Narrative Text | The Deep Blue Nothing | Writing Analysis Exemplar & PowerPoint

⭐ Looking for an engaging narrative text & analysis exemplar for your upper primary students? The text ‘The Deep Blue Nothing’ is perfect for Year 5 students and is designed to spark their imagination and creativity. With a storyline that is described as a combination of adventure, suspense, and mystery, it utilizes sizzling starts and other language features to transport students into the character’s shoes, moment by moment ensuring students visualize events; following a ‘show, don’t tell’ style of writing.

Grade Level: Primary Years (5+)

Resource Includes a zip file of the following:

Text & Worksheet Printables:

• Fantasy narrative – portrait (for printing)
• Fantasy narrative – landscape (for projecting + displaying)
• Figurative language question pages – simile & metaphor, plus a blank version for additional features

Support pages:

• Narrative information page: Main Idea, author’s purpose prompt & synopsis
• Analysis lesson suggestion page
• Activity ideas list that can be completed with this exemplar (see preview)
• A page of example similes & metaphors from the text
• Answer page

Landscape PowerPoint version with lesson slides – (simple to follow)

• Enlarged text image slide
• Narrative – 2 pages to a slide & full 1-page landscape size)
• Identifying sizzling starts, show, don’t tell, creating tension slide
• Identifying action verbs, adjectives & similes slide
• Figurative language question slides – simile & metaphor, plus a blank version
• Answer slides

Please see the preview and video for an in-depth look on TPT.

PowerPoint Included:

To be projected onto a classroom whiteboard or for use with a smartboard/Promethean board or other types of interactive whiteboard screens.

Analysis Possibilities:

What can you analyze with this narrative?

• language features
• text structure
• main idea
• lesson/morals
• author’s purpose
• vocabulary choice
• figurative language
• dialogue
• images
• writing style

Text Synopsis:

The story follows a person’s underwater adventure where they are swimming among silver fish and seagrass. While trying to reach the surface, they get caught in a fishing line that cuts into their ankle and prevents them from breathing. As they struggle to free themselves, they lose consciousness and wake up in a black void. They find a box that emits a green light, but when they touch it, something cuts their arm. Suddenly, they hear a voice and return to consciousness on a beach, confused about the cut on their arm that disappears moments later. The story leaves the reader wondering if the experience was real or a hallucination.

The exemplar is designed to help students develop their reading and analysis skills while enjoying the genre of mild fantasy adventure, suspense, and mystery. It can also be used as an example of a descriptive writing style!

Additional Details:

• PDF & PowerPoint format in a zip file
• Colour Version
• Eye-catching image
• Whiteboard/smartboard friendly

Happy Teaching Friends!

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