Planning for Quality Texts: Why the Whales Came

Planning for Quality Texts: Why the Whales Came

These documents are intended to support the planning of effective literacy units based on high quality books. They are not intended to be lesson plans, but offer a menu of possible ideas for teachers to use as starting points to plan for purposeful learning and give pupils reasons for writing as well as the skills they need to write with impact on their reader. They follow a learning sequence:

a hook to fully engage and interest the children
responding to reading activities to allow immersion in and exploration of the text, including picture exploration, book and writer talk
capturing ideas activities which include drama and talk to support understanding of the text and to develop vocabulary, language and ideas for writing
possibilities for the contextualised teaching of grammar
sentence games to develop creativity, vocabulary, language and grammar
links to guided reading
a range of writing tasks which may be final unit outcomes or incidental opportunities during the unit

Specific mention is made of the writing sequence:

modelled writing - teacher models the writing process aloud and the decisions writers make about sentences, paragraphs etc to create impact on the reader. This can also include the modelling of planning and spelling strategies.
shared writing - collaborative composition with discussion and suggestions about what to write and how to write it to create the intended effect. At this point children may write a sentence/s, often in pairs, on whiteboards which are then discussed.
guided writing - small group sessions based on specific needs of a specific group of children. The session may address misconceptions, bridge gaps or extend learning and can take place at any point during the unit.

In addition, cross-curricular links are suggested, including links to challenges from the Learning Challenge Curriculum.

Possible Written Outcomes or Incidental Writing Opportunities

poems-missing sounds (based on the knowledge that the bird man is deaf)
Fact file on the Narwal whale or sea birds
Newspaper report on the incident at Bryher beach
Job advert for a preventative officer
Write a travel report on the island
Write a message in the sand to the birdman
Write a letter to Gracie to persuade her to tell her mother she has met the birdman

WRITE THE NEXT CHAPTER OF THE STORY ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THEY REACH RUSHY BAY. / Year 4
/ 1. Responding to the Text

Visual Literacy: use front cover. What might happen in this book? What clues are there?
Book talk: do you think this a non-fiction or fiction book? Give reasons.
Book talk: does the book remind of other stories?
Role on the wall for the birdman
Book talk: find the clues that show where the story is set
Visual Literacy: look at page 10. Turn the volume up: what would be heard?
Writer talk: look closely at the language that adds detail to the text and engages the reader. Find strong verbs, effective adjectives, specific nouns and similes.
Writer talk: look closely at the sentence starters. Find all the time adverbs and adverbials. How to they help the reader?

Hook

Watch video about Narwal whales

Visitor talk from Chester zoo keepers-saving wildlife
Create a coastal display area within the classroom
Make lighthouses for boats arriving in Liverpool

2. Capturing Ideas

In pairs ask the children for one to be the expert on the preventative ship and the second to be a new person on board

Find all the facts about Narwal whales from the book
Chn are asked to be a nature or a whale expert and take on the “role of the expert”.
Create a role on the wall for the birdman and add information to it as we develop our knowledge of him
Hot seating- Interview Daniel and the other characters about being on the Island and the reasons that the curse came into existence
Conscience alley- should Gracie tell her mother she has met the birdman?
Map the life cycle on to a graphic organiser
Annotate with specific, technical vocabulary
Annotate each phase with linking devices - adverbials (how, when and where), connecting adverbs
Retell the life cycle to a partner/group in scientific language in complete sentences
Research another creature or plant and note key information
Add information to life cycle graphic organiser, checking for scientific, precise vocabulary. Add linking devices to each phase
Discuss and build a word bank of descriptive language for chosen creature or plant, drawing on the features used by the writer - simile, metaphor, strong verbs, alliteration and annotate plan
Using different sentence types and starters, annotate plan with a topic sentence for each phase’s paragraph

/ Sentence Games (use throughout unit)

Simile game
Metaphor game
Alliteration game
Improve a sentence

/ 3. Contextualised Grammar Teaching

Figurative language - simile, metaphor
Use of different sentence types for impact
Developing a topic sentence to open paragraphs

Guided Reading Possibilities

Non-fiction books with water information. Focus on organisation and structure.
Water and the land- GINN Geography book
Identify and discuss features of text type.

4. Modelled Writing
Shared Writing
Guided Writing
Independent Writing
MAKING LINKS ACROSS THE CURRICULUM
Geography/Science/History
• States of matter- when does water change state?
• Habitats/endangered species / Maths
Finding 1000 more and less than- endangered species populations- organising them according to where they would be placed on a conservation scale / ICT

Make a PowerPoint or Photo Story with a voice over to present the life cycle of a creature

PSHE
• Discuss life cycles and the link to the human life
cycle and death. Could read The Gift by Carol Ann
Duffy / Useful links
WWF
Michael Morpurgo website
Art/DT

Design a lighthouse for ships arriving at the Albert Dock from the River Mersey

/
Year 4 Geography:
Why is the River Mersey so important to Runcorn?
Author: Michael Morpurgo
Publisher: Walker Books
ISBN- 978-1-4063-1202-7