Writing Activities: Year 6

Kingfisher

Kingfishers are brightly-coloured birds found in many places across the world; they can live anywhere except the polar regions and the earth’s driest deserts. Kingfishers have long, dagger-shaped bills, which help them to hunt for fish and small invertebrates. They also have transparent eyelids, which protect their eyes and allow them to see underwater when they dive for fish.

Unlike many other birds, which construct nests from a range of materials, kingfishers dig their nests in earth or sand banks, often near the water where they hunt. When kingfisher chicks are born, they live in the nest for around a month. The parents bring fish to the nest; a chick can eat 12 to 18 fish every day!

Literacy idea

This clip contains very little narration. Write a script to accompany the clip, describing the kingfisher as it hunts for fish in the River Shannon in Ireland. Remember to:

• use a topic sentence that tells the audience what you are going to be talking about;
• use conjunctions (but, although, because, so, while) to link words, phrases and clauses within a sentence;
• use pronouns (he, they, her, it) to refer back to nouns already mentioned or forwards to nouns not yet mentioned;
• use synonyms to avoid repetition;
• use tenses consistently (avoid switching tenses without good reason).

Wider Curriculum idea

Pause the clip at an exciting moment and make a drawing of the kingfisher in action. Then use the information at dkfindout to label the kingfisher’s bill, upperpart and underside on your diagram.