Overview and Outcomes:

This is a 15-session Literary Leaf for Windrush Child by Benjamin Zephaniah. This Reading Leaf covers all aspects of the Key Stage 2 content domain and supports the children in their understanding of the Windrush Generation as well as addressing themes of racism. They will develop their understanding of the period and explore the issues of the day as well as any relevant vocabulary. Children will gain experience of answering a range of inference questions, focussing on impressions, character’s feelings, relationships and motivation.  

Synopsis of Text:
 

In this heart-stopping adventure, Benjamin Zephaniah shows us what it was like to be a child of the Windrush generation.  Leonard is shocked when he arrives with his mother in the port of Southampton. His father is a stranger to him, it’s cold and even the Jamaican food doesn’t taste the same as it did back home in Maroon Town. But his parents have brought him here to try to make a better life, so Leonard does his best not to complain, to make new friends, to do well at school – even when people hurt him with their words and with their fists.  But how can a boy so far from home learn to enjoy his new life when so many things count against him?

Links to Curriculum areas, other Reading Leaves and Planning Sequences:
 

This text is perfect for linking to our Writing Root for Windrush Child. It can be used alongside our Writing Root or in isolation.