KS: Lower KS2
Year Group: Year 3
Literary Theme: Hope & Healing
Author(s): Michael Morpurgo
This is a three-session spelling seed for the book The Pied Piper of Hamelin by Michael Morpurgo. 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.
answer, certain, difficult, height, notice, possess(ion), reign
Words with the /ʃ/ sound spelt ch (mostly French in origin)
Words with the /eɪ/ sound spelt ei, eigh, or ey
A Writing Root is available for The Pied Piper of Hamelin.
Writing in role, information reports, adverts, formal letters
Own version myth/legend
15 sessions, 3 weeks
A useful starting point for this Writing Root would be to review what children already know about traditional tales and myths. The Root begins with reading a range of myths, legends, fables and traditional tales, where children identify and discuss common themes, for example good over evil, wise over foolish, etc. The class then look at the Pied Piper of Hamelin and sequence the key events using a storyboard and describe the key characters, with reference to the text. Children prepare reports on rats in response to a request from the mayor. Using a familiar story theme, children plan and write own stories in style of myth/legend/fable, etc.
In the town of Hamelin, the rich and greedy live like kings and queens while the poor and sick scavenge rubbish tips for scraps. A lame orphan boy tells the classic tale of how a plague of rats takes over the town and how a fantastic piper offers to rid Hamelin of its rats for a single gold coin, then lures away the town’s children when the greedy mayor breaks his word. Masterfully weaving contemporary social and environmental themes into a gripping tale, and celebrating it with breath-taking illustrations, former British Children’s Laureate Michael Morpurgo and illustrator Emma Chichester Clark team up to create a compelling new take on this timeless story.
We chose the Michael Morpurgo version of this folklore classic for the richness of the language which brings this classic historical tale to life. Children will be able to expand their knowledge of one of Britain’s most celebrated children’s authors. Covering social and environmental themes, the story creates links with the PSHE and geography curriculums and will provide a platform for discussions around fairness, equality and the consequences of our actions.
Germany, legends, rats, justice, fairness, equity
Date written: April 2014 Updated: December 2021
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