My Reading Journal by LOUISE WARD https://padlet.com/23257440/lb4jbvpdej43fwbd An ever-growing bookshelf for my future classroom en-us 2022-03-16 20:29:49 UTC 2022-05-25 15:23:31 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f4d6.png My Shadow is Pink by Scott Stuart 23257440 https://padlet.com/23257440/lb4jbvpdej43fwbd/wish/2098858225 A lovely book for KS1 and early KS2. The message is clear - never judge someone from the outiside. I would read this as a whole class and use questions like 'what would your shadows look like?' to elicit creative writing opportunities. 

Children could create poems based around what 'colour' their shadows are and why. We could create individual 'role-on-the-wall' type characters with an outside image and then 'lift the flap' elements to show hidden qualities underneath. This story presents opportunities for drama and role-play to demonstrate how the characters in the book could appear as 2 different 'people'.

]]> 2022-03-16 21:44:52 UTC https://padlet.com/23257440/lb4jbvpdej43fwbd/wish/2098858225 Fantastically Great Women who changed the World by Kate Pankhurst 23257440 https://padlet.com/23257440/lb4jbvpdej43fwbd/wish/2098859200 This beautifully structured non-fiction text allows pupils to explore some of the world's most influential women in a simplistic yet significant way. The book dedicates a double-paged spread to each of the icons including Rosa Parks, Mary Anning and Coco Chanel. With each woman comes a chronological map of their achievements and poignant quotes. It is set to inspire young girls and boys alike, due to the versatility of the women's fields - pilots, fashion designers, paleontologists, scientists and activists to name a few!
The perfect base for biography writing - this text can be unpicked through drama activities and role-play to allow children to step back into history. Diamond ranking could be used to generate book-talk and allow children the space to voice their opinions on who they feel was the most influential  to them personally. I would use this book as a recommended read for any class from Y4 upwards, but could potentially focus on one of the women in particular as a whole class read from the start of KS2.

]]> 2022-03-16 21:46:07 UTC https://padlet.com/23257440/lb4jbvpdej43fwbd/wish/2098859200 The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt 23257440 https://padlet.com/23257440/lb4jbvpdej43fwbd/wish/2098859689 This picture book is a fabulous story for any Key Stage 1 classroom. With charming illustrations and innocent humour, the tale of Duncan and his dejected crayons is the perfect starting point for introducing personification to children.
Teaching sequences surrounding this book could include persuasive letter writing or personification shape poems. 

The simple emotive vocabulary and language features that each of the 'crayons' use make it easy for children to empathise. Role-play and hot-seating would elicit meaningful, emotional vocabulary from pupils and the overall nature of this story could even leave me tempted to remove items from our own classroom. Allowing the children to come in one day and find that all of our chairs, books or rubbers had 'quit' and left us a letter of their own would surely lead to more heartfelt letters from the children in an attempt to get them back (and hopefully deeper respect for classroom equipment in the long-term!)]]> 2022-03-16 21:46:40 UTC https://padlet.com/23257440/lb4jbvpdej43fwbd/wish/2098859689 The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo 23257440 https://padlet.com/23257440/lb4jbvpdej43fwbd/wish/2098860502 During his journey, Edward Tulane encounters several new companions. All are very different, but each bring to light a new lesson for this fierce little china rabbit. By the end of the book he is barely recognizable and it is easy to forget that he was once incapable of love. 

I would use this text as a whole class read in UKS2. The depth of each of the characters creates the perfect platform for hot-seating or role-on-the-wall. Children could really unpack the thoughts and feelings of any of Edward's keepers. Sequentially, they could build on their ideas through  writing letters as Edward from each of his new homes, back to his original companion 'Abilene'.

]]> 2022-03-16 21:47:42 UTC https://padlet.com/23257440/lb4jbvpdej43fwbd/wish/2098860502 And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell 23257440 https://padlet.com/23257440/lb4jbvpdej43fwbd/wish/2098861222 Two male penguins, named Roy and Silo, and their adorable new baby, Tango, are certain to win the attention and hearts of all pupils. It is impossible not to love such a feel-good story, made all the more exciting by the fact that is it true!

Whilst the text itself is simple, the message is poignant. Cross-curricular opportunities could include research on penguins habitats and life-cycles in science, presentations in IT, exploration of family types in PSHE and story-writing opportunities in English about Tango's next adventures.
A question such as "Why is Tango so special?" could generate a whole lesson of book-talk with a lasting lesson on love.

]]> 2022-03-16 21:48:40 UTC https://padlet.com/23257440/lb4jbvpdej43fwbd/wish/2098861222 Brand New Boy by David Almond 23257440 https://padlet.com/23257440/lb4jbvpdej43fwbd/wish/2098861766
A unique tale, requiring ample imagination, best-suited to LKS2 children. The central theme is friendship, but there are various points throughout where morals are brought into question. For this reason, I would say that the best use for this text would be as a recommended read to promote book talk moving onto 'Conscience Alley'. Children could form and share their opinions surrounding 'New Life Corporation' and the idea of robot students. 

The idea of a 'brand new' pupil joining a class would also be an open platform for pupils to expand their writing. For example, they could write instructions on how to 'blend in' to the school environment and adhere to school rules or create persuasive arguments to encourage a new pupil to join/their head teacher to allow robots in!]]> 2022-03-16 21:49:23 UTC https://padlet.com/23257440/lb4jbvpdej43fwbd/wish/2098861766 The Space We're In by Katya Balen 23257440 https://padlet.com/23257440/lb4jbvpdej43fwbd/wish/2098862938
This text is a perfect example of how telling a story in 1st person can allow us to see into somebody else's mind. Frank's dialogue is heart-wrenching as he shares his journey with his little brother Max who has autism. However the story is well-balanced and comical in parts due to the child-centered views. It is likely to be relatable to most upper Key Stage 2 children (especially the way he voices his opinions on adult's minds!)

I would recommend the use of this text in Year 6 as the tragedy that unfolds with Frank and Max's mother requires a certain level of empathy to be fully appreciated.
The metaphors and descriptive language used throughout would be a great focus point for a teaching sequence based on emotive poetry or diary entries and role-on-the-wall would be a perfect book-talk starting point.


]]> 2022-03-16 21:50:43 UTC https://padlet.com/23257440/lb4jbvpdej43fwbd/wish/2098862938 The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Raúf 23257440 https://padlet.com/23257440/lb4jbvpdej43fwbd/wish/2098865792 9 year-old Ahmet wants to be accepted in his new school. However, he is also a Syrian refugee who has fled to London, with no certainty about the safety of his mother, father and baby sister. In fact, he does not even know if they are alive.
Thankfully, 9-year-old Alexa is kinder and wiser than most adults and is determined to help. 
I would recommend this book as a class novel for UKS2 as it is the perfect balance between heart-warming and heart-wrenching.

This text is ideal for generating book-talk amongst older primary pupils. Hot-seating as both 'Ahmet' and 'Alexa' would provide a window for children to ask questions surrounding refugees that they may otherwise feel uncomfortable asking.  They could even follow in Alexa's footsteps and write their own letters to the Prime Minister regarding refugee support.

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