KS: Lower KS2, R & KS1
Year Group: Year 2, Year 3
Literary Theme: Creation & Conservation
Author(s): Jess French and Daniel Long
This is a 12-session Literary Leaf for Lost Species by Jess French and Daniel Long which covers the full range of the content domains at KS1, as well as extending into KS2. Children start by sorting information and identifying meaning from new vocabulary. They then retrieve in order to explore how to use tables. Simple inferences are made through exploring the thoughts of scientists.
We chose this book for a literary leaf as it is a subject that we feel is very real and relevant right now. As a non-fiction text it is wonderfully accesible and has a storybook feel to it with it's size and shape.
This is a beautiful book that allows us to step into the incredible lost world of the strange and magnificent creatures that once roamed the Earth. From the ferocious Spinosaurus to the stealthily elusive Formosan Clouded Leopard, we discover how these creatures came under threat. With striking images and easily navigable information, this book illustrates perfectly how extinction is not just a part of ancient history, but is happening across the planet right now. Children will love journeying back in time to find out the reasons why these beasts of the past are no longer a feature of our skies, seas and forests.
The Journey Home (Y2 planning sequence in the Literary Curriculum) is an ideal place to teach this alongside as it fits under the theme 'Creation and Conservation' in the Literary Curriculum.