Teach Reading and Writing Issue 19

Carey Fluker-Hunt is a freelance writer, creative learning consultant, and founder of Cast of Thousands (castofthousands.co.uk ) www.teachwire.net | 17 9 The Day War Came BY NICOLA DAVIES, ILLUS. REBECCA COBB, WALKER BOOKS About this book When war arrives it’s an ordinary day, but soon the girl in this story is ‘ragged, bloody, all alone’, and her long search for sanctuary begins. A school in a distant, peaceful country offers the promise of a better life, but the teacher turns the girl away because there’s no spare 10 War BY JOSÉ JORGE LETRIA AND ANDRÉ LETRIA, GREYSTONE BOOKS or statements you don’t fully understand? Could there be more than one interpretation? Share your questions and thoughts in groups. • ‘War begets shadowy, iron children.’ What could this mean? Can these ‘shadowy children’ be helped? How? KEY S TAGE 2 KEY S TAGE 2 Thinking and talking • ‘If children are old enough to be bombed, they are old enough to read about it’ – Deborah Ellis. Do you think War is a children’s book? Should it be more hopeful? • Are there any illustrations About this book War takes on the brutal shape of all our fears… What is war, and how does it affect the people and places it conquers? In this picturebook for older readers, powerful poetic statements and surreal artwork in shades of grey and sepia provoke engagement and a strong response. Depicted as the shadow of a gigantic bird on ravaged land, or an onslaught of serpents, war brings misery to everything it touches, until nothing but silence exists. chair. Can the pupils help…? Nicola Davies’ lyrical text was prompted by the UK’s 2016 refusal to accept 3,000 unaccompanied child refugees, and a deep sense of outrage and injustice drives it. Powerfully illustrated, this moving picturebook will drive and inform creative projects across a wide age range. Thinking and talking • How is the girl’s distress and loneliness conveyed? • How do you think the teacher feels? Does she mean to be unkind? • Talk about symbols in this book. How are they used? Try this… n ‘A chair for me to sit on… and drive the war out of my heart...’ What makes you feel peaceful, hopeful and happy? Decorate your chairs, then sit on them while you draw or sing. Could you share your peace and hope with other children who need it? How? n Use lots of different chairs to hotseat characters you’ve invented. Why have they left home? What are they hoping for? Working from observation, draw and paint the chairs and display alongside your writing about the different characters. n ‘Pushing back the war with every step…’ Plan and take part in a fundraising walk to help children affected by war. Try this… n Who could the figure in the window be? What do they want? Why are they alone? Hotseat this forbidding character and create a backstory. Could they be defeated? How? n Work together to plan, write and illustrate PEACE , a sequel to this book. n Make masks inspired by historical war helmets like the ones in this book, or create your own designs. Wear as part of a spoken-word performance of this text. Include your own introduction and afterword. BOOKS FOR SCHOO L S