Monday 13th January

English

Grammar Warm Up

LC: to identify the function of an apostrophe for possession (belonging)

Alice's cat is called Dinah.

The boys' football team won the cup.

Ali's car is black.

The teachers' staff room is used for staff meetings.

Look at the words that have 's' at the end.

Circle this letter.

What does the apostrophe show? Tell your talk partner.

When does the apostrophe go

- before the s?

- after the s?

Why?

LC: to demonstrate active reading strategies

Watch the video to understand the game of croquet.

/i/video/Anne_Reid/How_to_Play_Croquet.mp4

Listen to the next section of the story.

How does the writer create a 'picture' of the scene for the reader?

Make notes on your white board as you listen and then use these notes and words to draw what you think the scene looks like.

Reading

Monday 13th January

LC: Know how the authors’ choice of language affects the reader.

As the sun burst to life, the Japanese Warrior, known as Tawara Toda, sallied forth in search of adventure for he had the nature of a warrior and could not bear to be idle.

What does the word ‘burst’ suggest about the sunrise?

Although seemingly asleep, the monster’s body heaved as it breathed, and fire and smoke drifted menacingly out of its nostrils.

What word suggests that the dragon was not friendly?

He was a brave man, however, and putting aside all fear went forward dauntlessly.

What impression do the words give the reader of the warrior?

From ‘A Boy called M.O.U.S.E’ by Penny Dolan

The fourth-floor window was wide open, and there, on the sill, stood a very young boy. Little Mouse laughed and reached his arms out towards the birds in the treetops and the clouds blowing across the sky, as if he longed to be flying with them.

Hanny, the nursery maid, saw all this. She also saw Uncle Scrope with one hand raised behind the small boy’s back, waiting. One strong hand, one quick push, and what then?

Hanny rushed forward. With a quick sweep of her arm, she gathered the child back into her apron and lifted him down to the floor.

Scrope blinked. The strange light in his pale eyes died away, as if some wild urge had been halted. He slipped his hand, the one that had been poised behind Mouse’s back, casually back into his own pocket.

“Oh,” Scrope drawled, “It’s you. The nursery maid.” He stared at the gravel path far below. “Long way down, isn’t it?”

“Yes sir, it is.” Hanny replied, trying to calm the fear in her heart. “I’ll take Mouse safely back to the nursery now, sir. I was surprised to find him gone.”

“Good girl. Children do wander so, I hear.” Scrope did not even look at Hanny. “And get someone to close this window properly. It seems to have become unlatched.”

By the time Hanny reached the nursery, she was shaking all over. She pointed towards the supper tray,

“Eat, please, Mouse.”

The boy peeped up at Hanny out of the corner of his eye. He studied her round, pleasant face and her rosy cheeks. Then, smiling mischievously, he carefully picked up a triangle of buttered bread in his fingers and popped it into his mouth. Then he opened wide to show he was doing what she had asked.

“Oh, Mouse!” Hanny said sadly, while she smiled at the boy, at his soft tufty hair, his bright brown eyes, and his slightly sticking-out ears. “Mouse, what am I going to do about you?”

Only when Mouse was safe in his cot did Hanny dare to think about what she had witnessed. A child like Mouse could fall down a flight of steep marble stairs, or topple from a balcony, or drop from a window so, so quickly. A child like Mouse could slip and trip and crash to his doom so, so easily. A man like Scrope would find it very, very useful if such an accident happened to happen.

What impression does ‘The strange light in his pale eyes died away, as if some wild urge had been halted’ give of Uncle Scrope?

Why do you think the author has chosen to give Uncle Scrope ‘pale eyes’ and Mouse ‘bright brown eyes’