Visual literacy. Using good quality picture books with children in Years 4, 5 and 6

When was the last time you read a picture book with your 8, 9, 10 or 11 year old? As children get older, we encourage them to give up beautiful books and move towards ‘proper books’ with chapters and increasingly tiny writing. Then we wonder why they lose the desire to read. Perhaps it’s time to put down the weighty tome and, instead, turn to some of the stunning, wonderfully written picture books that are available for older children. And if, as well as re-igniting a fire for reading, we could link the literacy to other areas of the curriculum, then we’d surely be onto a winning formula. There’s never been a more perfect time to be creative with our home-taught curriculums so let’s give it a try…

Text 1: ‘How to Live Forever,’ Colin Thompson

Synopsis: A young boy lives in a book in a library with his family. One night he finds a library card for the book ‘How to Live Forever,’ and he sets off to find the book but when he finds it, he faces a very difficult decision… does he really want to live forever? This richly illustrated book introduces some interesting points for discussion about ageing and mortality with children, it’s also simply beautiful to look at.

Writing activities based on the text:

·         Write a debate considering the pros and cons of ‘living forever’

·         Write a diary as though you are the boy, detail your journeys through the library, the things you see and the people you meet

·         Write a description of the beautiful Chinese garden using all 5 senses, simile, metaphor and personification

·         Write a letter as though you are the ‘ancient boy’ warning people about the perils of the book

Art activities based on the text:

·         Add a new section to the library (for example, a ‘magic section’ where the magic shops are and the magicians live) Draw it

·         Make a library shelf using cereal boxes on a real shelf of your own

Maths activities based on the text:

·         Time! Telling the time, calculating time durations, reading analogue and digital clocks, using the 24 hour clock

·         Learning ‘time facts’- days in months, months in a year etc.

·         Writing own word problems based on time

RE/PSE

·         Consider how people of different faiths view our ‘time on earth’ (for example, the Christian belief in Heaven, the Buddhist belief in reincarnation etc.)