YEAR 4 READING "THE OWL WHO WAS AFRAID OF THE DARK"

THE OWL WHO WAS AFRAID OF THE DARK

At this stage, we should choose books that:

ž

  Include more complex structures and figurative language

ž  Include characterization and events which challenge pupils’ understanding of theme

ž  Include stories and poems with more sustained plots, descriptions and interactions

ž  Require a deeper response, on skills of inference and deduction

ž  Represent a range of genres 

Reasons for choice “The Owl who was afraid of the dark”

ž  The text presents a good variety of vocabulary and grammar structures, as well as dialogues and different kinds of speech

ž  The story is a good link with science, as it shows the way of life of owls

ž  The story is attractive for children at this stage 

READING TARGETS

TEXT LEVEL WORK

Pupils should be able to:

Reading comprehension

 Recognise how dialogue is presented in stories, e.g. through statements, questions and exclamations

ž  Recognise how paragraphing is used to organize dialogue

Writing composition

ž  Create word banks associated with a topic by brainstorming, word association, etc.

ž  Use reading as a model to write own passage of dialogue.

ž  Begin to write portraits of characters, using story text to describe behavior and characteristics, and present portraits in a variety of ways, e.g. as posters, labeled diagrams, letters to friends about them. 

SENTENCE LEVEL WORK

Pupils should be able to:

Grammatical awareness

Extend knowledge of verbs:

ž  Revise work from year 3

ž  Classify into regular and irregular past tenses

ž  Explore different pronunciations of –ed words.

ž  Learn and use most frequently used present and past tense verbs

ž  Use verb tenses with increasing accuracy in speaking and writing

Sentence construction and punctuation

ž  Use speech marks correctly in writing

ž  Note where commas occur in reading and discuss their functions in helping the reader

WORD LEVEL WORK

Pupils should be able to:

Spelling strategies

ž  Use word banks and dictionaries

ž  Practise new spellings by “look, say, cover, write, check” strategy

Spelling convention and rules

ž  Spell common irregular tense changes

Vocabulary extension

ž  Collect new words from reading and topics and create ways of categorizing them, e.g. personal dictionaries and glossaries. 

The following video might be useful if we want to improve children's understanding of the story:

YEAR 3 READING "THE TOWN MOUSE AND THE COUNTRY MOUSE"

Story: The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse

The reading and writing targets that we are going to work with this story are:

Text level word

Pupils should be able to:

·         Write character profiles, for example simple descriptions or posters, using key words or phrases that describe the characters in the text.

·         Understand the distinction between fact and fiction, and use the terms fact, fiction and non fiction appropriately.

Sentence level work

Pupils should be able to:

·         Explore the function of verbs:

·         Notice that sentences cannot make sense without them

·         Collect examples for their own reading

·         Be aware of verb tenses and identify present tense and past tense

Word level work

Pupils should be able to:

·         Revise the common spelling patterns for each of the long vowel phonemes.

·         Read new word for topic work.

SEQUENCE OF ACTIVITIES TO WORK WITH THE STORY

Pre-reading activities

1)      Predicting. This activity is designed to get the children interested about the story, to activate prior knowledge, to review vocabulary and to give them an opportunity to talk, sharing their opinions and ideas with their partners. The teacher will guide and encourage them to talk, asking them questions. He will use the cover and the title of the book to make predictions.

-           What can you see in the picture?

-          What are the mice wearing?

-          Who do you think is the country mouse and who is the town mouse? Why?

1)      Fast word reading game. This activity is designed specifically to review some vocabulary that appears in the story, which they may have already known.

The teacher will use some words cards, with following words:

Mice    countryside    town    cup of tea     cow    noisy    goose    cup of coffee     fire engine

The teacher will turn over a card very quickly, and the children call out the word they read. The children will have to look and listen carefully and to say the word that is on the card.

During- reading activities:

At this stage, the children may be ready to read silently or in their own, so they develop confidence and independence.  However, it is also important to check pronunciation and fluency, so the teacher will ask individual pupils to read a little aloud. For example, each pupil will read one page.

Make collections of words:  in this case, the children will read the story with the aim of look for groups of words. They will have to underline words that:

-          Have “th” at the beginning, the middle or the end of the word.

For example other, thought, things, further, than.

-          Words that finish in –ed.

For example lived, invited, walked, scared, shouted, stayed.

After underline the words, they will share their opinions with a partner, and then they will write in their own notebooks. Also, the teacher will encourage them to think of more words with these patterns, that they can add in their notebooks. 

After reading activities

1)      Substituion game.

Group work and  Independent work

The teacher will give each group of children words or sentence halves on separate cards, for example, of the following sentences:

“Once upon a time, there were two little mice”

“One day the Country Mouse invited the Town Mouse to come and stay”

“The Town Mouse thought the Country Mouse lived in a strange place”

The children, in groups, will have to make phrases using the words on these cards.

They have to make phrases that should be true ones, false ones or silly ones.

After that, they will read them to a partner. Then, they will write the phrases on their notebooks. 

1)      Description of characters

Whole group and individual work

-          The teacher will stick on the board a picture of the Country Mouse and another of the Town Mouse. 

-          The teacher will write some questions next to the pictures: what is the country mouse wearing?/ where does he live?/ is he happy?... 

-          The children will answer the questions.

-          The children will write the answers in their notebooks, organizing the information into sections, for example, what the mouse looks like/where the mouse lives/what the mouse likes to do in their free time.

-          Finally, they will have written a short description of each character, the Country Mouse and the Town Mouse. 

1)      Non fiction activity: differences and similarities between urban/rural

Group work:

-          Children will do a short research about the differences and similarities between living in the countryside or in the city.

-          The teacher will hand out each group of children a mind map to help them to organize their ideas.

-          The children will have to write some short sentences for each group.

-          The children will use a Venn diagram to write the similarities and differences between the rural and urban ways of living.

-          Finally, each group will explain their opinions to the whole group.

If we want to work more with the story, children can watch the following video, so they can find more differences between rural and urban.  

LITERACY WORK YEAR 2 "THE VERY HUNGRY CARTEPILLAR"

We have selected two books for year two:

My cat likes to hide in boxes

The very hungry cartepillar

In this case, we are going to work with "The very hungry cartepillar". If you don't have the book, you can watch the video with your learners:

REASONS FOR CHOICE “THE VERY HUNGRY CARTEPILLAR”

—  The story may be interesting for children as its character is an animal, a caterpillar. The colours and the illustrations are attractive for children.

—  The story introduces grammar structures and vocabulary (fruits, food, days of the week…) at the same time it is easy to read.

• The story is a good link to natural science (the life cycle of a caterpillar) and also with healthy food habits. 

READING TARGETS

WORD LEVEL WORK

Pupils should be able to:

—  Recognize words by common spelling patterns

—  Learn new words from reading and linked to particular topics and make collection of personal interest or significant words.

SENTENCE LEVEL WORK

—  Pupils should be able to:

—  Predict words from preceding words in sentences and investigate sorts of words that fit in sentences.

TEXT LEVEL WORK

—  Pupils should be able to:

—  Use phonological, contextual, grammatical and graphic knowledge to work out, predict and check the meanings of unfamiliar words and to make sense of what they read. 

SEQUENCE OF ACTIVITIES

These activities are designed in order to achieve the reading targets that I have selected previously.

PRE-READING ACTIVITIES

—  Make predictions.  The children will look at the cover of the book and the teacher will ask them some questions: what do you see?/do you know this animal?/do you think he is happy?/what do you think the story will be about?...

—  Vocabulary review. The teacher will use flashcards to review vocabulary about fruits and food. Then, the children will have to decide what is their favourite fruit and share their opinions to the group.

DURING-READING ACTIVITIES

—  Guided reading. Children will sit on the carpet making a circle, and the teacher will read the story aloud, using appropriate gestures and intonation.  The children will be following the story looking at the pictures. Sometimes, the teacher will stop to ask some questions about what is going to happen next, so they are involved in the story. Also, the teacher will stop to explain some difficult vocabulary.

— Independent reading. They will read the story again, now each pupil will read aloud one page of the story, so they have an opportunity to improve their spoken performance.

AFTER-READING ACTIVITIES

—  Group work. In small groups, children will have to retell the story to their partners, using their own words. With this activity we want to check general understanding of the story, at the same time it provides an opportunity to talk and exchange opinions.

—  Independent work. Children will have to create their own word banks, that they will stick on their literacy notebooks. They will have to classify the vocabulary in the story related to fruits, sweets or meat. Each word will be joined with a small picture, that they will have to colour. 

—  Colour the caterpillar. The teacher will hand out a worksheet to each children with a picture of a caterpillar, whose body is divided in five parts (from Monday to Friday). They will have to write what the caterpillar eats each day, writing a full sentence (e.g. On Monday he ate through one apple, but he was still very hungry) 

—  Fill the gaps and order the events. This activity could be done in small groups, as it is more difficult. The teacher will hand out different pictures with shows the life cycle of the caterpillar, and children will have to put it in the right order. Each picture will have a small sentence describing what it shows, which children have to fill in.

Example:

“In the light of the ________ a little ______lay on a _______”

WORKING WITH PONICS

We should start working with phonics with our students from the early beginning. Taking this into account, we can start with the following video, which helps our year 1/2 children to recognise the different sounds of each letter.

SPEAKING WITH SUPPORT: DUCK PROJECT

This is an example of project we can do with year 3/4 students to promote oral communication at the same time they are making things. It is an example of "listen and make activity", in which the teacher will give instructions in English and the children will have to make things according to the instructions. That means that we will be using the language for a real purpose, and te children will be participating actively.

In this case, we will use "The Duck song".

After singing the song, children will have to create their own duck.

Finally, they will represent te song, so they can use the language that they have learn, at the same time they are having fun and working in groups. 

In the following link you can find the instructions for the Duck's project:

Duck project

IDEAS FOR ENDING THE LESSON

As well as starting the lesson, teachers can use different ways to ending the lesson, promoting oral communicaton in our children. It depends on what our children do after the English lesson. Maybe they:

• Stay in the same room
• Go to another lesson in a different room
• Have lunch
• Go to the playground
• Go home

It would be useful to play a game, sing a song or a rhyme to end our English lesson. Also, it helps our children to follow a routine and control behaviour. 

For example, if ater English lesson our children go to have lunch, we can use the "Time to eat song":

When it’s time to eat I walk to the table.
I sit in my chair
I put my napkin on my lap
And I wait for my food.
When it comes I say “thank you”

I pick up my fork or spoon
And I eat ALL my food
One small bite at a time
I eat all my food
I stay at the table until my food is gone.

Then I take my dishes to the sink
And rinse them so they’re clean

Time to eat song