This week in English, we ‘launched’ our new reading stimulus – all the children knew was that it had something to do with boats. They shared their ideas and experiences about different types of boats, their design and purpose, then made models of boats using everyday materials. The aim was to include the key design features such as a hull, mast and sail, and to get the boat to successfully float and sail. It was a memorable lesson and the children now know lots of information about boats. The stimulus for this half term is an animation called ‘Little Boat’ and the children have been using their prediction, inference and retrieval skills to explore it. Using the animation, they have made predictions about the boat’s journey; inferred the thoughts of characters met along the way; inferred emotions at different points in the journey; and recalled events using a story map. The children have thoroughly enjoyed working with an animation that has stimulated so many interesting ideas from them.
