Teach Primary Issue 19.5

T E ACH RE AD I NG & WR I T I NG Rachna Joshi is a teacher, writer, keynote speaker and consultant. interesting character to unpick. Opportunities for developing children’s social, emotional, physical and moral understanding through stories can hugely impact learning and how they see themselves within their wider world. Book recs There are some stories that have such simple rhythmic storylines and beautiful illustrations, that children and adults alike just need to be immersed in them! The following books (all shortlisted for the Klaus Fluuge Prize) offer up a wealth of possibilities: The Café at the Edge of the Woods by Mikey Please offers fantastical food where one thing stands for another. Why not try setting up a café for children to ‘cook’ and design a menu to recreate what Rene and Glumfoot do in the story? Can the children make battered mice, slugs in goo, or maggot fondue? I know children in my class who would absolutely love that! Grandad’s Star offers a discussion around memories and grandparents. Research has shown that intergenerational learning can widen children’s experiences around their own wellbeing, understanding of themselves and the wider world. It’s definitely worth getting in touch with a local elderly care home where children can share stories and songs, and live out the real-life Grandad’s Star . This will be especially beneficial for those who don’t have elderly relatives. And if that’s too far-fetched, ask grandparents to volunteer on Friday afternoons to join in with songs and stories with the children. My Hair is as Long as a River opens up imaginative worlds and immerses us in the illustrations that feel like they flow across the pages. With some younger children, the complexity of imagination can be challenging. I have worked with pupils who are still at the literal stage, sometimes struggling with songs that ask for fingers to ‘be’ something else – with them very promptly telling me, “That’s a finger not a bird”. These illustrations enable children to see hair has something else – a garden, thunder clouds, a rope – thereby opening up this new viewpoint for them. Having some time with the stories you are choosing really helps to ensure that you’ve thought about everything you can relate back to the children’s lives. When things link to pupils’ own firsthand experiences, the connections they have with the text will be much deeper, and they’re more likely to develop a love for reading and be completely engrossed in stories. I remember being fascinated by Pass the Jam , Jim , particularly with the character Dot, who had a long plait and brown skin just like my own. I loved the endpapers, which had pictures of food from the party and sticky jam marks all over. I would stare at the book for hours, examining the pictures, completely immersed. That kind of attention is exactly what we dream of for our pupils. TP 9 questions to bring a book to life 1 Who are they key characters? What’s interesting about them? 2 Where is the story set? Can children visit this themselves? 3 Are there any links to children’s own experiences and lives? 4 Do the illustrations tell the story, or change the story? How so? 5 Is there a diverse cast of characters? 6 How might the story link to learning experiences for children? 7 Does the story offer ‘mirrors, windows or sliding glass doors’ for children to step into a new world? 8 How might you tell the story for the first time? Will you tell the whole story, or stop at a certain point? 9 What questions will you ask at certain points of the story? To add a dash of drama... Wrap up the book before you read it, and unwrap it with the children – SUCH excitement. Use technology to remove text and focus on certain illustrations, eliciting ideas from the children about what the book might be about (before you’ve even read it). Use hooks such as simple drama or music, an object or a prop, toy or puppet related to the story to make it come alive. “A good quality text will offer a multitude of pathways” klausfluggeprize.co.uk Illustration: Grandad’s Star , ©Rhian Stone www.teachwire.net | 63