Overview and Outcomes:

This is a three-week Writing Root using Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers.  Children enter the classroom to find a penguin with a sign hanging around his neck saying ‘I am lost’ before being introduced to the author, Oliver Jeffers.  It would be a good idea to display a collection of his books within the classroom and book area for children to browse and to read several stories as part of Guided Reading and story time, particularly books containing the boy (Noah) from ‘Lost and Found’, e.g. ‘How to Catch a Star’, ‘Up and Down’ and ‘The Way Back Home’. Through the sequence of learning, children will write their own ‘found’ tags for other animals which turn up in the classroom, re-tell the story in their own words and write a sequence of instructions using consistent tense, detailed diagrams and numbers or words indicating chronological order. To finish, children will write their own version of a ‘lost and found’ story.

Synopsis of Text:

From the rising star of children’s picture books comes the magical tale of friendship and loneliness, a boy and a penguin. There once was a boy… and one day a penguin arrives on his doorstep. The boy decides the penguin must be lost and tries to return him. But no one seems to be missing a penguin. So the boy decides to take the penguin home himself, and they set out in his row boat on a journey to the South Pole. But when they get there, the boy discovers that maybe home wasn’t what the penguin was looking for after all.

Synopsis of Text:

This award-winning book is a beautiful tale of an unlikely friendship. It provides an enchanting space to discuss issues around friendship as well as making links to geography. There is also an animation that can accompany this book to support children’s learning. Oliver Jeffers MBE is an important, award-winning author and illustrator who children can continue to explore on their own or with their classmates.

Links and themes:

Friendship, unusual friendships, habitats, oceans, penguins, polar animals, loyalty, perseverance, geography, links to different landscapes

Date written: April 2013