Jonathan Meres learning resources
KS2 and KS3
Activities for Phenomenal!
Create your own Small Book of Big Words(KS2 Speaking and Listening, 1a. Writing, 1b. )
Ask every pupil in the class to find a word they didn’t know the meaning of before. Then, get them to look at the layout Jonathan Meres has used for the entries in Phenomenal! The entries are not always the same: here are some examples of the different bits of information given for each word in the book:
Means...
As in...
Rhymes with...
The opposite of...
Not...
If you like this word, try...
Don’t confuse with...
A bit like...
Nothing like...
From...
An anagram of...
Nothing to do with...
Your pupils can decide what information they want to include about their word.
In case you don’t want pupils to spend too much time looking for new words, here is a list of words they could look up. If a word has more than one meaning, they can pick the meaning they want to focus on:
After this, get them to produce an entry for a class Small Book of Big Words. They can pair up with other pupils to see if they can pronounce each other’s words correctly and use each other’s words in sentences.
Play a game of Call My Bluff(KS2 Spelling, 4g. KS2 Reading Strategies, 1a.)
Pupils can have great fun with this game, and it’s also a great opportunity to help them work out the meanings of words by looking at roots, prefixes and suffixes.
Divide pupils into groups, and assign each group one word. The word should be a difficult word which pupils are unlikely to know the meaning of. It also helps if the word has a prefix or suffix which offers a clue to its meaning: for instance, ‘subterranean’ has the prefix ‘sub’, which can help pupils to work out that the word refers to something which is beneath something else.
Ask each group to come up with two fictitious definitions for the word. For instance, for the word ‘carat’, they could list ‘an orange vegetable’ and ‘a small part inside a car’s engine’ as possible definitions.
After this, ask each group to present another group with the word, plus the two fictitious definitions and the actual definition. The other group should try to guess which definition is correct.
Alternatively, this activity can be done as a whole class, where all pupils try to guess the correct definition for each group’s word.
The TES website has a good resource to introduce pupils to the activity (you need to create a free account):
After this, you could consolidate the learning by asking pupils to find new words to use in Call my Bluff. They could display these words and three possible definitions around the school, inviting other classes to try and guess the correct definition.
Sciences, Languages, etc.(KS2 Reading strategies, 1b)
If you’re studying a subject which features a number of technical terms which you need pupils to remember, why not get them to write entries for these words in the same style as Phenomenal? Sciences and Technologies lessons come to mind, but you could do the same for any subject where technical terms exist – it might make a great consolidation task for homework...
You could also try using this method to consolidate new vocabulary in modern languages!
Drama/writing(KS2 Writing, 1d, 9a. KS3 Key Concepts, 1.2 c. KS3 Key Processes 2.1 k.)
You could get pupils to pick a word from Phenomenal and create a character based on that word. After this, get them to produce a short dramatic sketch featuring the character! This is a great way to focus on writing and performing skills, such as showing, not telling: how are they going to show their character’s personality through their actions, gestures, body language, etc?
They could challenge other pupils to guess which word from Phenomenal they have based their character on!
Activities for The World of Norm: May Contain Nuts
Investigating healthy eating (KS2 PSHE – Developing a healthy, safer lifestyle 3a)
Norm’s Grandpa has an allotment: you could investigate healthy foods with your pupils, looking at the kind of things that can be grown in an allotment. If you have a school vegetable garden, you could try growing different kinds of vegetables with pupils and planning meals based around the things they have grown.
Secrets(KS2 Writing, 1d, 9a. KS3 Key Concepts, 1.2 c, 1.4 c)
Norm’s dad is out of a job, but he doesn’t reveal this to Norm until later in the story. As a result, Norm completely misunderstands the pressure his dad is under. You can ask your pupils to write a story about a character who has to keep a secret from friends and family, focusing on the following areas:
- What secret problem does the character have? Is it financial?
- How does it affect other characters close to them?
- Does it stop them from doing things they want or need to do (take care of their family, throw a party for someone’s birthday, visit a relative or friend, etc.)?
- Do they choose to reveal their secret, or does someone find out?
- How is the problem solved? Does the character come up with a solution on their own, or do others help them?
Be an agony aunt/uncle(KS2 writing 1a, 1e.KS2 PSHE – Developingconfidence and responsibility 1a, Preparing to play an active role as citizens 2f)
Ask your pupils to imagine that they are an agony aunt or uncle, and that Norm has written to them explaining how unfair life is. Ask them to think how they would respond to Norm’s issues, including the house move, the problematic little brothers, his parents’ money worries, his frustration at not being able to improve his bike, and the annoying girl next door! Ask them to compose an imaginary response to Norm, suggesting how he can approach some of these problems and come to terms with others.
(Note: all curriculum links have been taken from the existing programmes of study in effect until 2014.)