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This engaging and thought-provoking lesson is the first in a series of three lessons designed to accompany the class reading of Lynne Cherry’s 'The Kapok Tree.’ This lesson covers the opening section of the text (up to the end of the bee page - ‘all living things depend on one another.’) The comprehensive and colourful PowerPoint presentation enables students to understand the text through: -Making predictions; -Understanding the key features of context; -Retrieving key information. The lesson includes key information about the author, Amazon rainforest and deforestation, in addition to a range of retrieval, vocabulary, inference and deeper thinking activities. The PowerPoint presentation (16 slides) guides students through each stage of the learning. For the deeper thinking research task, a worksheet/ template is provided to guide the children’s thinking (in both Word and PDF). There is a lot of content here, so I would suggest perhaps breaking this up over two lessons. The resources are most suitable for students in lower KS2 (I originally used these resources with a year 3 class), but may be adapted for other age groups, depending upon the individual context of the school and students.

This resource booklet contains a wide range of age-appropriate, engaging, and meaningful comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of Morris Gleitzman’s 'Once.’ Teachers have found them particularly useful in comprehension or guided reading sessions. They are perfect for aiding the progress of children towards meeting the KS2 expectations within the National Curriculum framework. Children love learning from these resources, whilst they are also of great use to teachers, as there is explicit information within each task regarding which comprehension strands the task is designed to demonstrate. They also relate to key extracts, characters, and themes from the story, ensuring that children gain a deep understanding of the text. Activities within the booklet include: ‘Gleitzman’s Language Techniques’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Explain meanings of words that they know and ask the meaning of new words. Link the meaning of new words to words that they already know;’ ‘Character Analysis of Felix and Zelda’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Understand what is read by drawing on information from more than one paragraph, identifying key details that support the main ideas, and using quotations for illustration;’ ‘An Interview with Morris Gleitzman’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Understand what is read by drawing on information from more than one paragraph, identifying key details that support the main ideas, and using quotations for illustration;’ ‘Storyboarders’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Read books that are structured in different ways and for a range of purposes.’ Plus many, many more activities (the booklet is over 20 pages in length!) I’ve also added it as a PDF in case the formatting differs on your computer. The resource is suitable for home/ remote learning.

This detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students learning or revising Morris Gleitzman’s ‘Once.’ It contains comprehensive sections on: Context; Chapter by Chapter Summary; Main Characters; Themes; Gleitzman’s Language Devices; Words from the Author. Key words and ideas are underlined, and key quotes are included, for easy reference. The resource is designed to be printed onto A4 or A3, and is provided as both a PDF and a Word version (so that you can edit if you want to). All images used are licensed for commercial use.

This engaging and thought-provoking double-lesson resource aids students in developing a secure understanding of the final chapters (15 to 17) of Morris Gleitzman’s 'Once.’ In this section of the text, Felix, Barney and all of the children from the cellar are boarded onto the train towards the death camp, and Felix and Zelda make their miraculous escape. The comprehensive and colourful PowerPoint presentation enables students to understand the text through: -Retrieving information; -Analysing the writer’s use of language; -Summarising text events. The sessions include a range of retrieval, vocabulary, inference, explanation and deeper thinking activities. A clear, colourful and comprehensive PowerPoint presentation guides students through the learning. This lesson has a particular focus on summarising the events of the text. Students create a storyboard of the text, breaking the story up into six main stages and concisely summing up the main events in each section. A storyboard template is provided (in both Word and PDF) to support this task. There’s a lot in the session (21 slides in total) so I would recommend breaking into two lessons. The lessons are most suitable for students in upper KS2, but may be adapted for other year groups, depending upon the individual context of the school and students.

This engaging and thought-provoking double-lesson resource aids students in developing a secure understanding of the chapters 13 and 14 of Morris Gleitzman’s 'Once.’ In this section of the text, Felix and Barney go out in search of water, and the cellar is discovered by the Nazi soldiers. The comprehensive and colourful PowerPoint presentation enables students to understand the text through: -Retrieving information; -Analysing the writer’s use of language; -Making informed predictions. The sessions include a range of retrieval, vocabulary, inference, explanation and deeper thinking activities. A clear, colourful and comprehensive PowerPoint presentation guides students through the learning. This lesson has a particular focus on the writer’s use of language - in creating a sense of horror in Chapter 13 and in creating a sense of action and danger in Chapter 14. There’s a lot in the session (19 slides in total) so I would recommend breaking into two lessons. The lessons are most suitable for students in upper KS2, but may be adapted for other year groups, depending upon the individual context of the school and students.

This engaging and thought-provoking double-lesson resource aids students in developing a secure understanding of the chapters 11 and 12 of Morris Gleitzman’s 'Once.’ In this section of the text, Felix accompanies Barney on his dentist rounds, and the children look out of the cellar into the horrors of the Jewish ghetto. The comprehensive and colourful PowerPoint presentation enables students to understand the text through: -Retrieving information; -Inferring and deducing hidden meanings; -Linking the text to its historical context. The sessions include a range of retrieval, vocabulary, inference, explanation and deeper thinking activities. A clear, colourful and comprehensive PowerPoint presentation guides students through the learning. This lesson has a particular focus on children linking the events of the text to the historical context of the Jewish ghettos. Children use a research template (provided in both Word and PDF) and the resources available to them to find out more about the Jewish ghettos, and connect this information to the events and details provided in chapters 11 and 12 of the text. There’s a lot in the session (20 slides in total) so I would recommend breaking into two lessons. The lessons are most suitable for students in upper KS2, but may be adapted for other year groups, depending upon the individual context of the school and students.

This engaging and thought-provoking double-lesson resource aids students in developing a secure understanding of the chapters 9 to 10 of Morris Gleitzman’s 'Once.’ In this section of the text, Felix and Zelda are saved by Barney and live in a cellar in hiding from the Nazis. The comprehensive and colourful PowerPoint presentation enables students to understand the text through: -Retrieving information; -Inferring and deducing hidden meanings; -Empathising with characters. The sessions include a range of retrieval, vocabulary, inference, explanation and deeper thinking activities. A clear, colourful and comprehensive PowerPoint presentation guides students through the learning. This lesson has a particular focus on empathising with characters. Students explore this firstly through a ‘hot-seating’ activity, and then through plotting Felix’s feelings and emotions on a ‘Morale Graph’ (the worksheet/template for which is provided in both Word and PDF). There’s a lot in the session (20 slides in total) so I would recommend breaking into two lessons. The lessons are most suitable for students in upper KS2, but may be adapted for other year groups, depending upon the individual context of the school and students.

This engaging and thought-provoking double-lesson resource aids students in developing a secure understanding of the chapters 7 to 8 of Morris Gleitzman’s 'Once.’ In this section of the text, Felix and Zelda are caught by the Nazis and forced to walk into the city with thousands of other Jews. Along the journey, they experience several atrocities. The comprehensive and colourful PowerPoint presentation enables students to understand the text through: -Retrieving information; -Inferring and deducing hidden meanings; -Exploring themes. The sessions include a range of retrieval, vocabulary, inference, explanation and deeper thinking activities. A clear, colourful and comprehensive PowerPoint presentation guides students through the learning. This lesson has a particular focus on the themes of persecution and innocence. Students consider how these themes have been introduced throughout the text so far, and then consider how they are further developed within the two chapters. There’s a lot in the session (23 slides in total) so I would recommend breaking into two lessons. The lessons are most suitable for students in upper KS2, but may be adapted for other year groups, depending upon the individual context of the school and students.

This engaging and thought-provoking double-lesson resource aids students in developing a secure understanding of the chapters 5 to 6 of Morris Gleitzman’s 'Once.’ In this section of the text, Felix is scared off from his hometown, and rescues Zelda from the fire. The comprehensive and colourful PowerPoint presentation enables students to understand the text through: -Retrieving information; -Inferring and deducing hidden meanings; -Exploring characters. The sessions include a range of retrieval, vocabulary, inference, explanation and deeper thinking activities. A clear, colourful and comprehensive PowerPoint presentation guides students through the learning. This lesson has a particular focus on how different characters are introduced and developed. For the main creative task, students produce a character profile for Felix. A template for this activity is provided (in both Word and PDF). There’s a lot in the session (20 slides in total) so I would recommend breaking into two lessons. The lessons are most suitable for students in upper KS2, but may be adapted for other year groups, depending upon the individual context of the school and students.

This engaging and thought-provoking double-lesson resource aids students in developing a secure understanding of the chapters 3 to 4 of Morris Gleitzman’s 'Once.’ In this section of the text, Felix escapes from the orphanage, finds an abandoned house, and follows the red river. The comprehensive and colourful PowerPoint presentation enables students to understand the text through: -Retrieving information; -Inferring and deducing hidden meanings; -Exploring the writer’s techniques. In particular, the lesson focuses on the dramatic irony created through Felix’s first person narrative, considering the effect that this has on the reader. The sessions include a range of retrieval, vocabulary, inference, explanation and deeper thinking activities. A clear, colourful and comprehensive PowerPoint presentation guides students through the learning. There’s a lot in the session (20 slides in total) so I would recommend breaking into two lessons. The lessons are most suitable for students in upper KS2, but may be adapted for other year groups, depending upon the individual context of the school and students.

This engaging and thought-provoking double-lesson resource aids students in developing a secure understanding of the chapters 1 to 2 of Morris Gleitzman’s 'Once.’ In this opening section of the text, Felix believes that his parents are coming to take him home from the orphanage. Instead, the officials arrive and begin burning books in the orphanage, to the despair of the nuns. The comprehensive and colourful PowerPoint presentation enables students to understand the text through: -Making predictions; -Retrieving information; -Inferring and deducing hidden meanings; -Linking the text to its context. The sessions include a range of retrieval, vocabulary, inference, explanation and deeper thinking activities. A clear, colourful and comprehensive PowerPoint presentation guides students through the learning. There’s a lot in the session (20 slides in total) so I would recommend breaking into two lessons. The lessons are most suitable for students in upper KS2, but may be adapted for other age groups, depending upon the individual context of the school and students.

This engaging and thought-provoking double-lesson resource aids students in developing a secure understanding of Chapters Nineteen and Twenty of John Boyne’s 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.’ In this final section of the text, Bruno enters the camp disguised as a prisoner in order to help Shmuel find his father, he and Shmuel become victims of the horrors of the Holocaust, and Bruno’s family are heartbroken at his disappearance. The comprehensive and colourful PowerPoint presentation enables students to understand the text through: -Retrieving information; -Understanding the writer’s intentions; -Sequencing and summarising text events. The lesson focuses particularly on John Boyne’s key messages in writing the novel. Students explore what Boyne intended through constructing the ending in the way that he did, and consider the wider messages that he is conveying about the Holocaust and society in general. Students also use sequencing and summarising skills to produce a storyboard of the main events of the text - a storyboard template is provided for this (in both Word and PDF). There’s a lot of content in the resource (21 slides in total) and in the past I have utilised this material over two or even three lessons. The lessons are best suited to students in KS3, and develop students’ knowledge and skills in relation to English curriculum objectives.

This engaging and thought-provoking double-lesson resource aids students in developing a secure understanding of Chapters Seventeen and Eighteen of John Boyne’s 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.’ In this section of the text, Bruno’s Mother convinces his Father to allow her to return to Berlin with the children, and Bruno and Shmuel hatch a plan to find Shmuel’s father. The comprehensive and colourful PowerPoint presentation enables students to understand the text through: -Retrieving information; -Inferring and deducing; -Exploring the writer’s use of language techniques. The lesson focuses particularly on how John Boyne creates tension and dramatic irony towards the final stages of the novel. The students explore the tension in the household as Bruno’s Mother and Father become more detached, and consider the use of dramatic irony as Bruno and Shmuel devise their plan. There’s a lot of content in the resource (21 slides in total) and in the past I have utilised this material over two or even three lessons. The lessons are best suited to students in KS3, and develop students’ knowledge and skills in relation to English curriculum objectives.

This engaging and thought-provoking double-lesson resource aids students in developing a secure understanding of Chapters Fifteen and Sixteen of John Boyne’s 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.’ In this section of the text, Bruno denies knowing Shmuel to Lieutenant Kotler and the family temporarily return to Berlin after Grandmother passes away. The comprehensive and colourful PowerPoint presentation enables students to understand the text through: -Retrieving information; -Inferring and deducing; -Explaining key ideas and meanings. The lesson focuses particularly on explaining the key meanings in the two chapters, including considering why Bruno chose to deny knowing Shmuel and the extent to which Gretel is maturing as the text develops. For the deeper thinking task, students consider Bruno’s morale at different points in the text, explaining and justifying their ideas using textual evidence. A morale chart template/ worksheet is provided to support this activity. There’s a lot of content in the resource (21 slides in total) and in the past I have utilised this material over two or even three lessons. The lessons are best suited to students in KS3, and develop students’ knowledge and skills in relation to English curriculum objectives.

This engaging and thought-provoking double-lesson resource aids students in developing a secure understanding of Chapters Thirteen and Fourteen of John Boyne’s 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.’ In this section of the text, Bruno and his family witness Lieutenant Kotler’s beating of Pavel, and Bruno speaks with Gretel about his ‘imaginary’ friend. The comprehensive and colourful PowerPoint presentation enables students to understand the text through: -Retrieving information; -Inferring and deducing; -Analyse the writer’s use of language. The lesson focuses particularly on Boyne’s use of language devices to affect the reader throughout this section of the text. There is a particular focus on the way in which he builds tension throughout the bottle of wine scene. There’s a lot of content in the resource (23 slides in total) and in the past I have utilised this material over two or even three lessons. The lessons are best suited to students in KS3, and develop students’ knowledge and skills in relation to English curriculum objectives.

This engaging and thought-provoking double-lesson resource aids students in developing a secure understanding of Chapters Eleven and Twelve of John Boyne’s 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.’ In this section of the text, Bruno recalls the visit of ‘the Fury’ and he learns more from Shmuel about the events leading up to his arrival at ‘Out-with.’ The comprehensive and colourful PowerPoint presentation enables students to understand the text through: -Retrieving information; -Inferring and deducing; -Developing their understanding of historical context. The lesson focuses particularly on the key features of historical context that link to the events in this section of the text. For example, students use researching skills to find out more about Adolf Hitler. For these research activity, research templates are provided to offer guidance and support for students. There’s a lot of content in the resource (21 slides in total) and in the past I have utilised this material over two or even three lessons. The lessons are best suited to students in KS3, and develop students’ knowledge and skills in relation to English curriculum objectives.