Autumn Term 

The Iron Man by Ted Hughes and Chris Mould

The Iron Man is melding science fiction with  fairytale, The Iron Man tells the story of a gigantic metal robot who appears out of nowhere, crashing onto the beach and shattering into many parts. He is discovered by Hogarth, a young boy. The Iron Man proceeds to devour farm machinery until the farmers rise up against him. There is an act of betrayal as Hogarth agrees to lure the monster into a trap where he is buried underground – yet the Iron Man breaks free. Against demands from the farmers to bring in the army, Hogarth speaks out and suggests that the monster should be left to feed on the scrap metal yard.

After a period of coexistence between the metal giant and humankind, the story concludes with a battle of strength between the Iron Man and the ‘Space-Bat-Angel-Dragon’, an alien monster from outer space. Defeated, the alien reveals that he is actually a peaceful ‘Star Spirit’ who sings the ‘music of the spheres’ that produces universal harmony and peace. The Iron Man orders him to sing to Earth and its warmongering people. The spirit lulls them with his music into a state of lasting peace, ending the story with total harmony between man, nature, and culture.

Our writing outcomes will be a narrative about an approaching threat and an explanation about how to catch the Iron Man.

Grammar Word -Build on previous year & focus on: Formation of nouns using a range of prefixes e.g. auto- super- anti-
Grammar Sentence -Build on previous year & focus on: Expressing time, place and cause using conjunctions e.g. (when, before, after,
while, so, because, if, although)
Grammar Text -Build on previous year & focus on: Present perfect form of verbs
Grammar Punctuation -Expressing time, place, and cause using conjunctions [for example, when, before, after, while, so,
because], adverbs [for example, then, next, soon, therefore], or prepositions [for example, before,
after, during, in, because of] Text Introduction to paragraphs as a way to group related material Headings and sub-headings to aid
presentations of the present perfect form of verbs instead of the simple past [for example, He has gone out
to play contrasted with He went out to play]

Other similar books: The Wild Robot by Peter Brown, The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown, The Tin Forest by Helen Ward and Wayne Anderson, Runaway Robot by Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Grandad’s Secret Giant by David Litchfield, Greenling by Levi Pinfold.

 

 

Fox

Fox by Margaert Wild and Ron Brooks

The story goes… Two damaged creatures emerge from a charred forest destroyed by bushfire. Dog has lost an eye and rescues Magpie, but she doesn’t want to be saved if she can no longer fly with her burnt wing. Dog perseveres, however, and together they embark on a journey, with Magpie on Dog’s back. ‘FLY, Dog, FLY! I will be your missing eye and you will be my wings.’ When the cunning Fox appears, Dog is as welcoming as ever, but Magpie is not so sure of their new companion.

Our writing outcomes will be a Narrative: Fable Narrative and a  Fox Report

 

Grammar Word – Build on previous units & focus on:Formation of nouns using a range of prefixes e.g. auto- super- anti- (un- and re-)
Grammar Sentence -Build on previous units & focus on:Expressing time, place and cause using conjunctions e.g. (when, before, after, while, so, because, if, although) Expressing time, place and cause using prepositions e.g. (before, after, during, in, because of) Grammar
Grammar Text – Build on previous units & focus on:
Present perfect form of verbs Introduction to paragraphs as a way to group related material
Grammar Punctuation -Reinforce from Year 2:
Use of capital letters, full stops, question marks and exclamation marks to demarcate sentences
Commas to separate items in a list
Apostrophes to mark where letters are missing in spelling and to mark singular possession in nouns.

Other Stories:Orchard by Michael Morpurgo, A Mouse Called Julianby Joe Todd Stanton, Favourite Greek Myths by Bob Hartman, The Boy Who Cried Wolf by Tony Ross,Hip Hop Aesop by Kay Davenport, Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears: A West African Tale byVerna Aardema, Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Anderson.

 

Spring Term

The Rhythm of the Rain by Grahame Baker-Smith

The story follows Issac and the jar of water he empties into a pool, from where it takes the reader on a journey following those drops of water through rivers and into seas, across oceans to frozen landscapes and then to jungles and towns, down into the deepest parts of the ocean and ‘as it has done for millions of years’, up into the clouds where rain forms, and falls back down on the flowers by the pond where Issac plays…

Our writing outcomes will be writing a Setting Narrative and Information Leaflet

Grammar Word – Build on previous units & focus on:Use of the forms a or an when next word starts with a consonant or a vowel
Grammar Sentence – Build on previous units & focus on:
Expressing time, place and cause using conjunctions e.g. (when, before, after, while, so, because, if, although)
Expressing time, place and cause using adverbs e.g. (then, next, soon, therefore)
Expressing time, place and cause using prepositions e.g. (before, after, during, in, because
Build on previous units & focus on:
Grammar Text – Build on previous units & focus on:Introduction to paragraphs as a way to group related material
Grammar Punctuation -Inverted commas to punctuate direct speech

Other Fiction Books by the Same Author: Relevant Books by The Same Author Farther Leon and the Place Between Winter’s Child.

 

Jeremy Button by Valerio Vidali

This book is based on a true story. It tells the story of Jemmy Button, a native of Tierra del Fuego, who was brought to England in the mid-1800s to be “educated and civilized.” The book illustrates Jemmy’s adventures in England, his extraordinary encounters, his homesickness and experiences as an outsider in a strange land, and his return home.

Our writing outcomes will be a ‘return’ narrative and a letter.

Grammar Word – Build on previous units & focus on: Use of the forms a or an, when the next word starts with a consonant or a
vowel. Word families based on common words showing how words are related in
form and meaning
Grammar Sentence – Build on previous units & focus on: Expressing time, place and cause using prepositions e.g. (before, after,
during, in, because of)
Grammar Text – Build on previous units & focus on: Introduction to paragraphs as a way to group related material.
Grammar Punctuation – Build on previous units & focus on: Inverted commas to punctuate direct speech

Other Relevant Books with a Return theme: The Tunnel Anthony Browne, The Very Angry Ladybug Eric Carle
Mr. Grumpy’s Outing John Burmingham, Peace at last Jill Murphy, Feathers Phil Cummings
10 seeds Ruth Brown, Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s, Ears: A West African Tale Verna Aardema, Who is the Bear Keith Baker.

 

Summer Term

Egyptology by Dugald Steer

A facinating guide to Ancient Egypt, told through the (fictional) journal of Emily Sands who, in 1926, led an expedition up the Nile to find the lost body of Osiris. On January 5th 1927, Emily Sands and her companions vanished without trace and were never seen again.

Our writing outcomes will be a  mystery narrative and a diary

 

Grammar Word – Build on previous units & focus on:Formation of nouns using a range of prefixes e.g. auto- super- anti- (mis-, in-, dis-, un-) Use of the forms a or an when next word starts with a consonant or a vowel
Word families based on common words showing how words are related in form and meaning Grammar
Grammar Sentence -Build on previous units & focus on:
Expressing time, place and cause using adverbs e.g. (then, next, soon, therefore)
Expressing time, place and cause using prepositions e.g. (before, after, during, in, because of) 
Grammar Text -Build on previous units & focus on:Introduction to paragraphs as a way to group related material
Headings and sub-headings to aid presentation
Grammar Punctuation – Build on previous units & focus on:Inverted commas to punctuate direct speech

Other Books with Similar Themes:Cinderella of the Nile – Marjan Vafaeian, Secrets of a Sun King – Emma Carroll
The Story of Tutankhamun – Patricia Cleveland-Peck, Seeker of Knowledge – James Rumford, Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx – Joe Todd Stanton, The Secrets of Tutankhamun: Egypt’s Boy King and His Incredible Tomb – Patricia Cleveland-Peck.

Into the Forest by Anthony Browne

One night a boy is woken by a terrible sound. A storm is breaking, lightning flashing across the sky. In the morning Dad is gone and Mum doesn’t seem to know when he’ll be back. The next day Mum asks her son to take a cake to his sick grandma. “Don’t go into the forest,” she warns. “Go the long way round.” But, for the first time, the boy chooses to take the path into the forest, where he meets a variety of fairy tale characters and discovers the fate of his father.

Our writing outcomes will be a newspaper report and a ‘lost’ narrative.

Grammar Word – Build on previous units & focus on: Formation of nouns using a range of prefixes e.g. auto- super- anti- (un-) Use of the forms a or an, when the next word starts with a consonant or a vowel. Word families based on common words showing how words are related in form and meaning.
Grammar Sentence-Build on previous units & focus on: Expressing time, place, and cause using adverbs e.g. (then, next, soon, therefore)
Grammar Text – Build on previous units & focus on: Present perfect form of verbs Introduction to paragraphs as a way to group related material Headings and sub-headings to aid presentation
Grammar Punctuation – Inverted commas to punctuate direct speech

Other Relevant Books by the Same Author: The Tunnel, Gorilla, Hansel and Gretel, Willy the Wimp, Voices in the Park, Piggy Book.