KS: Lower KS2
Year Group: Year 3
Literary Theme: Dreams & Curiosity
Author(s): Carol Ann Duffy
This is a Vocabulary Vine for The Tear Thief by Carol Ann Duffy
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 The Tear Thief.
Shared poem, diary entry, persuasive poster, letter of explanation, discussion
Newspaper Article
15 sessions, 3 weeks
This is a three-week Writing Root for The Tear Thief by Carol Ann Duffy. After exploring the idea that emotions could be matched with tears (water beads), the children read the text The Tear Thief and then explore the figurative writing within. They create a shared poem, explore different verb forms and then write a letter in role using the present perfect form. Following this, the children explore the idea that tears are shed for different reasons and that crying is an inevitable part of being human. They explore the health benefits of crying and how crying is the body’s way of dealing with intense emotions or overwhelming situations. They receive a letter from an anonymous child who feels embarrassed about crying. The children explore using a range of different grammatical forms of sentence to create an information/ persuasive poster before writing a letter, in the style of an agony aunt, to this child, giving him/her advice. Children will spend the final few sessions planning and writing a newspaper article about the mystery of the stolen tears.
Each night, in the hours between supper and bedtime, the Tear Thief carries her waterproof, silvery sack as she steals the tears of every child who cries. But what does she do with all those tears? This warm, poignant and beautifully illustrated story offers a thought-provoking message and a starting point for sharing children's emotional responses.
The Tear Thief is a charming modern fairy tale by former poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy. The story is told using rich lyrical language and brought to life with luminous illustrations by Nicoletta Ceccoli from which children can infer parts of the story. Children will be captivated by the magical concept of how we express our feelings and there are obvious links to the PSHE curriculum where children will be able to discuss their emotions and how to deal with them.
Poetry, feelings, emotions, dreams, expressing yourself
Date written: January 2017
Updated: September 2022
View The Tear Thief Writing RootA Spelling Seed is available for The Tear Thief.
This is a two-session spelling seed for the book The Tear Thief by Carol Ann Duffy. 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.
important, interest, purpose, remember, special, though/although
Possessive apostrophe with plural words
View The Tear Thief Spelling Seed
KS: Lower KS2
Year Group: Year 3
KS: Upper KS2
Year Group: Year 5
