Overview and Outcomes:

This is a three-week Writing Root for Escape from Pompeii by Christina Balit.  Children begin by exploring a range of artefacts to try to determine the events that have taken place.  They move on to re-enacting an everyday scene from the city of Pompeii before writing a setting description.  Children will explore the main characters, including how their feelings change through the story, and will write letters of advice to help save them from the eruption. Through collecting banks of powerful vocabulary, children will write a vivid description of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.  In the final part of the sequence of learning, children will become journalists and write a newspaper article to report on the eruption, including quotes from survivors in the town. Teachers may wish to run this Writing Root alongside learning on Volcanoes or The Romans.

Synopsis of Text:

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 meant death for most of the Roman citizens living in Pompeii. But some people must have survived, and Christina Balit has used this as the starting-point for her story. It tells of Tranio, an actor's son, and his friend Livia, the baker's daughter, who witness the destruction of their beloved city.

Text Rationale:

This text engages children with the genre of historical fiction and links with topics of ancient Rome and natural disasters.  Set against the backdrop of the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79, it helps bring the topic to life and provides children with a rich background knowledge of a significant historical period.  

Links and themes:

Volcanoes, Ancient Rome, disasters, Pompeii, friendship, loyalty, survival

Date written: October 2016            Updated: September 2022