©The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education.

You may use this teaching sequence freely in your school but it cannot be commercially published or reproduced or used for anything other than

educational purposes without the express permission of CLPE.

Way Home by Libby Hathorn and Gregory Rogers (Andersen Press) Shane is a boy who lives alone on the streets. We don’t realise this until the end of the book, when he takes the cat he has found back home with him to a shelter filled with his possessions, to be his friend. Shane's fast paced story is told to the cat. The illustrations in this picture book are very evocative, full of symbols and meanings that add to what we learn about Shane and his life. Overall aims of this teaching sequence:

To engage children with a story with which they will empathise To explore themes and issues, and develop and sustain ideas through discussion To develop creative responses to the text through drama, storytelling and artwork To write in role in order to explore and develop empathy for characters To write with confidence for real purposes and audiences

This teaching sequence is designed for a Year 5 or Year 6 class

This sequence was developed as part of a Gaps in Phonics course for developing readers in KS2. The

narrative in this text is thought-provoking and the characters and settings are beautifully illustrated.

Children in Upper Key Stage 2 will have the experience to draw on real life experiences involving

themselves or others in order to make deeper connections with the text and enrich group discussions

around it.

Overview of this teaching sequence

This teaching sequence is approximately 5 weeks long if spread out over 20 sessions. The book

supports teachers to teach about emotional response to strong themes in narrative fiction. This text

offers readers a good stimulus for writing. Teachers will need to be aware of any children who may

have experienced homelessness or who live in shelters or temporary accommodation before sharing

this text with a class.

National Curriculum objectives covered by this sequence.

Reading (Comprehension):

Maintain positive attitudes to reading and

understanding of what they read by:

continuing to read and discuss an

increasingly wide range of fiction;

reading books that are structured in

different ways and reading for a range of

purposes;

identifying and discussing themes and

Writing (Composition / Vocabulary, Grammar

and Punctuation):

Children should plan their writing by:

identifying the audience for and purpose of the writing, selecting the appropriate form and using other similar writing as models for their own;

noting and developing initial ideas, drawing on reading and research where necessary;

conventions in and across a wide range

of writing;

making comparisons within and across

books.

Understand what they read by:

checking that the book makes sense to

them, discussing their understanding and

exploring the meaning of words in

context;

asking questions to improve their

understanding;

drawing inferences such as inferring

characters’ feelings, thoughts and

motives from their actions, and justifying

inferences with evidence;

predicting what might happen from

details stated and implied;

identifying how language, structure and

presentation contribute to meaning;

discuss and evaluate how authors use

language, including figurative language,

considering the impact on the reader;

participate in discussions about books

that are read to them and those they can

read for themselves, building on their

own and others’ ideas and challenging

views courteously;

explain and discuss their understanding

of what they have read, including

through formal presentations and

debates, maintaining a focus on the topic

and using notes where necessary;

provide reasoned justifications for their

views.

in writing narratives, considering how authors have developed characters and settings in what pupils have read, listened to or seen performed

Draft and write by:

selecting appropriate grammar and vocabulary, understanding how such choices can change and enhance meaning;

in narratives, describing settings, characters and atmosphere and integrating dialogue to convey character and advance the action;

using a wide range of devices to build cohesion within and across paragraphs;

using further organisational and presentational devices to structure text and to guide the reader.

Evaluate and edit by:

assessing the effectiveness of their own and others’ writing;

proposing changes to vocabulary, grammar and punctuation to enhance effects and clarify meaning;

ensuring the consistent and correct use of tense throughout a piece of writing;

ensuring correct subject and verb agreement when using singular and plural, distinguishing between the language of speech and writing and choosing the appropriate register;

proof-read for spelling and punctuation errors.

Speaking and Listening:

Maintain attention and participate actively in collaborative conversations, responding to texts

Ask relevant questions to extend their understanding and build vocabulary and knowledge

Articulate and justify answers and opinions

Use spoken language to develop understanding through speculating, imagining and exploring ideas

Participate in discussions, presentations, performances and debates

Consider and evaluate different viewpoints, attending to the contributions of others

Select and use appropriate registers for effective communication

Use spoken language to develop understanding through imagining and exploring ideas in discussion, role-play and drama

Consider and evaluate different viewpoints, attending to and building on the contributions of others

Cross Curricular Links:

Geography:

This text could be part of a wider topic or theme on urban environments. The children could compare different cities to the one depicted in the book, considering the ways in which people live in cities and how this may be different depending on the city.

Art:

As part of this theme children might study urban art and the work of graffiti artists such as Banksy.

PSHE:

The children can consider Shane’s homelessness and the ways in different people can end up homeless and what this may mean today, for example those who may live in hostels or bed and breakfast accommodation while they wait for housing, as well as people who live on the streets. Supporting resources and information can be found on the following website: https://centrepoint.org.uk/

The children may want to consider ways in which different governments respond to homelessness and housing shortages. They may want to consider other ways in which people can be supported and how campaigns to reduce and end homelessness are implemented. They may wish to investigate charities and voluntary organisations who support people to find a home after having been homeless.

DT/Science:

The children could explore the properties of different materials through investigating the place where Shane lives and how he has built a shelter for himself. The children could investigate how to make the shelter more structurally sound, more waterproof, or warmer for example, only using materials that they would be able to find for free.

Teaching Approaches Read aloud Book Talk Response to Illustration Role on the Wall Visualisation Hot Seating Soundscapes

Writing Outcomes Collaborative Poetry Writing in role Poetry

Links to other texts and resources: Related texts:

A Street Cat Named Bob by James Bowen (Hodder) The Old Man by Sarah V and Claude Dubois, translated by Daniel Hahn (Gecko Press) Trash by Andy Mulligan (Definitions) Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt (Atheneum) The Hidden Story of Homelessness by Karen Latchana Kenney (Raintree) Banksy: Art Breaks the Rules by Hettie Bingham (Wayland)

Book List of children’s literature related to the theme of homelessness: https://humaneeducation.org/blog/2013/14-childrens-picture-books-homelessness/

The children could explore more picture books suitable for their age which deal with mature themes such as:

- FArTHER by Grahame Baker-Smith (Templar)

- Grandpa's Guardian Angel by Jutta Bauer (Walker)

- The General by Janet Charters & Michael Foreman (Templar) A teaching sequence is

also available for this text.

- The Journey by Francesca Sanna (Flying Eye) A teaching sequence is also available for

this text.

- The Sad Book by Michael Rosen & Quentin Blake (Walker)

- War and Peas by Michael Foreman (Andersen Press)

Other books by Libby Hathorn:

http://libbyhathorn.com/libby-hathorns-books-and-digital-media/

Links to other resources on the Power of Reading Website: https://www.clpe.org.uk/powerofreading/teaching-approaches/tell-me-booktalk https://www.clpe.org.uk/powerofreading/book/way-home

Weblinks: http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/15237534 http://www.centrepointroom.org.uk/ https://humaneeducation.org/

Teaching Sessions:

Before Reading:

Before starting work on the book, create a space in the classroom for a working wall to enable you to pin examples of responses, reflections, notes and language generated from each session. If you do not have the space for a working wall you could create a class ‘reading journal’ using large pieces of paper and use the pages of the journal to capture responses. You may also wish to create a display of related texts as part of your class reading environment.

Session 1: Response to Illustration and Collaborative Poetry

In order for the sequence to work effectively you will need to ‘keep back’ the text from the children initially. The story will need to unfold slowly and it is best for the children not to know the ending until you are at the culmination of the teaching sessions.

Hand out a copy of the first illustration in the text or have a copy of first page of the book displayed on an IWB. Ask the children to look really closely at the image, drawing out what they notice.

Questions you could use to support the children’s explorations and discussions: - Draw attention to the different aspects of the illustration and ask what they notice

immediately. Where is their eye drawn to in the picture? Why do they think that? Are different children drawn to different aspects of the image? Why?

- What do they notice about the colours? - Do we know where we are? What clues have we been given? - What point of view have we been given? What information does that give us? - If this were a film, what point of view would the next shot be from?

Also ask the children what they like and dislike about the images, any connections that they

make with other images or stories and any questions the images provoke. Record the children’s responses on the working wall or in the whole class journal and return to

their initial thoughts as the story progresses. Ask the children to consider what it might feel like to step into this scene, what might they

see, hear, smell and feel? Invite the children to discuss in groups and note words and phrases that they feel would best

describe these sensations. Once children have had time to discuss and note their reflections draw the grid below on a

flipchart and use this to take suggestions.

Take the time to value the suggestions, say them out loud, pause and reflect on their effect and discuss how the reflection and range of ideas can support the refinement of the contributions. For example, consider what synonyms could be used to refine the quality of the language or reflect on how the use of personification might intensify the language.

Model with the children how you might use the range of language generated so far to compose a poem inspired by the scene. Use the framework below to support the structuring of this composition.

Phrase expressing what you might see, hear or smell

Word expressing the feeling

Phrase expressing what you might see, hear or smell

Word expressing the feeling

Phrase expressing what you might see, hear or smell

Word expressing the feeling

Phrase expressing what you might see, hear or smell

Word expressing the feeling

Once you have created a draft, you may want to encourage the children to look at the poem again to see if they would like to refine the words or phrases chosen.

Explain that you are now going to rehearse a collaborative performance of the poem. Discuss with the children the different aspects of poetry performance that enhance the experience for a viewer such as tone of voice, intonation, volume, facial expression and gesture.

Rehearse and then perform the poem, evaluating the impact of the language and performance.

Reflect on the performance alongside the illustration, what impression was created of the city through the poetry performance? What must it be like for the boy in this city? Would you like to be there? Why? Why not?

If you have children who are still developing readers and who may have gaps in their phonic knowledge, there are ample opportunities on these pages and in the previous pages to use and apply phonics in the context of a high-quality text. You could explore the environmental sounds that could be heard in a city as featured in the text. Observe children’s ability to recognise and discriminate between sounds. Have them visualise the setting and draw as they listen to the following clip to show what they have heard and therefore imagined: http://soundbible.com/1629-Traffic-Jam-3.html

See

Hear

Smell

Feel

Session 2: Reading Aloud and Book Talk

Read aloud the first two pages of the book to the class and ask the children to discuss their responses to the text; the class can begin to explore their responses to it with the help of what Aidan Chambers calls 'the four basic questions'.

These questions give children accessible starting points for discussion: Tell me…was there anything you liked about this text? Was there anything that you particularly disliked…? Was there anything that puzzled you? Were there any patterns…any connections that you noticed…?

The openness of these questions unlike the more interrogative 'Why?' question encourages every

child to feel that they have something to say. It allows everyone to take part in arriving at a shared

view without the fear of the 'wrong' answer.

As children respond it can be useful to write down what they say under the headings ‘likes’, ‘dislikes’, ‘puzzles’, ‘patterns’. This written record helps to map out the class's view of the important meaning and is a way of holding on to ideas for later. Asking these questions will lead children inevitably into a fuller discussion than using more general questions.

Consider the questions that may have come up that the children have thought of, for example, who is the boy, where had he come from? Where might he be running to? Explore their ideas and responses and consider who this character may be.

At this point, you could to give the children their own journals to record their work through this sequence; the children could have a small book to use as Shane’s diary. In this diary the children can continually write in role reflecting Shane’s changing thoughts and opinions. For example, in the diary or journal they can record a variety of types of writing, such as small poems to illustrate his emotional journey. Ask the children to write in role in this book as the character Shane, explaining what they think has happened and why he is running into the alley and he is interested in the cat.

For those children still developing reading skills and strategies, words appearing in the text or illustrations give children the opportunity to segment and blend using the basic code, this would allow the children to practise re-reading the text independently. For example, dog, cat, up, it, at, mad, with, such, yells, hears.

Session 3: Response to illustration and Role on the Wall

Show the next illustration of Shane and the cat but do not read the text to the children yet. Ask the children to work as individuals and to jot down ten things that they notice about the illustration. This may be themes and concepts as well as literal observations.

Once the children have listed ten things, ask them to work in partners to compare and contrast their lists. Once they have done this, ask them to work together as a pair to refine their list to five things they think are particularly significant, justifying and reasoning as they refine the list.

Finally ask the pairs to work with another pair in a group of four and ask them to refine their lists to the one most significant aspect of the illustration. Encourage the groups to discuss the

different observations and compare and contrast what they considered significant about the image.

Share these as a whole class, listing these on the working wall, comparing and contrasting the children’s responses and their ideas about the image. Return to this as you unfold the text considering whether their initial perceptions are confirmed or whether they think the story develops in a way in which they had not anticipated.

Ask the children to reflect on the character Shane and what they think they know about him at this point in the story. Give the children time to share their ideas in small groups before asking the children to feedback to a whole class discussion.

Read aloud the page which accompanies the illustration you have explored together and allow the children to respond to the text and images, recording what they notice.

Draw around one of the children or have a prepared template cut out, pin this to the learning wall.

Ask the children to write on post-it notes words or phrases they would use to describe Shane’s feelings and personality, which can be stuck on the inside of the outline and what the children know about his outward appearance or facts and other information about him to be stuck on the outside.

Support the children to make explicit links between the external and internal. For example, how does something Shane does tell us about his personality, or how does his personality make that action seem most likely (i.e. for an action to be ‘in character’ or characteristic).

Focus particularly on the images of Shane and the way in which expressions and gestures are important to how we understand characters in a picture book. Ask the children if they can find an example of a particular expression or movement that they think shows a significant character trait.

Reflect on the different ways in which we are given an impression of a character without being

told this directly. For example, ‘he reaches out slowly, slowly to the ball of spiked fur’. The way

in which he approaches the cat suggests he understands how frightened it is and is therefore

caring.

Explore with the children and consider what devices the author has used to enrich our knowledge of the character – how we might ‘show not tell’ a reader. Children could analyse the range of lexical words and phrases used to aid description, including judicious choices around verbs and nouns as well as adjectives and adverbs.

Continue to return to the role on the wall as you read the story, adding information in different colours so that you can track the emotional journey the character takes as the story progresses and how a reader’s perceptions of a character can alter as a story progresses.

If you have children who are still developing readers and who may have gaps in their phonic

knowledge, there are opportunities to use and apply phonics in the context of a high-quality text. For

example, there are many opportunities to explore different ways of representing the long vowel ‘ai’ in

words such as way, away, raised, again, break, baby. You could explore the split diagraph ‘a-e’ in the

words Shane, name, lane, safe, place, shape.

Session 4: Book Talk and Freeze Frames

Re-read the text aloud and read on until ‘let’s shove off’. Allow the children time to respond, noting their ideas down and reflecting on their likes, dislikes, patterns and puzzles. Consider with the children why Shane might be so hostile towards the cat in the window, why does he consider the cat to be a ‘loser’?

Allow the children time to respond to the image in small groups. You may want to draw the children’s attention to the contrast in light and shade in the image,

particularly the light coming from inside the window where the ‘Fatcat’ is sat. You may want the children to compare what they think it would be like inside that house, to how it feels to be on the streets of this city, linking back to the collaborative poem they created in the first session.

The children may also notice Shane’s jacket, could there be any significance in the fact that he has angel wings on the back? Does this add to our understanding of the character?

Return to role on the wall and ask the children to consider what else the information in the text and illustration reveals to us about Shane’s personality and character.

Read on in the text until ‘boy stops dead’ but do not reveal the illustration. Ask the children to pause and to reflect on what could happen next.

Give the children copies of the text as it is written in the book (see below) and ask them to read the text extract, highlighting and annotating as necessary:

- What thoughts, feelings, visual impressions come to mind as you read? - How did the writer make you engage in this way? - What language made most impact on you? Why?

The cat with no name is cosy inside the jacket against the heartbeat of the boy called Shane. ‘We’re going home,’ the boy sings. ‘You ‘n me together.’ The cat peers out of the warm boy’s coat and purrs. But halfway down the lane the boy stops dead.

Draw out through the children’s discussion the way in which the opening of the paragraph contrasts with the final sentence. Ask the children to reflect on the way in which the text structure and language choices create the sense that the boy and cat are safe and happy, and then how the sudden change in tone creates impact on them as readers, suggesting the danger that is ahead.

Reveal the illustration to the children and ask them to consider if what is depicted in the image is what they expected, allow the children time to spend time looking closely at the image, reflecting on all the details depicted. Such as where the scene is set, the contrast in light and dark, the close up shot of Shane and the faceless threat posed by the young men in the image, the wings on Shane’s shoes mirroring those on his jacket.

Read aloud the remaining text and give the children time to respond to what happens, returning to their likes, dislikes, puzzles and patterns.

Following this, ask the children to create freeze frames of the scene depicted in the illustration and complete thought tracking.

Invite different members of the class in role to voice their thoughts or feelings aloud using just a few words. This can be done by tapping each person on the shoulder or holding a cardboard

'thought-bubble' above their head. Thought track members of each of the groups, keeping a record of how the different

characters felt. After this, reflect on what the class have heard and compare and contrast the different

characters’ thoughts and feelings. Following this, you may want to ask the children to imagine and role-play what the different

characters would be saying rather than thinking, would this be the same or different? Why? Who might have to hide their true feelings and why? How might the different people vocalise their internal thoughts?

After this session, revisit the Role on the Wall for Shane and record any additional knowledge the children have gained about the character, particularly thinking about the difference between his outward appearance and inner thoughts and feelings.

This would also be a good opportunity for the children to write in role as Shane in their small journals or diaries.

If you have children who are still developing readers and who may have gaps in their phonic knowledge, there are opportunities to use and apply phonics in the context of a high-quality text. There are many opportunities to explore different ways of representing the long vowel ‘ee’ in words such as heaps, leaps, clean, teeth, tree, city, meat, sea, slippery, feels, peers, crazy, empty, nobody, mostly, steady, ‘specially, shiny, baby, hungry, street, been, reaches, heartbeat, he, me, people.

Session 5: Performance Reading

Read on until ‘they won’t follow him here’. Allow the children time to respond, noting their ideas down and reflecting on their likes, dislikes, patterns and puzzles.

Re-read the text, this time sharing the illustrations with the class. Ask the children to explore the illustrations and to consider the way in which the illustrations support the storytelling. Ask the children to reflect on what more the reader learns about the story by being able to see the illustrations.

To allow the children to continue to reflect on the author’s use of language and grammatical choices, ask them to prepare a performance reading of a section of the text.

Part 1

It’s very black down there for the cat in the coat. There’s a loud thump and a hard knock and a

thud, thud, thud as the boy runs fast. They follow.

Part 2

Go! Go! Up the lane, all the way they follow. Fast as anything, scared as anything. Go! Get

away! Go! To a large lit up street with the people going every which way. Right to an edge of a

wide shiny river of cars. ‘Hold tight, Kittycat, while I scare this lot.’

Part 3

The boy leaps out into the road. There’s a blare of horns, a screaming of tongues and tyres. But

the cat with no name feels safe in the boy’s jacket. ‘Ahhhh,’ the boy called Shane yells as he

dives through. They won’t follow him here.

Place the children into groups and assign the different parts of the text to each group. Give the children time to text mark and to consider how they will perform the text that they

have been assigned. For example, will they speak in unison, in canon, individually? Will they use movement or actions? Will they use props? Will they create sound effects? What tone and intonation will bring the text to life?

Consider the juxtaposition of short and long sentences in these sections of text, what effect does this create? How might this impact on their performance? How could this affect the pacing of the performance reading?

The children can play with different voice sounds when they explore the text particularly with the onomatopoeic words such as thump, knock and thud. They might also explore voice sounds made by the city such as the ‘blare of horns’ or the ‘screaming of tongues and tyres’.

The groups can also explore body percussion through the performance reading, bringing elements of the text to life by accompanying the performance with body movements and gestures, such as stamping to emphasise the ‘thud, thud, thud’.

After the children have had time to prepare, put all the groups together to create a whole

class performance. You may want to record this so that the children can watch or listen back to their performance.

You might use this as an opportunity consider how the performances can be improved for further performance opportunities such as in an assembly, or next time Reader’s Theatre is used.

Following the performance, look at the text again and draw out what the children have noticed about the author’s use of vocabulary, choice of figurative language, punctuation and grammar and how these choices impact on the reader. How has this section of text evoked a sense of the drama, excitement and danger?

Session 6: Visualisation

Read aloud from ‘and all the way down the other side of the lit up road’… until ‘past a thin forlorn park’.

Give the children pieces of paper and appropriate and available art materials and then ask the children to sketch the scenes they imagine as you are reading aloud the section again. Repeat this reading several times as the children sketch.

After they have completed their drawings the children could annotate the pictures with key vocabulary or phrases which support their understanding or interpretation. For example, ‘six shiny sports cars’, ‘crumbling dark church’ or ‘sharp smell of food shops’.

Ask the children why these words or phrases in particular stood out to them; what made them so vivid or memorable? What mood or sense of place is created by the author through the descriptions? This is a valuable opportunity to contextualise teaching around effective vocabulary choices and the writing features authors draw on in developing a strong sense of place for the reader.

Give the children time to share their work with one another and to compare and contrast their images. Invite children to comment on what is similar and what is different about the way they have illustrated the scene and why they think this is.

Ask the children to consider how the way in which they have drawn the pictures expresses the atmosphere of the scene they had in mind.

Display the children’s artwork on the working wall.

Examples of alliteration, such as ‘six shiny sports cars’, can be seen throughout the book. For example,

‘better believe’, ‘gotta get’, ‘slatted shop’, ‘scritches and scratches’. To support developing readers,

explore the effectiveness of this alliteration, in the text but also in the names of products, bands,

programmes e.g. Double Decker, Teen Titans, Mickey Mouse, the Beach Boys and play with alliteration

in regard to the children’s own names. Ensure the children are paying attention to the sounds at the

start of the words, rather than the letters.

Session 7: Poetry reading

Give time for the children to explore, listen to and to read poetry inspired by an urban environment, for example the collection Overheard in a Tower Block by Joseph Coelho (Otter-Barry Books) would allow for exploration of these themes, in particular the poems ‘Binley House’ or ‘City Kids’. Teaching resources are available here: https://bit.ly/2J2dEkJ

The following poems also explore similar themes and ideas: - https://www.clpe.org.uk/poetryline/poems/20a-bus - https://www.childrenspoetryarchive.org/poem/last-night-i-saw-city-breathing - http://www.inuaellams.com/news/blog/wordart/2010/directions

Allow plenty of time for the children to hear, read and discuss the poems. You may also want

to use these prompts to support their discussion: - Read with the eye: look at the poem laid out on the page. Look at a poem as you

would a painting, a photograph, a sculpture. What does it look like?

- Read with the ears: read aloud poems that appeal – hear their ‘music’, their sound.

- Responding to what is unique: read a poem at least twice – finds its heart, an idea, a

feeling.

Benton and Benton (1999)

Once the children have spent time responding to the poems in small groups or pairs. Ask them to feedback their responses to the whole group.

Particularly focus on the children’s emotional response to the themes explored in the poems. Asking for example, what do they notice connects or links the poems? What themes or ideas are the poets exploring? What does the poem tell them, show them or make them think about?

Consider how the cities and urban environments in the poetry they have explored compare with the city depicted in the book Way Home. What are the similarities and differences?

Explore the devices and techniques that create a sense of place evoked in the poetry. Reflect on whether this is this similar or different to the device used by the author Libby Hathorn. Also consider with the children what additional sense of pace and atmosphere is created through the illustrations in Way Home.

Session 8: Soundscapes

Re-read the book so far, allowing the children time to respond to the text and images in small groups, noting their ideas and comments in the whole class journal.

Following the previous sessions, you may want to focus again on the sounds, sensations, experiences and emotions that people would encounter in a city like the one depicted in the text.

Explain to the children that you are going to give them the opportunity to create a soundscape to accompany their images of the city or the collaborative poetry they created in the first session.

Give the children time and appropriate and available resources and allow them to create a soundscape of the city.

You may want to support this initially with exploring the sounds that they can hear in an actual city or urban environment. You could do this by taking the children on a trip and recording the sounds they hear while outside.

If this is not possible, clips are available on line. For example: - http://soundbible.com/1629-Traffic-Jam-3.html - http://soundbible.com/tags-city.html

Once the children have rehearsed their soundscapes, choosing appropriate instruments or voice sounds, give them time to perform these, recording them where possible.

Following this, using the soundscape recordings and the children’s images, you could create an interactive display for others in the school to experience.

Instrumental sounds could also be explored by comparing and contrasting different pieces of music that could accompany the illustrations or different sections of the narrative. For example, music that you might hear coming from passing cars, from bars and restaurants or from theatres and music venues. This could be compared to a more sombre piece that reflects the quiet and solitude of a home.

When comparing the music, children could talk about which piece they think best matches the story and why, drawing on musical terminology such as pitch, timbre, tempo, dynamics, duration.

They could explore the instruments they think are part of the performance and talk about whether particular parts of the piece complement different parts of the story.

Sessions 9 - 10: Composing Poetry

Return to the poetry the children have read and experienced as well as their own collaborative compositions. Discuss with the class how poetry can be used to retell, reflect and explore experiences, particularly those that had an emotional impact on us – both positive and negative.

Explain to the children that they are going to have the opportunity to write some of their own poetry in response to the themes they have explored so far in their reading and discussion of Way Home, particularly the urban landscape explored throughout the text.

Allow the children choice over how they might want to write this poetry, for example, ask the children to consider if they want write in role as Shane looking out into this city that he

inhabits, or if they want to be an outsider looking in on the scenes they have explored. How might this alter their compositions?

To support the children’s writing, allow the children to listen again to the soundscapes they have created and use this as an opportunity to generate language, noting down words, phrases and ideas that come to mind as they listen.

You may also want the children to return to the images in the text and to look at further visual images of a cityscape in order to generate language and ideas. For example, this time lapse video of London would support the children’s understanding of the themes and ideas explored so far: https://bit.ly/2x8qFEM

Following this, some children might start developing a first draft of a poem straight away, perhaps drawing on some of the structures and patterns of language that they have seen in the poetry explored or other poets with which they are familiar.

Other children might need longer to explore ideas first: they may wish to visualise a moment in the text, an object, or experience, sketching it, annotating that with words or phrases or discussing it with a partner before they are ready to start developing it into a poem.

When the children are ready to start drafting their poems, encourage them to read their ideas aloud, testing to see which ones work most effectively and convey the right emotion for the piece. Share how to edit words to intensify meanings or feelings, painting the right picture for the reader or listener.

Consider together the potential impact of the wide range of poetic devices and forms that poets can use (including rhyme, rhythm, assonance, alliteration, repetition of words, lines and verses, metaphor and simile, direct speech). Provide the children with the opportunity to return to experiment with using some of these techniques in their drafts.

Encourage the children to think about the form the poem will take; will it rhyme to add rhythmic patterns? Will you arrange it as a prose poem as it tells a story? What language can you use to make your writing poetic? Some children may be more drawn to the free verse structure.

Explore different possibilities for presenting the poem on the page; where you could leave line breaks to allow for space for the reader to pause and reflect. At this stage, some children may not want to share their poems with a wider audience, perhaps wanting to write only for themselves or to share with a peer. Their autonomy over what and when to share will be important to their experience of writing.

Allow time for children to draft their own poems and then allow them to read aloud to a response partner to lift the words off the page, hearing how they sound when performed. Give time for response partners to ask their partner questions, discuss parts they are not sure are working or make suggestions to improve the writing.

When the children have a finalised poem, give each child a photocopy of their finished poem and allow them to mark this up with performance ideas. Will you perform on your own? Do you need others to support you? How will you use voice, body movements and facial expression to enhance the listener’s engagement and understanding?

Ensure time is given to try out ideas and rehearse performances of the children’s poems. When the poems are finished, display these on the working wall alongside the children’s

visualisations and recording of the soundscapes.

Session 11: Hot-Seating

Re-read the text aloud from the beginning and on until ‘this way home’ and allow the children to respond to the text, stopping at different points, to clarify the children’s understanding and allow for discussion around what the children like, dislike, any patterns that they notice or any questions that it brings up.

Consider what more we know about Shane from the book, for example the repetition of ‘past’ suggests he lives quite a long way from the place that he has found the cat. Reflect with the children why Shane might be so far from home at this time of night, and how has he managed to be so streetwise, for example, how does he know so many different ways to get home? Also consider why the cat is so important to Shane throughout the text.

Explain to the children that some of them are now going to Hot Seat in role as Shane so that they can explore his viewpoint.

Give the children time to discuss questions they might ask Shane beforehand; which will elicit the most interesting and full responses and how that has been achieved?

Ask the children to decide on ten questions that they would ask Shane, writing them down. Then ask the children to refine these questions together, considering which would elicit the best response from the character. Depending on your children’s experiences, this may need modelling first.

Then ask the children to choose their five most effective questions to submit to the hot-seating.

The children playing the part of Shane will also need time to prepare their story and inhabit the character. Simple props can be useful to support this process, such as a jacket.

Complete the hot-seating in role, allowing the children to ask the questions that they have

prepared.

After the hot-seating has taken place, consider which were the most effective questions and

why. What have we learnt from the hot-seating about the character Shane that we didn’t

know before?

You could record these sessions so that the children can refer to them again prior to writing. You could also take photographs of the children in role and ask the children to annotate the pictures following the hot-seating.

If you have children who are still developing readers and who may have gaps in their phonic knowledge, there are opportunities to use and apply phonics in the context of a high-quality text. For example, the words spits, growls, stops, lifts, street, thump, sports, vroom, hand, green, steps, smell, stuff, stacks, blinds, flash, tree, milk, trunk could be used to allow children to see and use consonant clusters in context.

Session 12: Writing in role

Re-read the book so far and reflect on the children’s hot seating completed in the previous session.

Explain that the children will now be writing in role as Shane, to reflect his experiences and viewpoint.

Before the children write in role, give them time to look over all the different work completed

in the sessions, such as the role on the wall, hot-seating and poetry. You could also use this as an opportunity to explore the register of formality, considering the

adjustment in tone from the third person narrative in the text to the speech in which we hear Shane’s voice. Consider with the children how the dialogue allows the reader an insight into Shane’s character – what can we tell about him from the things he says?

Give sustained writing time for the children to plan, draft and write, this may need to be supported in group writing sessions or through shared and modelled writing first.

Once the group have completed a first draft they could work with response partners to edit

and refine the work.

The group can then swap partners and work with an editing partner who supports the editing

process by giving them time to read their work aloud. Children will now support each other

with transcription proofreading, looking at spelling, punctuation and grammar.

Share the children’s writing by having this on display somewhere or by giving them an

opportunity to read their work aloud to a chosen audience.

Session 13: Exploring Text and Image

Give the children copies of the next three spreads in the book, but ensure the text has been omitted.

Allow the children time to explore the images and discuss them, noting their observations. For example, compare the close up of the dog’s face in the first image to the broadening of viewpoint in the second spread where we see Shane and the cat and then finally the wide expanse of city in the final spread.

Ask the children to work collaboratively in pairs or small groups to create text for each of the spreads. You may want different groups to work on the different spreads or you may want to ask each group to write the text for every spread.

Consider with the children the tone of the book so far and how they could replicate that in their own writing, for example considering the different names that Shane has used for the cat so far. Again reflect on the difference in the written narrative and the dialogue in the text, how will they strike a balance between the two in their own composition?

Give the children time to compose their own text. You may want to give the children small pieces of black paper and allow them to write in white colouring pencil to mimic the text in the book. They could then consider where the text could be placed on the image.

Once the children have composed their own text, these can be shared and displayed. Ask the children to read these aloud, comparing each different group’s text. Reflect on the language choices made, what was most effective and why?

Then give the children separate copies of the text that accompanies each image from the book, but don’t reveal which image goes with what section of text. Ask the children to work together to match the text to the image to which they think it belongs.

Ask the children to work in pairs or small groups initially and then to feedback to a whole class discussion, reasoning and justifying their ideas.

Tease out through this discussion an understanding of the relationship between text and image. For example, consider what is said in the image and what is said in the picture – do they give the same message (one emphasising the other)? Are they a literal representation of

each other? (This is unusual in a published picture book.) Do they show the same thing but from a different point of view?

Reflect on the similarities and differences between the original text from the book and the versions the children created.

Reflect on the events depicted in these pages and allow the children time to respond, returning to the Role on the Wall where appropriate to add further information.

Session 14: Book Talk and Visualisation

Re-read the text aloud so far and on until ‘this time, we’re going right on home’. Allow the class time to reflect on what they have read and to explore the accompanying images, returning to the role on the wall to add further information gleaned.

Ask the children to consider together what they think home will be like when Shane finally arrives there with the cat. The children may need time to reflect on their own homes or notions of home first before sharing with each other what they imagine.

Once the children have discussed what they imagine Shane’s home to be, give the children pieces of paper and appropriate and available art materials, pastels would work well for this activity. Then ask the children to sketch the home or Shane’s room in the house and the contents that they pictured.

Give the children time to share their work with one another and to compare and contrast their images. Invite children to comment on what is similar and what is different about what they have illustrated and why they think this is.

Following this, the children could write their own descriptive passages to go alongside their images, imitating the style of the text if they wish.

Session 15: Book Talk

Read the final part of the book to the children and explore the final illustrations. Discuss children’s responses to the ending of the book. What they liked or disliked, anything

that puzzled them or any connections they can make to the events in the book. Compare and contrast the home revealed in the story with the home the children imagined in

the previous session. Ask the children to consider if this is what they expected or if it was a surprise.

Look closely at the final illustration considering what more they find out about Shane from the contents of his ‘place’. Add final thoughts and reflections to the Role on the Wall.

Consider what clues the reader was given before this point which hinted at the fact that Shane was actually homeless, the children can go back at this point and find this breadcrumb trail in all the previous details and illustrations they have already explored. Such as his damaged and worn down shoes, his oversized clothes, his familiarity with the streets, the fact that he was a child out late at night in the city.

Use some of Aidan Chambers’ ‘special questions’ to explore the children’s responses to the book as a whole. For example:

- Which character interested you the most? - Is that character the most important in the story/ or is it really about someone else?

- Which character(s) didn’t you like? - Did any of the characters remind you of people you know? Or remind you of characters

in other books? Consider with the children how they think Shane may have become homeless. Broaden this

out to a more general discussion on homelessness, linking this to any cross curricular work you may have done during the sequence or using this as a starting point for a wider topic.

Sessions 16-20: Short-Story Writing

Explain to the class that you would like them to write a prequel to the book, describing what happened to Shane before he became homeless.

Return to the character of Shane and consider what may have happened to him before the

events in the book, drawing on any cross curricular work you may have completed on

homelessness during the sequence.

Allow the group to explore these ideas, discussing whether they think they really ‘know’ Shane

from the ideas presented to them in the book. What else would they like to find out about

him? What do they imagine he was like as a younger child?

Following this, you could complete some role-play and drama such as hot-seating in which the

group inhabit the character of Shane in different scenarios, imagining how he may have

behaved and the things he may have said.

Record the group’s role-play and drama and begin to build an alternative life for Shane, prior

to the events in the story.

Once you have explored the character of Shane, explore the possible events which would have

led to his homelessness, taking care to be sensitive to the themes and ideas that this may

provoke. Allow the group time to talk this through with a partner or small group and to record

ideas and suggestions.

Give time to explore ideas and then ask the children to write a first draft of this story

considering:

- What authorial tone and voice will you use?

- Where will your story sit on the register of formality?

- How will this determine the language/ sentence structure you use?

Once the children have completed a first draft they could work with response partners to edit

and refine the work.

The group can then swap partners and work with an editing partner who supports the editing

process by giving them time to read their work aloud. Children will now support each other

with transcription proofreading, looking at spelling, punctuation and grammar.

The class can then write up final copies and publish them as short stories, giving the children a

real purpose for this activity that would make this more meaningful for them.

Ideas for different book making techniques can be found in Get Writing! (Ages 4-7) by Paul

Johnson (A &C Black).

There are also resources available on the CLPE Power of Pictures website:

https://www.clpe.org.uk/powerofpictures/creative-approaches/bookmaking

Once the class have published their work, it can be placed in the reading area or in the school library.

Other opportunities for extended writing: Once you have read the novel you may want to support the children to complete further extended writing based on the ideas explored through the text.

You may want to provide the children with an opportunity to write in role as Shane or about his life and experiences.

For example, giving the children choices such as writing further poetry, diary entries, letters, re-writing the narrative from Shane's point of view, an autobiography or biography or telling the story of events imagined after the book has finished.

Specific spelling rules:

There are opportunities throughout the book to explore and to use and apply spelling rules in the context of a high-quality text.

You may want to explore the suffix –s. for example in the words ‘barks’, ‘rolls’, ‘growls’ to construct words in third person singular present tense. You could also explore the suffix -ing such as in the words ‘telling’, ‘disgusting’ and ‘kidding’.

You may want to explore the spellings of words that are onomatopoeic, asking the children to reflect on why they are spelt this way and not another way. For example, why is ‘ vroom’ spelt with a ‘v’ and not a ‘b’. Ask the children how they might spell this word.

You could also explore the superlatives featured in the text such as ‘topmost’ or ‘thinnest’. The children could explore compound words including ‘showroom’ and also the words Shane

makes up to call the cat: mycat, bestcat, fatcat, wildcat, spitfire, catlegs.