A Writing Root for Annie Lumsden, the Girl from the Sea

Overview and Outcomes:

This is a 15-session Literary Leaf for Annie Lumsden, the Girl from the Sea by David Almond, covering all aspects of the Key Stage 2 content domain. Children will explore Annie's watery world and follow the characters on their journey of discovery, beginnings and belonging.  Along the way they will analyse the motivations for the characters' decisions and track how their behaviour changes over time.  Children will study the language choices made by the author, make predictions, explain their impressions and summarise the story by writing imagined chapter headings.  There are also opportunities to study the work of illustrator Beatrice Alemagna and write book reviews so that children can share their thoughts about the story with others.

Synopsis of Text:

This beautifully written and illustrated story tells the tale of Annie Lumsden and her artistic Mam who live in a shack by the fictional Stupor Bay in the north of England. Annie struggles socially and academically at school and is asked to change to a school far from home in the city. Soon afterward, she suffers from mysterious falls and episodes which the doctors can’t understand. During these falls, she finds herself transported to underwater worlds ‘of coral and shells and beautifully coloured fish’. Annie is content living with her mother by the sea but is also intrigued by her dreams and thinks these might be a clue to her origins and the mystery of her identity. 

Links:

Beginning, family, belonging, sea