a) Analysing beginnings and endings of a story
• Ss' books closed, brainstorm ways to (i)
start a story and (ii) end a story. Write Ss'
ideas on the board.
• Ss' books open, read through the ways
suggested in the theory box.
• Write up the title “Lost in a Blizzard” and
explain it is the title of a story.
• Draw Ss' attention to the two suggested
beginnings and endings and explain the task.
• Ss answer individually and then compare
ideas in small groups.
• Invite groups to feed back to the class.
Answer Key
A is the most interesting beginning because it
creates atmosphere, uses direct speech,
expresses someone’s feelings or mood and asks
a rhetorical question.
B is the most interesting ending because it
describes feelings and mood, creates
atmosphere/suspense/mystery and asks
rhetorical questions.
b) Writing a beginning and anding for a story
• Write the title ‘Disaster at Sea' on the
board. Brainstorm ideas for the content of
the story as a class.
• Explain the task. Allow Ss time to write
their answers individually.
• Ss exchange work with a partner for
evaluation/peer correction.
Suggested Answer Key
Beginning
Why did I listen to Stan? We should never have
gone out on that windswept, stormy day. As we
got in the boat, the sea roared and raged.
Shouting over the howling wind, I cried,
‘Perhaps we should stay on land?’ but Stan
carried on preparing the boat, unaware that
this day would be his last!
Ending
Waking up on the cold, hard rocks, I looked
around for Stan, but he was nowhere to be
found. I staggered home to the warm embrace
of my worried parents. Stan was never found
and to this day, when I look out to sea, I think of
my friend and wonder if, somewhere, somehow,
he managed to survive that fateful day
