Primary Showcase

This LTE lesson is structured over 2 lessons and explore Anthony Browne’s “Voices in the Park”. In the first lesson pupils develop their understanding of narrative perspective through the LTE reasoning pattern of Frames of Reference. In lesson one pupils study the different narrative accounts developing understanding of characterisation and plot.

In lesson two, narrative sequencing is developed as pupils consider the sequencing of the different voices and its impact on the reader. Pupils also consider how our understanding of the characters and events are influenced by the accompanying illustrations.

You can learn more about how the lessons unfold in the classroom here:

Voices in the Park: Starting a year of LTE teaching and reflection

Ripples of reading in LTE: Voices Lesson Two

A pupil considers an alternative front cover for the book and explains their choices.

This Let’s Think in English lesson explores narrative sequencing through a short film called The Maker. Pupils listen to the soundtrack and consider how changes of mood are suggested by the music. They then move onto considering how narrative may be structured around 5 stages: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution. Pupils apply the story mountain structure to the film before reviewing which shape best suits the narrative structure of the film . They then consider who the title of the film refers to and why the action is repeated.

You can read more about experiences teaching the lesson here:
Narrative Shapes. Lesson Six: “The Maker”

A Year 6 pupil’s instructions on how to make a creature.

An example from the cognitive conflict stage of the LTE lessons as pupils consider different models for the narrative structure of the film. They are considering which shape best represents the narrative sequence of the film and where the different stages of a story may lie on that shape: exposition, build up, resolution, climax.

In this Let’s Think in English lesson pupils develop their understanding of symbolism while studying Shel Silverstein’s story “The Giving Tree”. Pupils consider the representation of the tree and the boy in the story as well as the possible message of the text.

After studying the text in the Let’s Think in English lesson pupils are encouraged to consider alternative endings. Here is an example from a Year 5 pupil of an alternative ending for “The Giving Tree”.

In this video Year 5 pupils from the British International School in Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam, are enjoying their first Let’s Think in English lesson. Pupil feedback steers the lesson towards a consideration of the dilemma/problem in the story and when it arises.

This transcript [Word document] gives an insight insight into how a group’s understanding of the text evolves during the opening of the story. Note how awareness of the symbolic aspects of the story start to emerge in the discussions between three Year 6 pupils from an Islington school. This awareness of symbolism is developed further as they continue to read the story and share their thoughts throughout the lesson.

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In this Let’s Think in English lesson pupils  consider the intentions of E. E Cummings and the consequence of his poetic choices on us as readers. They analyse Cummings’ poem l)a and consider why the poet chose the poetic structure. Pupils experiment with the structure of another Cummings’ poem in order to consider the poet’s style.

Towards the end of the lesson pupils are given the text from a different Cummings’ poem and asked to consider what structure the poet might adopt in the light of studying I)a.

Here a Year 6 pupil in an Islington school identifies line breaks as important in I)a and deploy them with the new text.

Here a Year 6 pupil in an Islington school makes their first attempt at mimicking the style of I)a with the new text.

In this example a Year 6 pupil in an Islington school, focus on the reader and seek to provide different ways to read the text. This was a feature in I)a they identified.

Example from a Year 5 class in Norfolk where pupils created their own poems in the style of Cummings’ l)a.

This lesson focuses on a Norwegian folk “Halvar and the Trolls”. Pupils discuss and consider what makes a stories or a specific story interesting/exciting. This leads into a consideration of the sparsity of the text and how it could be developed by adding literary devices and where they might be best deployed.

Here is an example of a pupil’s redraft of the folktale after the LTE lesson. Following a lesson of discussion, pupils in a Greenwich school, were invited to reimagine the folk tale adding more detail to the sparse descriptions found in the original text.

This lesson Let’s Think in English develops pupils understanding of symbolism through “Little blue and little yellow” by Leo Lionni. Pupils examine the front cover of the book before considering the characterisation of the colours and what this might suggest. Pupils are encouraged to recognise the story has a symbolic/metaphorical reading and to consider how they come to understand this.

After studying Blue Yellow pupils consider what meaning the book which appears to about two colours has for us. Here a Year 4 pupil in Islington provides their response.

An Islington Year 3 pupil after the LTE lesson creates an additional page for the story.

This Let’s Think in English lesson develops pupils understanding of authorial intentions and their consequences on us as a reader through “The Wall in the Middle of the Book” by Jon Agee. Pupils consider why the wall was built and the claims of the knight that it is a good thing and that one side is safer than the other. Pupils are supported to clarify the difference between plot and author message before summarising what they believe the message to be. Pupils are placed in the role of the illustrator and consider alternatives to the ogre and animals and how changes might alter the message of the book.

A Year 2 pupil in an Islington school, reconsiders the idea of exclusion beyond the wall and transfers the context to real life. Here they consider how a metaphorical wall divides those who pollute and those who recycle.

Another Year 2 pupil in an Islington school, sees the wall as representing inequality. In this instance, inequality to the disabled.

Here a group of Year 2 pupils in an Islington school, consider what the characters might be saying in different stages of the story.

A group of Year 2 pupils in an Islington school make early predictions based on observations.

A pupil links the wall to current affairs.

This Let’s Think in English lesson develops pupils’ understanding of symbolism through an animated film called: “The Clocktower” by Cara Antonelli. Pupils consider how the girl is feeling in the opening of the film before exploring the symbolism of the film by discussing why the world turns grey and the music suddenly stops and what the girl might do with the balloon. This leads to a consideration of the character’s happiness before the class considers the concept of sacrifice.

This is a transcript [Word document] from a Year 1 lesson in a Greenwich school when pupils are enjoying a whole class discussion. After discussing in groups they are sharing their thoughts on whether or not the girl will remain happy when she returns to the tower.

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