Class:			UP2
	Topic:			When I opened my eyes
	Teacher's comment:			This was a submission for our annual World Book Day competition, promoting and encouraging reading for pleasure amongst our younger students. The lesson involved reading a short story in which the narrator finds himself/herself in a magical cooking pot that takes them on a magical journey. At the end of the story, the narrator awakes to find out it was a dream. The children were then asked to plan their own story. They did this in rough, using a mind map, before then writing their own story in neat to be submitted for the competition. This was the winning entry for the UP2 level. The stories were assessed not on the accuracy of the language, but on the inventiveness of the tale itself. The student shows she has an excellent imagination, drawing on popular fairy tales but creating something entirely her own. Lawrence Smith

The Work:

When I opened my eyes I found myself on a dolphin’s back. I asked the dolphin, “Where are we going?” It said, “We are going to a beautiful sea village under the sea!” After I listened to its answer, I felt very surprised.

First of all, I help the dolphin’s neck tightly through over the sea. I thought the water was so clear. If I were the sea animals, I would be very happy. After that, I saw a gorgeous palace.

Before long I met a group of mermaids, sea animals and a tall man. He was the king of the sea. He told me that some wicked people had caught a lot of mermaids as slaves to their village and forced them to do housework for them.

We brought a lot of weapons to the wicked village. The wicked people looked like giants. I thought we would be killed when they stepped on us. Suddenly, I felt something was on my shoulders. When I turned around, I was caught and put in a cage by a man.

Then I tried to break the cage, but it was very tight. When I almost broke the cage, a giant put me in his mouth. My eyes turned to darkness…

When I opened my eyes I was at home in bed.