UEL Primary PGCE 2014-2015 discussion
P8 on-programme reviews
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Cloud Tea MonkeysThis is a beautifully illustrated story of a young girl who sets out to help her mother earn money so they can afford a doctor.
Tashi visits the tea plantation every day with her mother, but one day her mother falls ill and is unable to work. Without work there would be no money for food or a doctor. Tashi decides that she will go to the plantation and work so that they will get paid. The overseer laughs at Tashi as she is too short to reach the shoots.
Something extraordinary happens meaning Tashi's basket is full of the finest tea leaves... This pleases the Royal tea taster, who gives Tashi enough money so see can send for a doctor.
Cloud Tea Monkeys could be used as resource in any year group and would make a fantastic stimulus for cross curricular topic, including Art, history, geography and PE
The Whale's Song by Dyan SheldonA beautifully illustrated story about a little girl called Lilly whose grandmother tells her a tale about whales. Lilly becomes enchanted by the whales and dreams about them at night. The story is full of beautiful metaphors and similes. I used this with a year 4 class to teach them about similes and come up with their own.
Love this gentle book 5 out of 5
Mr StinkThe book centres on a young lonely girl called Chloe and a tramp that she befriends called "Mr Stink." When Chloe's mother tries to become a local politician she outlaws all tramps. So Chloe decides to hide Mr Stink in the garden shed! It is heart warming and fantastically funny tale of family, friends and an introduction to politics
I loved this book, very reminiscent of Roald Dahl. It is also illustrated by Quentin Blake and compliments the descriptions of the characters wonderfully. The story itself covers a wide range of issues from bullying, unemployment, family and politics with a funny twist.
The book is aimed at 9 years and over. You could read this to a class as it has so much humour and keeps you guessing of the real identity of Mr Stink. This could also be a good book for independent readers.
You're a Bad Man, Mr. Gum!This hilarious book in a series of tales about a grumpy old man Mr Gum. This book as absolutely bonkers with many characters and sub-stories I don't know where to begin! Mr Gum lives in a filthy house but has a pristine garden thanks to a fairy that lives in his bathroom and hits him over the head with a frying pan if he doesn't keep the garden neat and tidy! The main story focuses on Jake the dog and how the horrible Mr Gum keeps trying to poison poor jake. But a girl called Polly and an old friendly man that lives in the wood called Friday O'Leary will try and stop him. Between the two of them they save Jake.
I liked this book as it was completely absurd. I read it to my year 2 class and they loved it and couldn't stop laughing. Although an advanced reader could read it to themselves.
The Greedy RainbowThis lovely and sweet tale is about a little monkey that sees a beautiful rainbow and wants to take it to show all his friends in the forest. But the greedy rainbow starts to take all the colours out of the rainforest and leaves it grey. However after the monkey tells him off for taking all the colours the rainbow realises what he has done and gives the colours back by crying tears of colour.
This is a great book to read to EYFS. It reinforces colours of the rainbow and also teaches about sharing. There is a next step page at the back of the book to look at extension tasks for teachers and parents based on the book and its message
JourneyThis is purely a picture book, that is exquisitely illustrated. A little girl draws a magic door on her bedroom wall and escapes on an extraordinary journey of magic and adventure. Each adventure is illustrated over two pages.
I think there is lots of ways to use this in the classroom with a range of ages. For younger ones they can increase vocabulary by describing the scenes, for older children they can create their own adventure using words as well as pictures. Great for imagination
Pig-Heart BoyAbsolutely love Malorie Blackman and she doesn't let me down with this book. Hard hitting and powerful story about a young teenage boy, Cameron, and his heart condition. He just wants to be normal but his heart condition and a failed heart transplant have left him with the realisation that he might die. The only way to save him, a controversial new treatment of a heart transplant but with the heart of a pig. Its a tough decision which puts a strain on the whole family and the angst as he makes this life changing decision.
Its superbly written and looks at all angles of the argument of transplant from a pigs heart. This is great book to read to upper KS2 children as it opens up a lot of debate. Children will disagree and have different views on the story. It is also suitable for independent readers.
The Spy who loved School DinnersThis funny, lost in translation, book centres around Izzy. She is very excited when she is put in charge of showing a new French student around the school. She tries her best to befriend her but Mathilde doesn't want to be her friend. So Izzy and her friends become convinced she is a spy and try everything to uncover the mysterious new girl.
When they find out she is just upset at moving to England and wants to go back to her friends in France, they then come up with some interesting plans to get her back there. Which ultimately gets them in trouble!
This book is aimed at 5-8 year olds. I read it to my year 2's and they enjoyed it as every chapter left them in suspense. This would also be a good book for parents to read with their children at home. I don't think older children would enjoy this book. Its definitely aimed at key stage 1 lower key stage 2
Little Mouse's Big Book of FearsWonderful and creative book of phobias. Little Mouse has a lot of fears and each page is dedicated to a different phobia. Little mouse explains why he is fearful. It allows children to write on the book of what they are fearful of.
Its a good one for home as you can write and draw on it. However you could also use this in the classroom to allow children to express their fears maybe in circle time or written activity in English. This would be for KS1 and lower KS2.
The TwitsClassic you really can't go wrong with this book. Book about the absolutely disgusting antics of Mr and Mrs Twit. Its disgusting, grimy and imaginatively written in Roald Dahl's unique way. Lots of made up words and the caged monkeys that want to take their revenge.
This is a brilliant book for independent readers and to read to the children. This could span the whole of primary school, with lots of urgh they're disgusting.
Heaven by Nicholas AllanThis is a sad story about what heaven means to a little girl called Lily and her dog's idea of heaven. Think this is great way for young children to deal with death, although this is aimed at the death of a pet I feel this could help with death of a close family member too.
This is a good book to read at home but could also be used in the classroom for children who are upset about losing a pet. They can imagine the wonderful things that their pets are getting up to in heaven. I understand that heaven is a concept that some people don't believe in but still think this is a great way for children to cope with loss.
A Monster CallsThis is a very dark and hard hitting book about a young boy called Connor who is visited by a rather vicious monster every night. He has started seeing this monster since his mother has started treatment for cancer. His dad has moved to America and started a new family so Connor feels quite alone. This book is terrifying as the description leaves you with a vivid picture of the darkness and evilness of the monster that Connor sees. His isolation, loneliness and despair.
It deals with hard hitting issues and would be for upper KS2 only. Even the front cover is dark with a picture of the monster overshadowing the house. You could read this in class and there could be some literacy activities to do based on the book. They can come up with their own monster, or what they think happens next.
Mouse Bird Snake WolfIn a world of lazy Gods, three children decide to create some animals to fill in the gaps in the world that the Gods have left blank. However their creation has some quite devastating consequences!
This is a graphic novel that we have used in class with year 4. The children have loved it and we have been able to create many lessons out of this book. In using creation the children can get imaginative with creations of their own. However I found the end of the book rather disappointing and unimaginative where the children wake up and don't realise whats happened! Its a shame as the rest of the book is illustrated and written well with suspense and mystery throughout. This is the first time i have read a graphic novel and would definitely look at this genre for using with teaching and learning.
Brown Rabbit in the CityBrown Rabbit goes on a trip to the city for the first time to visit his friend Little Rabbit. While in the city they rush from place to place. Little Rabbit appears to have no time for her friend as they wizz round the city.
While at a party Brown Rabbit disappears. Little Rabbit is so worried, she chases all over the city looking for her friend.
When she finds her friend, Little Rabbit apologises, and explains that she just wanted Brown Rabbit to see all the wonderful things in the city. Brown Rabbit responds by saying 'But I came to see you not the city.'
The two rabbits spend the rest of there time together in the park dancing and playing music.
This story would be suitable for reception/Year 1. Lovely story about friendship and not taking your friends for granted.
Wonderful pictures that the children can engage in, and predict what might happen next.
A Child's Treasury of Nursery RhymesThis is a wonderful collection of children's nursery rhymes. There are four sections within the book, starting with 'Welcome, little baby.' There isn't just the traditional English nursery rhymes, it also includes French ones such as Frere Jacques.
This collection could be used in any age group. It could be used in both English and Language lessons.
Helpful contents and index to help find the individual rhyme you want.
Brother Eagle, Sister Sky: A Message from Chief SeattleThis beautifully illustrated book tell the story of Chief Seattle who nearly 150 years ago gave a message to the white settlers in America. He communicates the importance of caring for the land around them, and that we are all linked into the earth and the sky.
This would be a good book to use in year 3 upwards. Especially in the natural world topic. The illustrations show how we are slowly destroying the natural world around us. It could also be an excellent story to use in History and P4C.
ElmerElmer is an excellent book to use in all year groups
Elmer doesn't like the fact that he is different from all the other elephants, he thinks they laugh at him because he is brightly coloured instead of being elephant coloured. One day he sneaks out while the other elephants sleep. He finds a bush of berries that are elephant coloured, so he shakes the tree and covers himself in berries. None of the animals in the jungle or the other elephants notice that it is Elmer - exactly what he wanted. However, Elmer begins to realise that no one is laughing or having a good time, they are all being very serious. He decides to play a trick to scare the other elephants. At that moment it begins to rain and Elmer's true colours are revealed.
The elephants decide to celebrate Elmer one day every year. They decorate themselves in bright colours and Elmer becomes elephant coloured.
Elmer could be used in RE, P4C and English. It raises the issues of race, diversity and inclusion.
Cave BabyA cheeky cave baby gets himself into trouble because he is bored and his parents are too busy to spend time with him.
One night a big mammoth takes cave baby to his own cave. Cave baby is given paints and paint brushes. Mammoth asks cave baby to decorate the cave. Cave baby decorates the walls with blue hares and pink stripy tigers. Once finished Big mammoth returns Cave baby to his own cave where he dreams of all the brightly coloured animals.
Emily Gravett's illustrations draw the reader into the story. Without the words, children would be able to make up their own words to the story.
Book review-Michael Rosen poetry collection:A fabulous collection of poetry ranging covering a wide variety of issues, such as gender stereotypes (once), to environmentalism (plastic bag tree) and the power of language (words are ours). These poems are suitable for key stage 1 and are suitable for studying poetry and also for role play. The language is accessible for SEN and EAL pupils as it is not complex. I would advise using Michael Rosen to introduce year 3 children to poetry
Cloud tea monkeys is a captivating book with gorgeous illustrations, perfect for lower key stage 2. This book,based in India,can be used to look at the lives of children across the world and can also encourage discussions about fair trade. Role play could be used to highlight the tiring nature of the labour and the enchantment of meeting the monkeys.
Cloud tea monkeys is a captivating book with gorgeous illustrations, perfect for lower key stage 2. This book,based in India,can be used to look at the lives of children across the world and can also encourage discussions about fair trade. Role play could be used to highlight the tiring nature of the labour and the enchantment of meeting the monkeys.
The twits by Roald Dahl was recently used on placement as the class book. The year 3 children were highly engaged with the story, often asking when they would be reading it next.the twits is a good book for developing comprehension skills and empathy as it does not explicitly say how characters are feeling: I.e the reader must find clues in the text. The humorous and over the top nature of the book lends itself to roleplay or to ask the children to read it with expression.
Art Spiegelman's Maus is a hard hitting account of Spiegelman's father's survival as a Jew in Nazi occupied Poland. By depicting the characters as animals (with Jews as mice and Germans as cats), it allows children to access the important yet distressing material. The artwork is seldom gratuitous, save for one notable panel that reveals hundreds of corpses, and the use of flashback as a framing device ensures that the children remember this is an historical account. The use of the graphic novel medium could enable children to express their feelings on the holocaust through art in a similar way. I would recommend this for an upper ks2 art lesson if world war 2/the holocaust was being studied in history.
Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz is a great book to teach ks2 children how to write an adventure story. The language is accessible yet successful at building up tension. I have recently used extracts from this book to model describing the main character and creating suspense. The straightforward nature of the plot, about a teenage spy, makes it easy to show extracts from different stages in the book. This is a good book for English lessons and as a reading book for children who enjoy thrillers
The queens nose by Dick King Smith is a simple yet effective book, suitable for lower ks1 (and possibly year 2) PSHE lessons. Harmony is an imaginative young girl who views the members of her family as different animals. When she gets a magic 50p coin, she finds her wishes can come true. This can be used for a series of PSHE lessons on choice: did she make the right choice with this wish, how could she have done it differently? The book starts with Harmony using her coin for selfish reasons, but then she starts to learn the value and importance of family. Again this is a good stimulus for PSHE study. furthermore the set up of a coin that grants wishes could be used in literacy to generate original writing from lower ks2 pupils
UEL Primary PGCE 2014-2015
Books mentioned in this topic
Cave Baby (other topics)Elmer (other topics)
Brother Eagle, Sister Sky: A Message from Chief Seattle (other topics)
A Child's Treasury of Nursery Rhymes (other topics)
Brown Rabbit in the City (other topics)
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A fantastic read for children in upper KS2. This book can be used to create many cross curricular links with Geography, Art, History, R.E and many other subjects.
The author of the book is trying to give the reader an insight of how life is lived across the other side of the world. The book has some great illustrations to give the reader a visual prompt and create a more in depth understanding of the authors message.