KS: R & KS1
Year Group: Year 1
Literary Theme: Heroic deeds
Author(s): Nadia Shireen
This is a Vocabulary Vine for Billy and the Beast by Nadia Shireen
A Vocabulary Vine is designed to be a sister resource to a Writing Root and Spelling Seed. It sits within our wider Teach Through a Text approach by explicitly identifying vocabulary from the book and providing additional opportunities for paired, small group and whole class experimentation with this vocabulary in context. Vocabulary Vines further complement spelling development too through exploration of the morphology (word structure) and etymology (origins) of words. They also provide oracy opportunities through a focus on talk tasks and on oral sentence construction. They are designed for short burst oral and vocabulary development.
A Writing Root is available for Billy and the Beast.
Wanted poster, summary, email, character description, recipe
Own version ‘defeat a monster’ narrative
15 sessions, 3 weeks
This is a three-week Writing Root using Billy and the Beast by Nadia Shireen in which children create their own version of the Billy character and use them to defeat a terrible beast intent upon boiling up animals into a terrible feast. During the sequence, they write a ‘day in the life of’ in the form of a summary, emails to give advice, recipes and then create their own version of a Billy and the Beast story.
While out on a lovely walk in the woods, Billy and her trusty sidekick Fatcat hear a terrible rumble... a terrible rumble coming from a Terrible Beast!
He's making a Terrible Soup out of all of Billy and Fatcat's friends!
Luckily, our brave heroine Billy has a trick or two up her sleeve (or in her hair)... Join quick-thinking Billy on her mission to defeat the Terrible Beast (and save those adorable little bunny rabbits too).
This is the first text in a series that follows the adventures of Billy and her trusted sidekick Fat Cat. Billy is a brilliant role model who always meets and overcomes various challenges (encounters with beasts, dragons and pirates) through her problem-solving and quick-thinking. Nadia Shireen is a significant, award-winning author and illustrator.
Superheroes, heroes, friends, friendship, overcoming challenges, strong female role models, positive body image.
Date written: July 2018
View Billy and the Beast Writing Root
