Year 5 'The Highwayman': narrative writing worksheet

“Where the poem belongs” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 5 English unit “'The Highwayman': narrative writing”, for children aged 9 to 10, and takes about 20 minutes.

Print it on A4. The child's pages come first; the answers, and what each wrong answer tells you, are on the grown-up page that follows. Weeks 24 to 28 of the year, 17 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

Where the poem belongs

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 5 · English · about 20 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can place the 18th century on a timeline and explain why its context matters.

A Look back3 min

1.
Which feeling sits at the stormy end of this scale? Circle your answer.
cheerfulcalmangrysleepy
2.
Which word means a period of 100 years? Circle your answer.
centurydecadeseason
3.
Write 1, 2 or 3 in each box to put these centuries in order, earliest first.
1. the 19th century
2. the 17th century
3. the 18th century

B Watch me, then you4 min

Alfred Noyes first published 'The Highwayman' in 1906. The poem is set in the 18th century. Where does the 18th century sit on the timeline?

Watch me

The 18th century is the years 1701 to 1800.

The poem was published in 1906, after the 18th century had ended.

So the poem's setting came more than 100 years before it was published.

Now you

1.
Which of these years is in the 18th century? Circle your answer.
165017501850

C Your turn8 min

Use the timeline to place each year. Think about which century each year belongs to.

1.
Is 1690 in the 18th century? Circle yes or no.
YesNo
2.
The 18th century ends in which year?
3.
Match each year to its century.
165017501850
19th century17th century18th century
4.
Write these years from earliest to latest: 1906 (the poem is published), 1707 (Great Britain forms), 1800 (the 18th century ends).

Say it out loud: What did you look for on the timeline each time? Did the start or the end of the century help most?

D Spot the mistake3 min

Ali says: “The poem is set in the 18th century, so Noyes must have written it in the 1700s.”

1.
Is Ali right? Circle yes or no.
YesNo

E Think deeper4 min

Imagine a poor family in the 18th century who had no state help when ill, and no free school.

1.
In two sentences, explain how knowing this context could change how a reader feels about a highwayman who robs rich travellers. Use the word context.

How did it feel?

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

Where the poem belongs · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. angry

2. century If your child circles decade, explain that a decade is 10 years. Ask how many years the line shows from start to end.

3. 1 the 17th century · 2 the 18th century · 3 the 19th century If the numbers are mixed up, ask your child which century has the smallest number. Then ask which one comes straight after it.

B

1. 1750 Ask your child to find 1701 and 1800 on the line. Only years between those two are in the 18th century.

C

1. No Ask your child to find 1701 on the line. Then ask whether 1690 comes before or after it.

2. 1800 If they write 1701, the year the century starts, ask them to count how many years the century lasts. The last year is the end.

3. 1650 → 17th century; 1750 → 18th century; 1850 → 19th century Ask your child whether the year sits before 1701, between 1701 and 1800, or after 1800.

4. 1707, 1800, 1906 If the order is mixed up, ask your child which came first: Great Britain forming, the century ending or the poem being published.

D

1. No If your child says yes, ask when the poem was published. Then ask whether 1906 is in the 1700s.

E

1. Look for: Two sentences that say a poor person in the 1700s had no state help when ill or schooling, so a reader may sympathise with a highwayman who robs the rich. Must use the word context.

Words to use

Say“Where would this year sit on the line? Is it before 1701, between 1701 and 1800, or after 1800?”

Instead of“The 18th century is just a long time ago, so it doesn't matter exactly when.”

After the sheet

Cut a long strip of paper for 1700 to 2025. Mark 1701, 1800 and 1906, then ask your child to place their own birth year on the strip.

Tick what your child got right in StudyDen. Anything missed comes back in a later Look back box, so there's no need to redo the sheet.

The rest of this unit

16 more sheets come with a StudyDen plan, in teaching order:

Hard words in a poem(with a plan)
Planning a moonlit moor(with a plan)
Setting and character words(with a plan)
Spotting poetic devices(with a plan)
Slowing down the key moment(with a plan)
Building the arrival scene(with a plan)
Showing Tim's feelings(with a plan)
Editing in three reads(with a plan)
Decoding stanzas five and six(with a plan)
Bringing the Highwayman to life(with a plan)
Punctuating speech with care(with a plan)
Planning the third build-up(with a plan)
Words and actions(with a plan)
Editing Speech Lines(with a plan)
Ready to recite(with a plan)
Five skills for reciting(with a plan)

Every Year 5 English worksheet

The worksheets plan opens a printable sheet for every lesson in Years 1 to 6, each with its answers on a separate page for you. It costs £6.99 a month or £59 a year for the whole family, with no free trial.

The full StudyDen plan adds the lessons themselves, marked as your child works, with the worksheets included. It is 7 days free, then £29.99 a month.

Get the worksheets Try the full plan free

Both start with a free account; you choose the plan when you sign up.