a runt…”

How does the extract make you want to keep reading?

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Extract 3, from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling

The villagers of Little Hangleton still called it ‘the Riddle House,’

even though it had been many years since the Riddle family had
lived there. It stood on a hill overlooking the village, some of its
windows boarded, tiles missing from its roof and ivy spreading
unchecked over its face. Once a fine-looking manor and easily the
largest and grandest building for miles around, the Riddle House
was now damp, derelict and unoccupied.

The Little Hangletons all agree that the house was ‘creepy.’

How does the extract make you want to keep reading?

Extract 4, from The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

One afternoon, when Bruno came home from school, he was

surprised to find Maria, the family’s maid – who always kept her
head bowed and never looked up from the carpet – standing in his
bedroom, pulling all his belongings out of the wardrobe and
packing them in four large wooden crates, even the things he’d
hidden at the back that belonged to him and were nobody else’s
business.

How does the extract make you want to keep reading?

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 Flash fiction - Story opening
Write your own story opening that starts with the following sentence:

“The world is going to end in 20 minutes!” shouted the teacher.

Aim to write at least six sentences and remember to make it interesting to hook the reader.

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Describing settings

Using the images on the slides, think about what each setting reveals about the story and the
characters. Discuss each image in pairs and then write your ideas down below.

The city of Paris at night

On planet Babylon Z52 in

the year 2999.

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 Writing practice: Describing a setting

Choose one of the pictures we described earlier in class, and write the first paragraph of a story.
You goal is to introduce the setting and create a mood that is appropriate for the story.

Your paragraph should:

• grab the attention of the reader with a hook (remember the techniques at the beginning
of today’s lesson)
• describe the atmosphere of the setting
• include sensory language (at least three senses)

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 Lesson 4 – Characters

Describing characters
This passage contains the three main ways to give information about a character.

The classroom door swung open and the new supply teacher strode in. So tall she hardly
fit through the door frame and dressed from head to foot in purple velour, I hardly need
to say she was an imposing figure.

“Sit down everyone!” she snarled, seizing and snapping Sarah Smith’s ‘Frozen’ ruler as she
stalked across the room.

“She’s scary,” whispered Clare, “really scary!”

What do we learn about the character based on how she is described by others?
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What do we learn about the character based on ? 

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What do we learn about the character based on ? 

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
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My favourite character

Choose a character from a movie, TV show, game or book. Describe their personality, what they
look like, how others see them and how they act. Include dialogue that reveals their character.

Show, don’t tell

Rather than just tell the reader a fact, you show the reader what is happening and allow them to
work out the facts for themselves based on description, action and speech.

Rewrite each example to show what is happening to the character and how they are reacting.

Sarah was sad to say goodbye to her family.

Mike was happy when he received his exam results.

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 The Night Sky (from Contact by Carl Sagan)

In this extract, the main character, Ellie, is on holiday by a lake.

One hot moonless night after dinner she walked down alone to the
wooden pier. It was perfectly still. She looked up at the brilliant spangled
sky and found her heart racing. Without looking down, with only her
outstretched hand to guide her, she found a soft patch of grass and laid
herself down.

The sky was blazing with stars. There were thousands of them, most twinkling, a few bright and
steady. If you looked carefully you could see faint differences in colour. That bright one there,
wasn't it bluish?

She felt again for the ground beneath her; it was solid, steady... reassuring. Cautiously she sat up
and looked left and right, up and down the long reach of lakefront. She could see both sides of
the water. The world only looks flat, she thought to herself. Really it's round. This is all a big ball...
turning in the middle of the sky... once a day. She tried to imagine it spinning, with millions of
people glued to it, talking different languages, wearing different clothes, all stuck to the same
ball.

If something as big as the Earth turned once a day, it had to be moving ridiculously fast. Everyone
she knew must be whirling at an unbelievable speed. She thought she could now actually feel the
Earth turn – not just imagine it in her head, but really feel it in the pit of her stomach. It was like
descending in a fast elevator. She craned her neck back further, until she could see nothing but
black sky and bright stars. She was overtaken by the giddy sense that she had better clutch the
clumps of grass on either side of her and hold on for dear life, or else fall up into the sky, her tiny
tumbling body dwarfed by the huge darkened sphere below.

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In the text, Ellie experiences a range of emotions.

The writer does not tell us directly how she is feeling. Instead, this is shown through her thoughts
and actions.

Identify five examples of emotions and write down the evidence that reveals this.

Emotion Evidence

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 Lesson 5 – Suspense
From Coraline by Neil Gaiman
The old, black key felt colder than any of the others. She pushed it into the
keyhole. It turned smoothly, with a satisfying clink. Coraline stopped and
listened. She knew she was doing something wrong, and she was trying to
listen for her mother coming back, but she heard nothing. Then Coraline
put her hand on the doorknob and turned it; and, finally, she opened the
door.

It opened onto a dark hallway. The bricks had gone, as if they’d never been
there. There was a cold, musty smell coming through the open doorway: it
smelled like something very old and very slow.

Techniques for creating tension

The extract from Coraline uses a range of techniques to build tension. Find examples of them and
list the evidence below.

adjectives describing
things and feelings

short sentences

longer, complex
sentences

the five senses

a scary situation

a suspenseful setting

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 From Storm Chasers by Tim Bowler

Tap! She jumped. It was the window. Someone must be out there, hidden by
the curtains. She hurried to the phone, picked it up and started to dial nine-
nine-nine; then put it down. This was stupid. The tap wasn’t regular. It might
not be a person at all; it might be something trivial. What would Dad say if she
called the police out for nothing? She strode to the window, pulled back the
curtain, and burst out laughing.

It was nothing after all. A chain from one of the hanging baskets had broken loose and gusts were
throwing it up at the window so that every so often the metal ring at the end struck the glass. Tap!
There it was again. She chuckled and reached out to close the curtain; then froze in horror.

Reflected in the glass was a figure standing behind her in the doorway.

Tension chart

How many of the different tension techniques can you find in the text above?

Create a tension chart to show how the tension rises and falls in the extract.

High
tension

Low
tension

Events

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 Final Writing Task

You will now write your own story opening, which starts with a climactic moment. This will be
your final writing task for Unit 2, so make sure to do your best work!
Be sure to include:
• Short sentences
• The five senses
• Strong adjectives
• Interesting sentence openers
• Any other techniques you remember from Unit 2

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Creative writing word bank
Here is a selection of adverbs of manner (‘how’ something happens) you could use in your
writing.

accidentally cautiously gladly nervously shyly

angrily cheerfully gracefully noisily silently
anxiously cruelly happily obediently sternly
awkwardly courageously hungrily obnoxiously suddenly
blindly defiantly innocently painfully suspiciously
boastfully deliberately inquisitively perfectly swiftly
boldly doubtfully irritably rapidly tenderly
bravely elegantly joyously recklessly tensely
briefly enthusiastically kindly reluctantly thoughtfully
brightly fiercely lazily roughly unexpectedly
busily fondly loudly selfishly victoriously
calmly foolishly merrily seriously warmly
carefully frantically mysteriously shakily
carelessly gently neatly sharply

Here are some adjectives you could use in your writing.

people appearance good bad feelings size shape sound

feelings
adorable adorable brave angry big broad cooing
adventurous beautiful cheerful annoyed colossal chubby deafening
aggressive clean delightful anxious enormous crooked faint
annoying drab determined ashamed gigantic curved hissing
beautiful elegant eager awful great deep loud
caring fancy elated bored huge flat melodic
clumsy glamorous energetic confused immense hollow noisy
confident handsome enthusiastic defiant large low purring
considerate magnificent excited depressed little narrow quiet
excitable old- exuberant disgusted long round raspy
glamorous fashioned fantastic embarrassed massive shallow screeching
grumpy plain happy envious meagre skinny thundering
happy quaint healthy frightened mighty square voiceless
helpful sparkling jolly grumpy mini steep whispering
important ugly joyful helpless minuscule straight
intimidating unsightly kind jealous petite wide
obnoxious wide-eyed proud lonely puny
odd thankful nervous short

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 Word bank - Describing setting with senses

sights sounds smells sensations feelings

ancient banging clean bumpy amazed
angular buzzing clinical cool anxious
bright discordant damp damp ashamed
bustling gurgling delicious forceful calm
cluttered grating disgusting freezing confident
crowded howling dusty gentle curious
dazzling loud earthy hard disappointed
disappointing low-level exotic itchy eager
dusty melodic familiar jagged excited
empty muttering floral loose exhilarated
enormous noisy fresh pleasant furious
fashionable quiet fruity rough impressed
glistening raucous homely slippery lazy
gloomy ringing mouth-watering smooth lonely
grim rustling perfumed soaking miserable
hectic scratching pleasant soft nauseated
impressive screeching pungent sticky nervous
luxurious scuffling refreshing stifling overawed
miniscule silent sickening sweltering overjoyed
misshapen tapping smoky tickly proud
rounded thumping tangy tight reluctant
spotless tuneful tempting uncomfortable serene
unkempt wailing unfamiliar unpleasant terrified
wonderful whispering unusual wobbly underwhelmed

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Show, don’t tell vocabulary

Verbs to describe Adverbs to describe

Emotion Synonyms Verbs to replace ‘said’ how someone might how someone might Body language
move speak or move

depressed gloomy sobbed grumbled have a

trudged plodded miserably sadly downturned
miserable heartbroken mumbled wailed
mouth
crushed devastated cried sniffed have a lack of
Sad slogged traipsed gloomily slowly sparkle in their
pessimistic sorrowful whined bawled
eyes
downcast melancholy wept fretted
slouched moped flatly joylessly frown
crestfallen despairing blubbered muttered

glad joyful gushed cheered

skipped danced merrily joyfully smile
cheerful elated giggled joked
overjoyed ecstatic laughed boasted
Happy bounced bounded joyously gleefully have a relaxed
thrilled delighted chortled howled body posture
optimistic upbeat chucked exclaimed
leapt strolled heartily brightly laugh
jovial content bragged guffawed
 Sentence starters to build tension
Use a variety of phrases such as these to add tension to your writing. Make sure you change them
if necessary to fit your story!

With my heart pumping, Without warning,

Suddenly, It was silent. Eerily silent.

Just when he thought things couldn’t get any He tried to scream, but no sound could be
worse, heard.

His mind raced with thoughts of… She was paralysed with fear.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. He stood helplessly.

Tiptoeing through the dark, With a scream,

Crash! As if from nowhere,

Silently, The clock was ticking as…

Howling with rage, “What are you doing here?”

EDINGLY openers

These are verbs and adverbs that can be used at the start of a sentence. They can be used
together to create strong sentence openers. Use a comma or exclamation mark after the opener.

-ED -ING -LY

Worried Running Slowly
Exhausted Jumping Nervously
Terrified Smiling Cautiously
Excited Laughing Carefully
Trapped Screaming Wildly
Humiliated Watching Excitedly
Angered Crawling Loudly
Embarrassed Crying Hurriedly

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