KS: Lower KS2
Year Group: Year 4
Literary Theme: Rebuild & reunite
Author(s): Joanne Schwartz
Instant poem, comparisons, diary entry, section of dialogue, analysis of themes, book jacket with blurb and tagline, short report, letter of advice and narrative sequel
Narrative sequel
15 sessions, 3 weeks
Children arrive to class to find several objects/clues around the text including a postcard; a shell; a piece of charcoal; a clocking-on card. They use these to make inferences before going on to write an instant poem. After making front page predictions around the illustration and title, the children share the story and – amongst other things - write predictions, make comparisons, create a section of dialogue and create a book jacket complete with with blurb and tagline. They then plan and write a narrative sequel, drawing upon the language and structures used by the author so as to emulate the style.
Stunning illustrations by Sydney Smith, the award-winning illustrator of Footpath Flowers, show the striking contrast between a sparkling seaside day and the darkness underground where the miners dig. This beautifully understated and haunting story brings a piece of mining history to life. The ever-present ocean and inevitable pattern of life in a mining town will enthral children and move adult readers, as a young boy wakes up to the sound of the sea, visits his grandfather's grave after lunch and comes home to a cosy dinner with his family, but all the while his mind strays to his father digging for coal deep down under the sea.
Seaside, ocean, mining, coal