LC : Use inverted commas and other punctuation to indicate direct speech
Improvise, create and write dialogue
Today we are going to talk to our partners.
Take on a role of one of the character from the Greenling. You could be the lady or the man.
What would they say to each other? They both say two lines of speech to each other.
"What have you got there?"
"I found it in the dark tunnel down by the canal."
"But what is it?"
"I'm not sure, but it looks like a green baby."
Your turn, what would you say?
Now write and punctuate the speech using inverted commas.
Next, we are going to write a diary from a different character’s perspective, maybe one of the green children.
Let's make a Role on the Wall for each character.
Write words or short phases that gives us information about the character.
If you are at home you can complete this task in your blue book by drawing an outline of a body or print out the pdf below.
Let's read the poem The Green Children by Jane Yolen.
"Green Children" by Jane Yolen
Dazed they were, and scared,
lying on the cold stones,
their arms and legs green.
Not the dark green of ivy,
not the yellow green of apples
ripe on the summer bough,
nor the deep green of the ocean
where it leans against its bed.
They were the green of leeks,
of new–furled feather fern,
of the early leaf breaking soil.
When they opened their eyes,
their eyes were green, too,
and the little hairs on their arms
were inchworm green.
They spoke a green language
which the trees and flowers knew
but which we did not.
About the Author: Jane Yolen is the multi-award-winning author of over two hundred books for adults, adolescents, and children, including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and folktale collections. Her most recent book of poetry is The Radiation Sonnets.
About the Poem: "Green Children" was inspired The Green Children legend in British folklore.
Copyright © 1993 by Jane Yolen. The poem first appeared in Asimov's SF, July 2003 and may not be reproduced in any form without the author's express written permission.
What interesting vocabulary did you find in the poem?
What does the vocabulary mean?