Before the fall

Who’d have a horse with six saddles? This rocking horse did. It literally rocked backwards and forwards. And the climbing frame was meant to be some sort of space rocket from the 1960s. Layer upon layer of chipped paint covered it, finishing with a tomato red. Who’d paint a space rocket red? This ‘play area’ hadn’t been touched for years. It looked like something out of a museum.

If you were really lucky you might find an old football (not flat) left behind. But no one really came here any more, not since the accident. I thought I was the only one in the whole park until I saw it perched on top of the filthy slide. Cautiously I moved towards it.

peaceful

imposing

slow

calm

funny

exciting

tense

angry

adventurous

fast-moving

dark

light-hearted

amusingviolent

romantic

scary

harshdramatic

silly

sinister

frightening

threatening

warm

sad

evil

dangerous

cold

gentle

What I can see...

How I feel...What I can hear...

What do we already know?

What do we want to find out?

Puzzles?

What I want to ask the author...

Reading detectives

LightingCamera angle

Sound Colour

Setting 1 Setting 2

What I can see...

How I feel...What I can hear...

What I can see...

How I feel...What I can hear...

Light droplets of rain brushed the childrens' faces. A coat has been dropped over by the water fountain and its arm lay in a shallow puddle. The wind whizzed through the playground catching scraps of litter into spirals. A book bag hung from the door of the outside toilet. One group of girls were singing a pop song and working on a dance routine to go with it. They banged against the fence as though it were drum kit. The two big lads from Year 4 were arguing and shouting over some stickers. The dinner lady tried to step between them. Suddenly a loud clang made most people freeze.

'What is the rule when the bell goes?' shouted Miss Thomas, 'Stand still!'

The eerie calm was only broken by the large bitter raindrops pelting the tarmac. A sickly yellow streetlamp lit up the empty space. Soggy scraps of litter lay unmoved like strange footprints. Something scratched and padded across the felt flat roof of the outside toilet. Who or what would be out on a night like this?

'Special offer only for today,' said the girl obviously bored. She stood outside the mobile phone shop shoving leaflets into the hands of passers-by. No one really stopped in this crush. The shoe shop was having a sale and the queue of children being fitted with new school shoes was massive.

'We’ve only got it in an eight,' called the manager from the top of a ladder.

The woman had already walked out of the shop.