Haunted castles: English primary resource

Learn about the ‘ingredients’ needed to make an exciting ghost story

This primary resource introduces children to some classic ghost stories from around Europe. Discover how old castles and haunted tales go hand-in-hand and what makes ghost stories so chilling. What do the stories have in common? Why do castles make good settings for ghost stories?

Pupils will learn about the ‘ingredients’ needed to make an exciting ghost story, and consider the different ways the story can be presented with our National Geographic Kids’ English primary resource sheet.

The teaching resource can be used in study group tasks for exploring storytelling techniques and plot devices, as a printed handout for each pupil to work with individually, or for display on the interactive whiteboard to be read and discussed as a whole class activity.

Activity: As a whole class, ask pupils to read the five short stories. Which do they like best? Why? What makes the stories creepy? Ask pupils to discuss the texts and whether they conveyed the story well. Challenge them to pick one of the stories and re-write it in more detail, using adjectives to create mood and atmosphere. Ask pupils whether they know any of their own ghost stories and ask them to share them with the class.

N.B. The following information for mapping the resource documents to the school curriculum is specifically tailored to the English National Curriculum and Scottish Curriculum for Excellence. We are currently working to bring specifically tailored curriculum resource links for our other territories; including South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. If you have any queries about our upcoming curriculum resource links, please email: schools@ngkids.co.uk

This English primary resource assists with teaching the following English objectives from the National Curriculum:

Comprehension skills develop through pupils’ experience of high-quality discussion with the teacher, as well as from reading and discussing a range of stories, poems and non-fiction. All pupils must be encouraged to read widely across both fiction and non-fiction to develop their knowledge of themselves and the world in which they live, to establish an appreciation and love of reading, and to gain knowledge across the curriculum.

National Curriculum Key Stage 1 English (Year 1) objectives:

Pupils should be taught to:

develop pleasure in reading, motivation to read, vocabulary and understanding by: listening to and discussing a wide range of poems, stories and non-fiction at a level beyond that at which they can read independently

participate in discussion about what is read to them, taking turns and listening to what others say

explain clearly their understanding of what is read to them.

National Curriculum Key Stage 1 English (Year 2) objectives:

Pupils should be taught to: develop pleasure in reading, motivation to read, vocabulary and understanding by:

listening to, discussing and expressing views about a wide range of contemporary and classic poetry, stories and non-fiction at a level beyond that at which they can read independently

discussing the sequence of events in books and how items of information are related

being introduced to non-fiction books that are structured in different ways

Pupils should be taught to:

participate in discussion about books, poems and other works that are read to them and those that they can read for themselves, taking turns and listening to what others say

explain and discuss their understanding of books, poems and other material, both those that they listen to and those that they read for themselves.

Pupils should be taught to: develop positive attitudes towards and stamina for writing by:

writing narratives about personal experiences and those of others (real and fictional)

writing for different purposes

National Curriculum Lower Key Stage 2 English (Year 3 & 4) objective:

Pupils should be taught to: develop positive attitudes to reading and understanding of what they read by:

listening to and discussing a wide range of fiction, poetry, plays, non-fiction and reference books or textbooks

reading books that are structured in different ways and reading for a range of purposes

increasing their familiarity with a wide range of books, including fairy stories, myths and legends, and retelling some of these orally

Pupils should be taught to: understand what they read, in books they can read independently, by:

checking that the text makes sense to them, discussing their understanding and explaining the meaning of words in context

asking questions to improve their understanding of a text

drawing inferences such as inferring characters’ feelings, thoughts and motives from their actions, and justifying inferences with evidence

predicting what might happen from details stated and implied

identifying main ideas drawn from more than one paragraph and summarising these

identifying how language, structure, and presentation contribute to meaning

Pupils should be taught to:

participate in discussion about both books that are read to them and those they can read for themselves, taking turns and listening to what others say.

National Curriculum Upper Key Stage 2 English (Year 5 & 6) objective:

Pupils should be taught to: maintain positive attitudes to reading and understanding of what they read by:

continuing to read and discuss an increasingly wide range of fiction, poetry, plays, non-fiction and reference books or textbooks

reading books that are structured in different ways and reading for a range of purposes

increasing their familiarity with a wide range of books, including myths, legends and traditional stories, modern fiction, fiction from our literary heritage, and books from other cultures and traditions

identifying and discussing themes and conventions in and across a wide range of writing

making comparisons within and across books

preparing poems and plays to read aloud and to perform, showing understanding through intonation, tone and volume so that the meaning is clear to an audience

Pupils should be taught to: understand what they read by:

asking questions to improve their understanding

drawing inferences such as inferring characters’ feelings, thoughts and motives from their actions, and justifying inferences with evidence

predicting what might happen from details stated and implied

summarising the main ideas drawn from more than one paragraph, identifying key details that support the main ideas

identifying how language, structure and presentation contribute to meaning

Pupils should be taught to:

retrieve, record and present information from non-fiction

explain and discuss their understanding of what they have read, including through formal presentations and debates, maintaining a focus on the topic and using notes where necessary

This English primary resource assists with teaching the following Literacy and English First level objectives from the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence:

I can share my thoughts about structure, characters and/or setting, recognise the writer’s message and relate it to my own experiences, and comment on the effective choice of words and other features.

I can write independently, use appropriate punctuation and order and link my sentences in a way that makes sense.

Throughout the writing process, I can check that my writing makes sense.

I can convey information, describe events or processes, share my opinions or persuade my reader in different ways.

By considering the type of text I am creating,6 I can select ideas and relevant information, organise these in a logical sequence and use words which will be interesting and/or useful for others.

I can describe and share my experiences and how they made me feel.

Having explored the elements which writers use in different genres, I can use what I learn to create my own stories, poems and plays with interesting structures, characters and/or settings.

Scottish Curriculum for Excellence Second level Literacy and English objectives:

In both short and extended texts, I can use appropriate punctuation, vary my sentence structures and divide my work into paragraphs in a way that makes sense to my reader.

Throughout the writing process, I can check that my writing makes sense and meets its purpose.

By considering the type of text I am creating, I can select ideas and relevant information, organise these in an appropriate way for my purpose and use suitable vocabulary for my audience.

I am learning to use language and style in a way which engages and/or influences my reader.

I can convey information, describe events, explain processes or combine ideas in different ways.

As I write for different purposes and readers, I can describe and share my experiences, expressing what they made me think about and how they made me feel.

Having explored the elements which writers use in different genres, I can use what I learn to create stories, poems and plays with an interesting and appropriate structure, interesting characters and/or settings which come to life.

Scottish Curriculum for Excellence Third level Literacy and English objectives:

Throughout the writing process, I can review and edit my writing to ensure that it meets its purpose and communicates meaning at first reading.

By considering the type of text I am creating, I can independently select ideas and relevant information for different purposes, and organise essential information or ideas and any supporting detail in a logical order. I can use suitable vocabulary to communicate effectively with my audience.

I can engage and/or influence readers through my use of language, style and tone as appropriate to genre.

I can convey information, describe events, explain processes or concepts, and combine ideas in different ways

I can recreate a convincing impression of a personal experience for my reader, sharing my feelings and reactions to the changing circumstances with some attempt at reflection.

Having explored the elements which writers use, I can create texts in different genres by:
- integrating the conventions of my chosen genre successfully and/or
- using convincing and appropriate structures and/or
- creating interesting and convincing characters and/or
- building convincing settings which come to life.

Scottish Curriculum for Excellence Fourth level Literacy and English objectives:

Throughout the writing process, I can review and edit my writing independently to ensure that it meets its purpose and communicates meaning clearly at first reading.

By considering the type of text I am creating, I can independently select ideas and relevant information for different purposes, and organise essential information or ideas and any supporting detail in a logical order. I can use suitable vocabulary to communicate effectively with my audience.

I can engage and/or influence readers through my use of language, style and tone as appropriate to genre.

I can convey information and describe events, explain processes or concepts, providing substantiating evidence, and synthesise ideas or opinions in different ways.

I can create a convincing impression of my personal experience and reflect on my response to the changing circumstances to engage my reader.

Having explored and experimented with the narrative structures which writers use to create texts in different genres, I can:
- use the conventions of my chosen genre successfully and/or
- create an appropriate mood or atmosphere and/or
- create convincing relationships, actions and dialogue for my characters.