The following are lessons that are suitable for students at Key Stage 2 or 3 with literacy difficulties. The text chosen is:

Daydreamer-Ian McEwan

Vanishing Cream

Stage 1

Starter Activity

Discuss the idea of disappearing suddenly and completely.

Introduce the word vanish   -   identify the initial sound and final sound of the word:

Add the suffice   ing

vanish   ing

appear   ing

land    ing

Use a dictionary to find the meaning of landing (a level area at the top of a staircase or between flights of stairs) as used in the story 'He was four steps from the landing'

Identify the initial sound and final sound of the word land .

Explain about the cream that ladies used to use to get rid of wrinkles, which they called vanishing cream.

Introduction - Introduce and talk about the character of Peter Fortune - the daydreamer.

Development - Read the story. Give opportunities for the pupil to read and select appropriate lines or words.

Review learning - discuss the story with the pupil.

Extension acitivity Design a poster for vanishing cream.

Stage 2

Starter Activity

Add the prefix un        un   tidy

What does the prefix mean? Use a dictionary to find the meaning of the prefix un

Write a list on whiteboard or chalkboard.

Add the prefix dis         dis   appear

What does the prefix mean? Think of words that begin with the prefix dis

Write a list on a whiteboard or a chalkboard.

Introduction - recap the main events in the story.

Development - the pupil with support might attempt to read selected sentences from the story. eg 'His hand closed round a greasy little spring that had fallen out of the garden clippers.'

If there are any words that can't be read, try and work out what they might be from the context of the sentence. The pupil can work in role and act out an event from the story. eg creeping up to an unsuspecting person and trying to rub imaginary cream on them.

Review learning - outline the story with the help of the pupil.

Stage 3

Starter Activity

Adding ed endings

vanish      vanished

disappear       disappeared

dream      dreamed

look      looked

Introduction - Sequence the cards that outline the story.

Development - conventions of note making. The purpose of all writing has to be considered and the style and form of the writing should be correct. Notes as a mnemonic don't have to follow the rules of formal writing.

Use cue cards to assist the telling of the story.

Review learning - writing a plan before beginning a story is a way of remembering ideas and organising the events in the story.

Extension acitivity - Reading - practice reading the sequencing cards that outline the story and putting them in the right order.

Stage 4

Starter Activity

Hyphens to join two words together

single-minded

single-handed

hover-craft

hitch-hiker

double-decker

double-cross

right-handed

slave-driver

so-and-so

stand-offish

red-handed

(they're in the dictionary)

Introduction - Writing a story. Pupils may complete the sentences by choosing words from the sheet .

The setting for my story is in the........in my house.

The characters in my story are my.............

Explain the role of the narrator.

(The narrator has to conceal some information to make the reader want to read on. The narrator must give the reader enough information for the reader to understand the story. Names of people are confusing if the reader doesn't know who the people are. Each character has to be introduced by the narrator in a way that is interesting for the reader.)

Development - Writing a simple plan.

The setting is ...........

The first character in the story to be introduced is .......

The first event in the story is........

Next ............

After ...........

Finally...........

Write the first paragraph. Pupils may complete the sentence on the worksheet.

Plenary - Is the first sentence sufficiently interesting to make the reader want to read on? How could we make it more interesting?

Model ways of improving the opening sentence of the story.

Stage 5

Starter Activity - strategy to remember an awkward spelling (use the cards in the resources pack)

Write the word scissors on a whiteboard or chalkboard and ask the pupils to organise the letters into the word.

Pupils are to say each sound in the word while tracing over the letters that make that sound. A strategy is needed to help the pupil to remember which order the letters go in. Possibly they may remember the pattern of one s two ss and one s.

Cover the word while pupils arrange the letters into the word. Finally pupils write the word. Some pupils will copy the word. Some will trace over it. Some will write it from memory.

Introduction - Read the opening paragraph of the story that the pupil wrote in the last lesson. The next paragraph will describe an event. Pupils should write sentence about the first event in the story. Pupils may complete the sentence on the worksheet.

Development - Start a new paragraph for a new idea, a new place, a new character a change of scene or a change of time. Explain how to use two lines to show where the new paragraph should begin. //

Review learning- repeat the spelling activity

Stage 6

Starter Activity

Pupils to add ies to make the plural of words from the story ending in y

battery      batteries

There is another word in the text that's a real monkey. It breaks the add ies rule

batteries for monkeys

Introduction - The writer uses a metaphor about monkeys to explain that the drawer is full of odds and ends which all might be useful one day but probably never will.

If a million monkeys shook the drawer up for a million years, it was possible the contents might fall together into a radio.

Development - read the lines from the text: 'Peter was fed up with them. The drawer seemed to stand for everything that was wrong with his family. What a mess! No wonder he could not think straight"

Pupils should explore and develop issues through working in role.

Review learning - Feedback from pupils about any drawer or cupboard they have in their house that is full of odds and ends.

Stage 7

Starter Activity

Begin by referring to the line in the text ' His hand closed around a greasy little spring that had fallen out of the garden clippers' Think of a strategy to remember the spelling of the word greasy

Maybe split it up into gr and easy

Introduction - the pupil writes a closing paragraph. Re-read the final paragraph of the story Vanishing Cream

Development - Write a final paragraph to end the story. The pupil may complete the sentences on the worksheet. The ending usually states the outcome of the events in the story.

Review learning - the draft that has been written may be written as a best copy.

Stage 8

Starter Activity

Word Bingo

The words are held up or written on a whiteboard or chalkboard randomly. If they appear on the pupil's card they cover the word. The aim is to cover all the words. Alternatively they can match the words they have to the words on their card.

The pupil can read out the words as they are held up. If they read it they can cover the word on their card.

Introduction - Organise the work that has been completed in the lessons. Number each paragraph. Begin by writing the title of the story. Indent the first paragraph. Begin each sentence with a capital letter. Don't use capital letters in the middle of words when they are not needed. Don't write S as a capital when it should be lower-case.

Development - Finish writing up the best copy, remembering to indent each paragraph. Design a cover for the story.

Review the  learning and read the story.