Words Alive Autumn 2005 Words Alive -...

Words Alive Autumn 2005

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Words Alive

Autumn 2005

bbc.co.uk/schoolradio

A series provided by the BBC at the request of the Educational Broadcasting Council for the United Kingdom Age: 7-9 These programmes are available to order (for UK schools only) on pre-recorded CDs or cassette from: BBC Schools’ Broadcast Recordings Tel: 08701 272 272 Monday to Friday 0800 to 1800 Or visit www.bbc.co.uk/schoolradio/howtoorder.shtml/ for more information Audio on demand. These programmes are also available as audio on demand from the School Radio website for 7 days following the original date of transmission. Refer to programme titles below to find out when programmes are available as audio on demand.

© This publication contains only BBC copyright material: its contents may be copied or reproduced for use in schools and colleges without further

permission.

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Words Alive

Autumn 2005 These programmes are available as audio on demand from the School Radio website. Refer to dates below to find out when each one is available. Introduction 3 Unit 1: Word work, word play 1 (grammar) 7 1 Part one 7 AOD 22/09/2005 – 28/09/2005 2 Part two 10 AOD 29/09/2005 – 05/10/2005 Unit 2: The Matter Splatter 12 3 The Matter Splatter mystery 12 AOD 06/10/2005 – 12/10/2005 4 Inky on the case 14 AOD 13/10/2005 – 19/10/2005 5 The Splatterer splatted! 15 AOD 20/10/2005 – 02/11/2005 Unit 3: Word work, word play 2 (poetry) 17 6 Part one 17 AOD 03/11/2005 – 09/11/2005 7 Part two 19 AOD 10/11/2005 – 16/11/2005 Unit 4: A Christmas Carol 22 8 Marley’s warning 23 17/11/2005 – 23/11/2005 9 Two spirits 24 24/11/2005 – 30/11/2005 10 The last of the spirits 25 01/12/2005 – 07/12/2005

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Introduction

Words Alive is part of BBC Radio English, a versatile and developmental audio resource for English activities in the primary school. Its companion series are Stories and Rhymes (for ages 5-7) and Listen and Write (for ages 9-11). Aims of the series Words Alive aims to: stimulate and encourage retelling and recreating of storylines raise awareness of different writing structures encourage awareness of the use of language and extend vocabulary build on issues of character and plot, mood and feelings foster an appreciation of poetry and other genres encourage and enhance purposeful listening and speaking encourage children to develop opinions and to listen to the views of others develop an awareness of the difference between fact and opinion in others Words Alive and the National Literacy Strategy (NLS) Words Alive is designed to meet the objectives outlined in the National Literacy Strategy. These teacher’s notes explain how the series may be used to support the Strategy and to meet the requirements of the Scottish 5-14 and Northern Ireland Guidelines. In particular: key passages of text have been reproduced in poster form to support shared

reading follow-up activities have been grouped under the word, sentence and text

level headings adopted by the NLS. On pages 4 to 6 of these notes you will find a Literacy Framework Grid, which illustrates how these programmes may be used to meet the learning objectives of the Strategy. School Radio CDs / tapes Recording or purchasing the programmes on cassette provides a flexible resource. You will have the option of listening to each programme before using it with your class. Please see the order form available from the School Radio website at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schoolradio/howtoorder.shtml

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Unit/Programme

Teaching focus

Word level

Sentence level

Text level

Unit 1: Wordwork wordplay 1 – Grammar.

Programme 1 – Part one

Grammatical awareness – use of nouns and adjectives. Vocabulary extension.

Collecting new words (Y3 T1 13)

The function of adjectives within sentences (Y3 T2 2). To use the term ‘adjective’ appropriately (Y3 T2 3) Singular and plural nouns.

Programme 2 – Part two

Grammatical awareness – use of nouns and adjectives. Vocabulary extension.

Collecting new words (Y3 T1 13). Writing own definitions of words (Y3 T2 20)

The function of verbs (Y3 T1 3)

Unit 2: The Matter Splatter

Programme 3 – The Matter Splatter mystery

Rules for good reporting. Distinguish-ing fact from opinion. Identifying key facts.

Revise meaning and use of homonyms (Y3 T3 W14)

Understanding the significance of word order (Y4 T2 S3)

Summarising a paragraph by identifying most important elements. Picking out key sentences/phrases that convey information. Understanding and use of the terms fact and opinion (Y4 T1 19).

Programme 4 – Inky on the case

Identifying main features of newspapers. Identifying common elements in different accounts of the same event. Features of report writing.

Proof reading to check for spelling errors.

Identifying grammatical structures used in report writing.

Identifying main features of newspapers, including layout, range of information, etc. Predicting newspaper stories from the evidence of headlines. Writing newspaper style reports (Y4 T1 20, 21, 24).

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Programme 5 – The Splatterer splatted

Composing headlines. Composing questions for interviews. Writing final draft of report.

Accuracy of word use.

Use of superlatives.

Making short notes. Expanding brief notes into connected prose. Improving cohesion of written explanations (Y4 T2 21, 22, 24)

Unit 3: Wordwork wordplay 2 – Poetry

Programme 6

Identifying and generating rhymes. Use of senses.

How spelling of verbs alters when ‘ing’ is added> Identifying different kinds of rhyme. Purpose and organisation of dictionaries.

Use of capital letters in poetry Present participles in verbs Y3 T1 S3 T2 S8

Collecting suitable words and phrases for writing poems Expressing views about a poem. Generating ideas by brainstorming words and phrases.

Programme 7

Use of description in poetry. Appeal to different senses.

Spelling by analogy with other common words. Generating compound words. Writing own definitions of words. (Y3 T2 6, 12, 20)

Secure knowledge of question marks. Identifying and using other devices for presenting text. (Y3 T1 6, 9)

Comparing different views of the same subject. Choosing and preparing poems for performance. Write new poems or extend existing poems for performance. (Y3 T2 T4)

Unit 4: A Christmas Carol

Programme 8 – Marley’s warning

Using a dictionary. Adding adverbs. Discussion of setting. Discussion of conflict. Character on the wall.

Finding alternative descriptions.

Adding adverbs to the text. Substituting verbs.

Discussion of the setting. Discussion of the conflict in the story. Character on the wall.

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Programme 9 – Two spirits

Spelling analogy. Checking verbs. Setting. Cause on consequence. Story mapping.

‘Joy’ word web. Spelling analogy ‘ang’ and ‘ench’.

Checking verbs. Discussion of adverbs.

Study of setting. Cause and consequence. Story mapping.

Programme 10 – The last of the spirits

Verb endings. Adverb activity. Changing tenses. Prediction. Story writing. Newspaper article.

Regulary ‘ed’ verb endings. Word bank of adjectives before and after Scrooge’s change.

Adverb circle time activity. Changing tenses.

Story prediction. Writing a story from the model given. Newspaper article.

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Unit 1: Wordwork, wordplay 1 – grammar

Introduction Children are absorbed by wordplay. They play with sounds through rhyme and alliteration and with words through jokes, puns and riddles. Playground games, such as stepping games, frequently involve rhymes, tongue-twisters or other wordplay. The programmes in this unit are intended to build upon this enthusiasm for words and to direct it towards a number of interactive learning opportunities, with a particular emphasis on nouns, adjectives and verbs. The programmes recognise the importance of children acquiring a vocabulary for talking about language. The ability to identify and discuss parts of speech and their function within sentences empowers children as speakers as well as writers and enables them to become flexible users of language. Programme 1 – Part one Synopsis Sophie, the presenter, has come to an amusement arcade beside the sea. It is winter and she has come to help a friend to repaint the arcade in the off-season. There is no sign of her friend so Sophie passes the time by starting a diary entry. One of the amusements – the Wordplay Wizard – mysteriously comes to life. It takes Sophie through a series of interactive games intended to make her a better writer. The children join in games alongside the presenter. Before the programme Make available a range of dictionaries, thesauruses and any word collections /

word banks etc you may have made as a class. Display posters / charts containing sentences in which nouns are highlighted

or colour coded. Begin a ‘Noun board’ on which pupils can write or stick unusual or interesting

nouns which they have encountered. During the programme Be ready to pause the programme to undertake the activities suggested within it. In this unit these are a number of simple games which the children can play alongside the presenter. Some games involve extracts from Sophie’s diary. These can be found on Game Card 1 on page 9 of these notes. Activity 1. Underlining the nouns in Sophie’s first diary extract. See Game

Card 1. Activity 2. Creating a list of place names and observing relevant conventions

of proper nouns. Activity 3. Selecting proper nouns from a list of nouns. Activity 4. Identifying adjectives. Activity 5. Creating an alphabet collection of seaside nouns.

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After the programme Some suggestions for activities follow which will help to consolidate pupils work on nouns. Counting syllables Ask the children to clap the ‘beats’ in nouns. List them on a class chart according to the number of beats they have. Devices such as ‘word wheels’, ‘word telescopes’ and ‘word slides’ can be made by pupils who continue to need practice in blending phonemes. Compound nouns Make a word game in which two halves of a compound noun are written on separate cards for children to match. Dictionaries Sort nouns into alphabetical order by the first two letters. Use a context such as a muddled up shopping list, or friends’ names for birthday invitations etc. Proper nouns Explain and give examples of how writers use character names to help portray their attributes. Ask the children to invent their own character names based on lists of given attributes. Encourage the children to use this device in their own work when creating characters for stories. Jokes Share some ‘Knock, knock’ jokes which involve the use of names and puns in particular. Encourage children to invent their own. Make a class joke book involving wordplay. Ask the children to explain their jokes and identify the type of wordplay involved. Place names Invent names for fictional places. Use picture books for inspiration. You can display these on a board with the fictional names beneath. Collective nouns Select a common noun to demonstrate use of collective nouns. Encourage the children to create their own. Make an illustrated display in the classroom of these. Plurals Ask the children to investigate nouns which do not form plurals simply by adding ‘s’ (e.g. children, men, women). Consider rules governing plurals with the class.

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The Wordplay Wizard Game Card 1

The name game! What do these words have in common? _________________ diary year weather button peace

Note the nouns! Show which words are nouns by underlining them in the following sentences: Outside the weather is terrible. The wind is blowing hard. The waves are crashing on the shore. Inside, though, it is warm and cosy.

Place name game! Write down five place names that are proper nouns. Try to make each one different (e.g. city, street, country)

Alphabet challenge! Can you find a seaside noun for every letter of the alphabet?

A is for…arcade. B is for…beach. C is for…crab. D is for… Use the reverse of this sheet to see how far you can get through the alphabet!

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Programme 2 – Part two Synopsis Sophie returns to the amusement arcade at the end of the pier where the Wordplay Wizard offers her another selection of wordgames focusing on adjectives and verbs. The children join in with these games alongside Sophie. At the end Sophie is able to write effective entries for her new diary. Before the programme Continue to make available a range of dictionaries, thesauruses and any word

collections / word banks etc you may have made as a class. Encourage pupils to note conventions for indicating parts of speech (abbreviations etc) when looking up words.

Display posters / charts containing sentences in which adjectives and verbs are highlighted or colour coded.

Begin a ‘Adjective board’ or ‘Verb board’ on which pupils can write or stick unusual or interesting adjectives or which they have encountered.

Begin a class thesaurus. During the programme Be ready to pause the programme to undertake the activities suggested within it. In common with programme 1, some activities involve extracts from Sophie’s diary. These can be found on Game Card 2 on page 11 of these notes. Activity 1. Identifying adjectives in Sophie’s diary entry (see Game Card 2). Activity 2. Finding alternative adjectives which are more effective. Activity 3. Identifying verbs in Sophie’s diary entry. Activity 4. Changing the verbs in the diary entry into the past tense. Activity 5. Finding alternative verbs which are more effective. Activity 6. Creating an alphabet collection of seaside verbs. After the programme Some suggestions for activities follow which will help to consolidate pupils work on nouns. Synonyms Encourage the children to generate synonyms for high frequency words which are adjectives or verbs (e.g. big, little, run, walk etc). Write a passage containing boring, repetitious adjectives or verbs and ask pupils to substitute interesting ones. Comparative adjectives Go around the class offering an adjective to which the pupils must find a comparative adjective (e.g. ‘I’m fast…’, ‘I’m faster…’) Alphabetical adjectives (e.g. the Minister’s Cat) Go around the class asking for adjectives from A to Z which describe a particular animal or object.

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Alternative adjectives! ‘It is another frozen day. A howling wind is hurrying thick, dark clouds across the sky and hurling the nasty and cold rain into my face.’ Find alternative adjectives that mean the same, or almost the same, as the ones underlined in Sophie’s diary entry. Write them here.

Hunt the verb! ‘It is another frozen day. A howling wind is hurrying think, dark clouds across the sky and hurling the nasty and cold rain into my face. The sea and the sky are both dark grey and the wave tops are white, as the giant breakers land with thunderous crashes on the shore.’ Hunt the verbs in Sophie’s diary entry and underline each one that you find.

Verbs are wonderful words! ‘Yesterday it was another frozen day. A howling wind [ ] thick, dark clouds across the sky and [ ] the nasty and cold rain into my face. The sea and the sky [ ] both dark grey and the wave tops [ ] white as the giant breakers [ ] with the thunderous crashes on the shore.’ Fill in the missing verbs to complete Sophie’s diary entry in the past tense. Verbs with verve! ‘A howling wind is HURRYING thick, dark clouds across the sky and HURLING the nasty and cold rain into my face…The giant breakers LAND with thunderous crashes on the shore.’ Find two new verbs for each one in capitals and write them here: HURRYING 1. 2. HURLING 1. 2. LAND 1. 2.

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Unit 2: The Matter Splatter

Introduction This unit introduces pupils to a special genre of factual writing – newspapers and writing news. Writing news involves children in developing a range of writing skills: Summarising information Many pupils find this quite challenging. You can give pupils regular experience of doing this by distributing photocopied extracts from a range of texts. Ask pupils to highlight or underline the main points. The discussions that follow these exercises will help to explain or clarify any confusion. Ranking ideas in order of importance Again, as a class, you can use highlighted extracts or summarise main points from texts and ask pupils to rank these, giving reasons for their decisions. Assessing fact and opinion You can give pupils experience of this by typing/enlarging lists of statements in which facts and opinions are mixed up. The children can sort them out as a class and give reasons for their decisions. Children can also construct their own separate lists of facts and opinions on subjects such as school, favourite football team etc. Acquiring organisational as well as presentational skills The organisation of headlines, text and photographs are crucial to the creation of a powerful front page. Getting children to ‘mock up’ a front page by collaging headlines, pictures and articles from old newspapers will give them valuable experience. Programme 3: The Matter Splatter mystery Synopsis Julie Tuffer, Editor of the Daily Tough One, is trying to win the Newspaper Editor of the Year Award and is relying on the help of top crime reporter Inky McTinty and a team of new reporters (the children) to achieve this. The big story they are trying to crack is the mysterious disappearance of the Matter Splatter, a small device which can change any object into something else. At a press conference, the Matter Splatter is stolen. The only witness is the caretaker, Mr Macready. News then breaks that Frank Fromage, another top newspaper editor has been transformed into a steam iron. Before the programme Cut out and display a range of suitable news stories, provided if possible, by

the children. Include examples from tabloids and broadsheets. Leave space for labelling particular features later in the programmes.

Discuss general features of newspaper content, style and layout. Use one article to indicate common features of report writing (use of present

tense, passive voice, etc). Revise difference between fact and opinion.

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During the programme Be ready to pause the programme to undertake the activities suggested within it. Activity 1. Deciding the elements of good reporting. Ask the children, in

groups, to discuss and agree the ‘Radical Reporting Rules.’ Share these and write them on the class board/flipchart. Retain for future use. Discuss the importance of factual evidence in newspaper writing as well as the role of opinion and individual points of view.

Activity 2. Identifying key facts. Ask the children to write down three important facts from Mr Macready’s story. Compare pupils’ findings and write them on the board/flipchart. Display them for future reference.

Activity 3. Using notes to begin a news story. Working in groups, ask the children to use Inky’s notes to retrieve the most important facts in his story. Compare their findings and share with the class. You could also discuss how to liven up dull sentences by adding exciting adjectives. Ask the groups to present their openings to the class.

After the programme Word level

Revise the meaning of homophones. Point out to children that these are often used in journalism. Why is this? Can they invent any amusing homophones for captions etc.

Sentence level Investigate word order in newspaper articles and analyse reasons for this.

Text level Discuss verb tenses used in the article, using two contrasting ones for

comparison. Present children with a selection of newspaper articles. Working in groups, ask them to list facts and opinions under separate headed columns. Discuss as a class.

Working in pairs, ask pupils to jumble up 10 facts and opinions about their favourite animal. Then ask the children to swap with their partner, who must sort them out the facts from the opinions.

Cut out a ‘letter to the editor’ from the letters page of an appropriate newspaper. Explain that this where readers are given the opportunity to respond to what they have read.

Choose a topical issue of interest to pupils and in a shared writing session, draft a letter, modelling structure and features of language.

Emphasise the importance of checking facts in news stories by presenting children with a prepared article in which some of the facts and figures are implausible or incorrect. Ask pupils to identify these and share their findings with the class.

Have a whole class session on note taking skills. Explain techniques for writing clear notes (e.g. identifying key points, rephrasing, using only essential words, writing information on separate lines, using bullet points, etc).

In pairs, ask one child to select and read aloud a simple factual text while the other writes down essential information. They should then swap roles.

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Programme 4 - Inky on the case Synopsis Three top reporters return with stories about the Matter Splatter. Cookery correspondent, Buffy Cakemix reports that someone has transformed the Sunday Super One building into a giant jelly by someone in a yellow car. Jeremy Speedson, another editor, was nearly run off the road by a yellow car. Sports reporter Ace Sporty reveals how an entire football team of editors was transformed by the Matter Splatter into telephones. Then Verity Oddstuff, Frank Fromage’s secretary, reveals that the window cleaner was bogus and the windows were left open at the time Frank was ‘splattered’. Before the programme Briefly remind children of the previous episode and recap the tasks they

undertook. Display front pages of a tabloid and broadsheet newspaper and revise

common and contrasting features of layout. Ask the children to share existing knowledge of technical terms (e.g. headline,

byline, etc.) and label these on the newspapers and retain for future use. During the programme Be ready to pause the tape to undertake the activities suggested within the programme. Activity 1. Designing a new front page for The Daily Tough One. As a class,

discuss the impact of lettering in terms of size, colour and effectiveness in attracting the reader’s attention.

Activity 2. Identifying common facts from three news reports. Distribute copies of the three news stories. As a class, read through them and underline the common facts. Ask the children to comment on these. Discuss whether evidence can be linked at this stage to a particular character in the story.

Activity 3. Writing the beginning of another news story. As a class, discuss the significance of Verity Oddstuff’s information. Before pupils begin their articles, write the following headings on the board to support them in organising their story effectively: Catchy headline; Key facts; Fact and Opinion; Quotation.

After the programme Word level Use an enlarged copy of a pupil’s article and read through as a class to check

for accuracy of spellings, and effectiveness of word use. Text level Working in groups, ask pupils to design the new layout for the Daily Tough

One, revising what they have learned during the programme. Give each group a large sheet of paper. Remind them of decisions that need to be made and write these on the class board. What kind of lettering will they use for their masthead? How many photos will they use and where will they place them? What about captions? How many columns will their front page have?

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Programme 5 - The Splatterer splatted Synopsis Julie Tuffer is now the only editor to remain unchanged by the Matter Splatter. When Inky finds gerbil food in her desk, he confronts her with his suspicions and these are confirmed when she threatens to ‘splatter’ him. Fortunately, on the advice of Professor Adrian, he is able to reverse its effects, so that Tuffer herself is transformed into a typewriter. Before agreeing to ‘unsplat’ her, Inky makes her promise to undo the harm she has done. Inky then takes over as the new editor of the Daily Tough One. Before the programme Recap the story so far. Display a range of newspaper headlines. Ask pupils to comment on headline

devices, such as alliteration etc. Discuss the difference between broadsheet and tabloid headings. During the programme Be ready to pause the programme to undertake the activities suggested within it. Activity 1. Writing a series of headlines to summarise the story so far. As a

class discussion, ask pupils to consider possible conclusions to the story using the skills they have been developing. Ask them to contribute their own ideas for ‘catchy’ headlines. Working in groups, pupils should then write three headlines, perhaps for different types of newspapers. These could then be shared with the rest of the class, with pupils explaining their choice of words, word order, etc, within the context of skills learned.

Activity 2. Devising a series of probing questions to ask Tuffer. Display and remind pupils of the Radical Reporting Rules. Revise the importance of open-ended questions in interviews. Working in groups, ask pupils to devise a set of questions to ask Tuffer. Suggest that they should note down the information they want from Tuffer before structuring their questions. These should then be shared as a class. Ask them to comment on which questions are most effective and the reasons for this.

Activity 3. Writing an eyewitness account. As a class, remind pupils of what is involved in writing eyewitness accounts (e.g. consistent use of first person, inclusion of details to lend veracity to their story, etc). Remind pupils of the importance of making clear notes and summarise briefly what this involves. Encourage them to end their story on a strong note. Individual eyewitness accounts should then be shared. Encourage pupils to comment on which they think are the most effective stories and to explain their reasons for this.

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After the programme Word level Display a selection of headlines, particularly those using puns. Then select

some poems which make use of puns. Examine the similarities and discuss their significance (e.g. the oral tradition of poetry and its popularity in spreading stories and the link to our present day and the widespread readership of newspapers).

Use headlines that pupils have composed during the programme to highlight the importance of using powerful words. Ask pupils to highlight key words and to comment on their effectiveness. Can they think of better ones? Make a list of these. Photocopy and cut up a selection of headlines for groups to rearrange correctly.

Sentence level Enlarge headlines/news stories to examine the use of superlatives in these

texts. Use Posters 1 and 2 to examine word order. Text level Ask pupils to ‘hot-seat’ a character from fiction. One pupil should assume the

role of the character, whilst groups compose lists of questions for her/him to answer. As a class, analyse which questions were most effective and why.

Ask pupils to bring in news items which interest them for discussion in class. These could be pinned to the class board and a collection made to encourage further discussion.

Provide a selection of headlines and ask the pupils to predict what the news stories will be about. Choose one and write the story itself. Comparisons may then be made with the original.

Ask pupils to write an eyewitness account of a historical event connected with their current period of study.

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Unit 3: Wordwork, wordplay 2 – poetry.

Introduction The programmes in this unit adopt the same context as Unit 1 and share the same emphasis on word level activities. The main elements of poetry explored are: Rhyme The programmes off children the opportunity to identify and explore rhymes and to distinguish near rhymes. When discussing the use of rhyme in poetry it is important to emphasise that rhymes should not be forced and that sparing use of rhyme can be very powerful. Observation based on use of the senses Children are very sensitive to their physical surroundings – hence the strong appeal to the senses which characterises much of the poetry written specially for them. Exercises which involve them using one or more of their senses in order to describe their surroundings will yield highly imaginative results. The creation of a ‘senses web’ is a very useful device as part of the process of writing an effective poem. Activities involving the senses also encourage the use of rich and varied language. Both can be essential tools in the construction of a poem and involve activities which will engage the children’s interest and enthusiasm. Programme 6 – Part one Synopsis Sophie returns to the seaside amusement arcade to look for the Wordplay Wizard. She reveals that she is upset because she has left her camera behind and will not be able to take any pictures of her holiday. The Wordplay Wizard encourages her to make pictures with words in the form of poems. The use of rhyme, near rhyme and using the senses is explored through a series of interactive activities which the children can play alongside Sophie. Before the programme

Make available a collection of poetry anthologies that explore different

themes, including the sea. Display a range of simple rhyming dictionaries and model their use. Through shared reading, talk about rhyme in the context of poetry. Do

poems have to rhyme? What effects do rhymes have?

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During the programme Be ready to pause the programme to undertake the activities suggested within it.

Activity 1. Distribute copies of the poem The Seashore by John Kitching. Ask the children to underline the words which rhyme.

Activity 2. Identifying rhymes and near rhymes in the poem Hands. Explain and discuss the functions of near rhymes in the poem.

Activity 3. Generating rhymes. Working in groups, ask the children to generate as many rhymes as they can from the word ‘sky’. Groups should then share their rhymes with the class. Make a list on the class board for reference after the programme.

Activity 4. Using observation. The children write some sentences of their own using observation that could serve as the basis for a poem of their own. Briefly remind the class of the poetic devices they have learned and how these may be used most effectively in writing poetry. As a class, make a shared list of suggestions for starting points, focusing on the sense of sight. Ideas might include the playground or the park on a sunny day, the funfair or the beach.


Start a class ‘rhyming dictionary’, beginning with the rhymes children have generated during the programme. They can also add rhymes they have used in writing their own poems.

Blank out rhyming couplets and ask children to think of new ones. Sentence level

Focus on the use of alliterative phrasing in the poem. What are the reasons for its sparing use?

Read the poem together as a class. What have the children noticed about punctuation?

What effect does the lack of punctuation have on the way the poem is read? Why do the children think the poet chooses not to use any commas?

What do the children notice about the use of capitals in the poem? Compare this with use of capitals in other poems the children are familiar with and discuss possible reasons for this.

Text level Make a shared list of sensations which the children might experience with

their feet at the seaside. Use the structure of the poem as a model for the class to create their own poem about feet.

Brainstorm a list of activities in which the predominant sense involved is touch. These could include stroking a kitten or rabbit, making a snowman, picking strawberries or making a clay model. Children could then write individual or group poems using one of these, or their own ideas.

Provide a range of natural objects of varying textures as stimuli for the children to write their own poems. Encourage them to begin by making lists of appropriate words and phrases. These could be made into word mobiles for display in the classroom, alongside the objects.

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Programme 7 – Part two Synopsis Sophie returns to the end of the pier in search of the Wordplay Wizard game once more. With its assistance, she recalls what she has learned already. The machine then explains the importance of descriptive phrases in poetry, linking them with the use of senses. This is explored through a series of interactive games which the pupils play alongside Sophie. Before the programme

Display a range of poems which focus on the use of our senses. In word level work, continue regular work on rhyme, adding to the class

Rhyming Dictionary. Encourage the children to listen to and read each other’s poems and to

comment on them. Compare different readings of the same poem. Begin a ‘seaside’ senses web for display in the classroom, featuring words

and phrases from the poems in programme 6 and leaving space for more to be added.

During the programme Be ready to pause the programme to undertake the activities suggested within it.

Activity 1. Finding words to describe a stormy day. Ask the children to write down as many words as they can to describe the sound of a stormy day. Encourage them to write some which are rhyming or alliterative.

Activity 2. Filling in missing words. Distribute Game Card 3 (which can be found on page 21). Ask pupils to fill in the missing words with words of their own. Remind them of the importance of using exciting and original ones.

Activity 3. Writing descriptive sentences using observation. Ask the children to choose an object without letting anyone else know

what it is. Then they use their senses to describe it and share their descriptions with a partner who must try to identify the object. To aid their descriptions write these headings on the class board: ‘taste’, ‘smell’, ‘feel’, ‘sound’, and ‘looks like’. These may either be column headings, or organised as a ‘senses web’.

Activity 4. Creative writing. As a class, discuss places which are special to the children and brainstorm a list of words and phrases to go with each. Remind them to use the class rhyming dictionary (as well as published ones) and suggest a number of forms that their poems might take. Each line may begin in the same way, e.g. ‘My special place has…’ or ‘In my special place, I can see…’ Or they may wish to write a number of verses, each one devoted to a different sense. Completed poems could then be displayed in the classroom, or entered in the class Anthology.

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Distribute copies of the poem The cliff-top. Consider the use of alliteration. Ask pupils to underline alliterative words/phrases in the poem and discuss its effects. Pupils could write their alliterative phrases, using a dictionary. This activity also lends itself well to paired oral work, each child adding to her/his partner’s initial phrase.

Emphasise the effect of colour in building up a descriptive poem, by asking children to underline all the colour adjectives in The cliff-top. What happens to the picture in their imagination when these adjectives are deleted? Can they substitute their own colour adjectives that are as effective?

Sentence level Consider the use of internal rhyme in the poem The Shell. Ask the children

to construct new sentences with internal rhymes. Text level

Give each group of children a shell, large enough to put to their ear, and ask them to write an acrostic poem using the word ‘Shell’.

Focus on the sense of hearing. Ask pupils to listen to sounds in the classroom. In a ‘silent’ room, encourage them to listen to the small sounds they become aware of. A shared poem could be written about these, with pupils contributing individual lines.

As a class generate lists of onomatopoeic words in preparation for writing a ‘noisy’ poem. Ideas for these might include a football match, a haunted house, or the swimming pool.

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Sound search game! Write your own words below to describe the sounds on a stormy day…

Word find game! Complete the sentence by finding some suitable words to fill the gaps… At the seaside, sand feels _____________ between my toes. At the seaside, the sun feels ________________ on my skin. When I go for a swim, the water feels _________________. And when I dry myself, the towel feels ________________.

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Unit 4: A Christmas Carol

Introduction It is important that children have knowledge and experience of a wide range of literature, including stories from the past. However, historical stories can present a challenge to young children in terms of content and language use. In this unit Dickens’s A Christmas Carol is told over three programmes. The text used has been specially adapted to make it easier for children to understand, while retaining the richness of the original language. It is also recommended that extracts of the original text are shared with the children. Many children are already familiar with the story of A Christmas Carol from the film and television versions, so they can share their ideas about each by comparing and contrasting before, during and after the programmes. The presenter of the programmes – Sophie Aldred – investigates how much can be discovered about A Christmas Carol, Dickens as a writer and life in Victorian times by exploring the character of Scrooge, the settings and structure of the story. The presenter encourages mapping the progression of Scrooge’s character change through the story. Preparing to use the programmes Provide the children with some historical background to the story of A Christmas Carol:

Charles Dickens was born in 1812 and died in 1870. In 1821 Dickens’s family moved to London after his father was made

redundant. In 1824 Dickens’s father fell into debt and was sent to prison with the rest

of his family – except for Charles who was sent to work in a factory. Dickens experienced extreme poverty at this time.

Dickens’s first career was as a journalist. In 1828 he started reporting debates in the House of Commons for the Morning Chronicle.

In 1833 Dickens published his first piece of creative writing. In 1836 Dickens published the first part of The Pickwick Papers. He

married in the same year. In the following years Dickens was prolific as a novelist. A Christmas Carol

was published in 1843. Dickens’s other famous works include: Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickelby,

Martin Chuzzlewit, David Copperfield, Bleak House, Hard Times and A Tale of Two Cities.

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Programme 8: Marley’s warning The story It is late on Christmas Eve but Ebenezer Scrooge and his clerk, Bob Cratchit, are still at work. Scrooge’s nephew, Fred, enters and extends an invitation for Scrooge to come to Christmas dinner the following day and, as usual, Scrooge refuses. Later that evening Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his business partner, Jacob Marley, who has been dead for seven years. Marley warns Scrooge that ‘for his own good’ he will be haunted by three spirits. The first spirit appears as the clock strikes one… The main extracts include:

the opening paragraphs describing the setting Scrooge in his counting house with Bob Cratchit the description of Scrooge’s ‘chambers’ the visit of Jacob Marley’s ghost the arrival of the first of the three spirits

Before the programme

Recap on the information already given about Dickens and Victorian times. Ask the children if they are familiar with the story of A Christmas Carol in

any other context. Let them know that this version is true to the original and may be different from other versions that they know.

During the programme

Pause the programme to allow the children to participate in the activities and to check that they are following the story.

Ask the children what clues there have been that reveal the story is ‘historical’.

Let the children discuss the character of Scrooge and share their initial perceptions of him. Ask them to write down five adjectives to describe his character.

After the programme

Brainstorm some ideas for how Scrooge might look and how he might dress.

Discuss the cliff-hanger ending, how the author has built up the suspense and what the children think may happen next.

Word level

Look up the words ‘bleak’, ‘wheezed’ and ‘flared’ from Text Extract 1 on page 27 in a dictionary and check the children understand their meanings.

Discuss the author’s choice of vocabulary in the text extract. Ask the children to find alternative ways of describing the scene.

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Sentence level

Give pairs of children a copy of the text extract and ask them to explore adding adverbs to it, then feed their ideas back to the group.

Point out the unusual verbs used in the text extract – ‘wheezed’ and ‘flared’ etc – and ask the children to substitute their own, or more usual ways of conveying the ideas.

Text level Read Text Extract 1 with the children and discuss the atmosphere that the

author creates. How does it make the children feel? What do they expect to happen after the scene has been created in this way?

Discuss the ‘conflict’ that has been introduced in this first programme. Use the extract as an introduction to the children’s own writing. Ask them

to write about what they might do on an afternoon such as this. Ask the children to each write one word on a piece of paper to describe

Scrooge and make a ‘character on the wall’ display to share. Programme 9: Two spirits The story The Spirit of Christmas Past transports Scrooge back to his childhood. Scrooge is reminded of the tenderness he once felt for his family and of the kindness shown to him by Mr Fezziwig. Then Scrooge finds himself back in his bedroom – but his ordeal is far from over. At two o’clock the Spirit of Christmas Present appears. Scrooge is transported to the house of his clerk, Bob Cratchit, where he is struck by the poverty that Bob’s family must endure. The third and final spirit then appears and Scrooge finds himself in a graveyard. The main extracts include:

the Ghost of Christmas Past Scrooge’s childhood Fezziwig’s Christmas party the Ghost of Christmas Present the Cratchit’s Christmas dinner the arrival of the third spirit


Recap on the story so far and ensure the children know how the story ended last time.

Look at the ‘character on the wall’ created last time and discuss whether Scrooge might change.


Pause the programme to allow children to take part in the activities and to check they are following the story.

Encourage the children to listen carefully for the answers to Scrooge’s questions.

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After the programme

Ask the children to state any evidence that suggests Scrooge may be changing.

Discuss the cliff-hanger ending and what the children think may happen next.

Word level

Use the words ‘hope’ and ‘joy’ from Text Extract 2 on page 28 to make word webs (e.g. joy – joyful – enjoy – enjoyment – joyous – etc)

Pick out the words ‘sprang’ and ‘bench’ from the text extract to use as analogous spelling patterns for ‘ang’ and ‘ench’. Ask the children to make lists of further examples of this spelling pattern.

Sentence level Ask the children to identify the verbs in the text extract, testing them by

checking whether the tense can be changed. Discuss how the use of the word ‘gently’ makes a great difference to the

mood of the first sentence in the extract and how adverbs can affect meaning.

Text level In shared work make a list of the details of the setting that are included in

the text extract and discuss how each one contributes to building up the picture of Scrooge’s childhood.

Ask the children to discuss, or write about, why Scrooge as a child is crying in this scene and what link this may have with his character in later life.

Map out the main points of the story so far, using notes and arrows. Talk about how the story moves back and forward in time.

Programme 10: The last of the spirits The story The Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come shows Scrooge what will happen if he does not change his ways. Scrooge is taken to the Stock Exchange where news of his death is met with mockery and then finally Scrooge is shown his own gravestone. The spirit disappears after Scrooge declares himself a changed man. He is delighted to discover that it is still Christmas morning and is determined to share his goodwill with others. The main extracts include:

the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come and Scrooge in the graveyard Scrooge’s former colleagues in the city laughing at his demise the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come shows Scrooge his gravestone Scrooge on Christmas morning Scrooge visits his nephew for Christmas dinner.

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Look back at the story map made last time and recap on what has happened so far. How do the children think the story might end?


Pause the programme to allow the children to take part in the activities and to check that they are following the story.

Ask the children to listen for key moments which might show Scrooge changing.

After the programme

Discuss how Dickens revealed the changes in Scrooge. Set up a hot-seating activity in which Scrooge is asked about the changes

in him and what has brought them about. Word level

Indicate the ‘ed’ endings of the regular verbs in Text Extract 3 on page 29 and explain how they are formed.

Put together a bank of words that describe Scrooge before and after his transformation. Encourage the use of dictionaries and thesauruses to aid ideas.

Sentence level In a circle time game use ‘before’ and ‘after’ adverbs to describe how

Scrooge did Christmas activities (e.g. ‘Scrooge ate his dinner grumpily, then he ate his dinner gleefully’).

Ask the children to work in pairs to identify the verbs in Text Extract 3. Underline them and change them to the present tense. Discuss how this changes the ‘feel’ of the text.

Text level Discuss the children’s predictions for the story. How accurate have they

been? Does the story have a satisfactory resolution? Ask the children to plan and write a story about a rich, mean man/woman

at the present time, thinking of some modern equivalents to A Christmas Carol.

In shared writing, put together a newspaper article about the miraculous change in Scrooge. Discuss the use of language, layout, heading etc.

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Text Extract 1: A Christmas Carol Setting the scene

It was cold, bleak, biting weather. In the

street people wheezed up and down,

stamping their feet to keep warm. It

was only three o’clock in the afternoon

but it was dark already. It had been

dark all day. Candles flared in the

windows around Scrooge’s office. The

fog was so thick you could hardly see

the houses opposite – they looked like

ghosts in the shadows…

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Text extract 2: A Christmas Carol Scene of Christmas past

The ghost put out its hand and led Scrooge

gently by the arm. Scrooge found himself

passing right through his bedroom wall. Then

he was standing on an open country road,

with fields on either side. Scrooge

remembered being a boy in this place; all the

hopes and joys he’d forgotten long ago,

sprang to his mind…

And then they were in a schoolroom. On a

bench, all alone, sat a small boy – the young

Ebenezer Scrooge – the only one left when all

the others had gone home for the Christmas

holidays. The boy cried silent tears.

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Text Extract 3: A Christmas Carol

The change in Scrooge

Scrooge promised to help Bob’s family and he was

every bit as good as his word.

To Tiny Tim, who did not die, Scrooge became like

another father. In fact, he became as good a friend,

as good a boss and as good a man as anyone in the

whole world knew.

Some people laughed to see the change in him, but

he let them laugh because his own heart laughed,

and that was quite enough for him. He was never

visited by ghosts again, but it was always said of

him that he knew how to keep Christmas well.

May that be truly said of all of us. And so, as Tiny

Tim observed, God bless us, every one!

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