As a child, I remember listening with baited breath as our headteacher read Friend or Foealoud in assembly. He was sure to always stop on a cliffhanger so we’d have to wait a whole week to find out what happened next. This was a fiction book and my favourite character is the whale because he risks his life to tell an important message to help other whales. This text can provide a great model for first-person writing. Children can invent new adventures for Pinocchio or retell another familiar story with themselves in the role of the protagonist. Times of war Friend or Foe This BBC radio play of the story is free to listen to, which makes this a valuable text for comparing play scripts and prose, and how the same story can be told in different ways.

Resources to lead a whole-staff demonstration on how to use a high-quality text with engaging oracy techniques and activities to develop and deepen reading comprehension. Ideas include writing a persuasive letter from the main character’s perspective in boarding school, a survival guide for lions and a plot outline for the novel. This 1-day workshop explores language as a tool to develop thinking, training secondary teachers to develop oracy in the classroom. I thought the best thing I could do was to just keep talking. I couldn’t think what else to do. For a moment or two I didn’t know what else to say, and anyway I suddenly felt a bit stupid talking to him…” This book is another masterpiece written by Michael Morpurgo. Beautifully written and illustrated. Based on a real life event about a whale visiting the Thames in 2006. This book is a great read with a beautiful story that makes people think creatively.Helped by his new friends, Omar becomes Son of Gulliver – a role that requires him to develop peacemaking abilities. While listening to the story, groups of children could be given different topics from the books to research: the Camargue, the occupation of France during WWII, flamingos, carousels. Introduce the story: Asking children how they would feel if they suddenly saw a whale swimming in a river. Would they believe it was true? Retelling the same scene from the perspectives of both Michael (the stranded boy) and Kensuke (the inhabitant of the island) can help children to explore how different characters see the same situation. Explore how this can be communicated by a skilful writer. Running Wild

Pupils could try to write their own story-within-a-story, based on another myth or legend they know. Pinocchio by Pinocchio Where My Wellies Take Me, by Michael and Clare Morpurgo, uses 40 evocative poems to celebrate the wonder of childhood, germinating a love of verse that will stay with pupils for many years to come. We have teamed up with Voice 21 to create a project to prepare pupils for their transition to secondary school and the next chapter of their educational journey. Pupils heading to Year 7 need growing confidence, strong language skills and the ability to express themselves, to develop their thinking skills and to communicate effectively. Wow. This is a really beautiful, touching, and sad book that really gets you thinking. It was beautifully written and the story was amazing. It has a really good moral, also. I loved reading this. Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2020-06-19 05:01:42 Associated-names Birmingham, Christian Boxid IA1847124 Camera Sony Alpha-A6300 (Control) Collection_set printdisabled External-identifierThis year, the theme is horses. This is to celebrate 40 years of the Morpurgo’s modern classic, War Horse. Use this month to introduce pupils to this beautiful tale. A boy takes a regular walk down to the Thames - and one morning he sees a whale in the river. To his immense surprise, the whale starts to speak to him. Inspire KS2 pupils to write their own story using a classic tale to raise awareness of an issue that matters to them, with advice from Sir Michael Morpurgo himself. Asking children how they would feel if they suddenly saw a whale swimming in a river. Would they believe it was true?

Taking the wonderful Michael Morpurgo book, This Morning I Met a Whale as an example, we show how reading a story can act as a starting point to whole units of work. Instead he is washed up somewhere marvellous and strange. It’s the island of Lilliput, whose tiny inhabitants welcomed Gulliver so long ago.When war comes to Omar’s Afghan village, 10-year-old Omar and his mother set off on a long and dangerous journey. They’re heading for England and Uncle Said’s café. Oct 2023 Our Connecting Stories literacy project is transforming reading and writing in disadvantaged communities View all

This resource shares an extract from the story, describing the flamingos that live on the salt flats of the Camargue. It also features suggested discussion activities considering the author’s craft. This includes looking at effective features of descriptive writing, specific vocabulary choices made by an author, and introducing unfamiliar vocabulary. Michael Morpurgo Month takes place every February. What’s the theme for Michael Morpurgo Month 2023? In this free PDF there are loads of ideas and writing opportunities. These range from environmental information pamphlets and persuasive letters to news reports.Explore the spark of an idea in starting the writing process, map out your poetry project in your local area and create an inspiration scrapbook with this free PDF of classroom ideas.