Key Stage 2

Year 6 have been working hard in their writing lessons to produce informal letters based on Shaun Tan’s ‘The Arrival’. The main character has moved to a new land to pursue a better life and writes to his family to persuade them to come and join him. To get into role and consider what the main character would say to his wife and daughter, children did some hot-seating! We were impressed by how they took to the challenge, considering mature and reflective questions to ask the person in role. We’re looking forward to reading the final letters and seeing them up on the writing wall displays too.

This week, Year 6 started their English unit based on the graphic novel, ‘The Arrival’ by Shaun Tan. A graphic novel is a story without words and it can still be just as powerful and detailed. We discussed how every illustration is included for a reason and that if you look very closely you gather a huge amount of information from a single image.

Year 6 enjoyed participating in a range of activities to find out clues about their new English book, before it was revealed to them! Children took part in a scavenger hunt, collecting the answers to questions about the characters and themes of the book. Hidden away all around the playground were pictures from the graphic novel with key information attached. They also discovered how the beautiful pictures were drawn and had a go at an art task recreating a piece in the same style. Then, they explored the theme of migration and learnt about refugees. During this time they reflected on why people might have to flee their country and what belongings might be important to bring with them. It was great to see how curious everyone was about our new topic and we look forward to seeing how they get on with their writing over the coming weeks.