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Alex Chapman

Associate Consultant

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Anthony Legon

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Purchase Book

A Writing Root for Rain Player

£5.00 (inc. VAT)

KS: Upper KS2

Year Group: Year 6

Literary Theme: Fate vs. Free Will

Author(s): David Wisniewski

Outcomes:

Instructions, poster, missing scene, diary, newspaper, debate

Main Outcome:

Analytical essay about The Maya

Length:

15 sessions, 3 weeks

Overview and Outcomes:

This is a three-week Writing Root using the fictional narrative The Rain Player as well as making reference to the non-fiction information within History in Infographics: The Maya.  The sequence of learning begins with a ball arriving in the classroom with a warning asking children if they dare to play the most dangerous game of all time!  Children go on to use this information they have learned to write instructions for pok-a-tok, posters, a missing scene, newspaper reports, conduct debates and write analytical essays.

Synopsis of Text:

The ancient Mayan belief that the future was divinely decreed and could not be changed is the basis for this original tale of a boy who must defeat the Rain God in a ball game to save his people from disaster. Mayan art and architecture were the inspiration for the spectacular cut-paper artwork.

Text Rationale:

This beautiful picture book makes direct links with the history of the Mayan civilisation as the story cleverly weaves aspects of the ancient customs and beliefs through the narrative. Children will learn about Mayan culture as it was then and the ways in which we still see influences around us today. Themes such as loyalty and bravery are also explored and colourful cut-paper artwork will engage children throughout.  

Links and Themes:

Maya, the Mayans, chocolate, Pok-a-Tok, Fair Trade, Aztecs, Incas, South America, civilisations, gods, bravery, loyalty

Date written: January 2019

A Spelling Seed is available for Rain Player.

Spelling Seed Overview:

Overview:

This is a three-session Spelling Seed for the book Rain Player by David Wisniewski.  Below is the coverage from Appendix 1 of the National Curriculum 2014.

Spelling Seeds have been designed to complement Writing Roots by providing weekly, contextualised sequences of sessions for the teaching of spelling that include open-ended investigations and opportunities to practise and apply within meaningful and purposeful contexts, linked (where relevant) to other areas of the curriculum and a suggestion of how to extend the investigation into home learning.

There is a Spelling Seed session for every week of the associated Writing Root.

Coverage:

Word List Words

according, ancient, average, dictionary, recognise, symbol

Spelling Rules and Patterns

Homophones and other words that are often confused

Words with ‘silent’ letters (i.e. letters whose presence cannot be predicted from the pronunciation of the word) 

View Rain Player Spelling Seed

Literary Leaves within the same Literary Theme

The Literacy Tree®, Literary Leaves®, Spelling Seeds®, Home Learning Branches® and #TeachThroughaText® are all Registered Trademarks of The Literacy Tree Ltd.
The Literacy Tree CS.301, Clerkenwell Workshops, 27/31 Clerkenwell Close, London, EC1R 0AT | Company Registered no: 07951913
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