You Will Need
Group Readers
Superheroes All Sorts
Fiction
English Year 1 Summer Stories on a Theme
Superheroes
Superheroes All Sorts, Super Daisy, Superhero ABC will inspire your class to read and write! Study antonyms and punctuation while producing comic strips based on invented superheroes.
Start with the core unit to introduce key texts. Then select from comprehension, SPAG and composition units.
Unit 1 Core Unit 1 – Read, recognise and enjoy a text about superheroes
(suggested as 4 days)
Planning and Activities
Day 1 Teaching
Introduce Superheroes- All sorts (see resource). Describe any superheroes and toys they have bought in and discuss what makes these superheroes different from ‘ordinary’ people.
Activity
Children discuss and then draw a favourite superhero. They write the name and a short caption to describe what sort of a superhero they are. Some children write the name and orally say the caption for an adult to scribe.
Day 2 Teaching
Re-read Superheroes- All sorts (see resource). Discuss reading strategies using the decoding and word attack strategies to support them (see resource).
Activity
Organise children into groups to read and answer questions. Harder: read Superheroes-All Sorts with set 1 questions (see resource). Most: read the shortened version (see resource) with set 3 questions (see resource). Easier: read the shortened version (see resource) with set 2 of questions (see resource).
Day 3 Teaching
Children each think of a new superhero and discuss with partner. Look at pre-prepared sentences and non-sentences on the flipchart and correct missing punctuation. Dictate a sentence and children use correct punctuation.
Activity
Children think of their own superheroes. They draw a picture, name him/her and write a short description about their special abilities.
Day 4 Teaching
Children create a new page for a book. Model how this will be done. Explore capital letters by showing a lower case letter and children writing the capital.
Activity
They cut out the superhero drawing from day 3 and stick it on a new page. They then write up the name and description in neat using capital letters and full stops.
Group Readers
Superheroes All Sorts
A quite superb book which points out that there are many types of superhero – human and otherwise! All children (and adults) will love the illustrations which can make us laugh out loud. This text is perfect for beginning readers.
You can purchase printed copies of this Group Reader from Hamilton Education.
Unit 2 SPAG: Spelling of plurals and words ending –ed and -ing
(suggested as 4 days)
You Will Need
Texts
Class book from Unit 1
Websites
DC Super Friends Episode 13, League Vs. Legion from www.YouTube.com
DC Super Hero Girls , Season 3 from www.YouTube.com
Group Readers
Superheroes All Sorts
Planning and Activities
Day 1 Teaching
Show the superhero clip DC Super Friends Episode 13, League Vs. Legion or DC Super Hero Girls Season 3 on www.YouTube.com. Write superhero and discuss plurals. Write superheroes and discuss the simple rules we can follow.
Activity
Children play the plural game and match the base word with –s or –es. Some children play the game then write sentences containing some of their words.
Day 2 Teaching
Share the class book from Unit 1 or Superheroes All Sorts (see resource). Discuss superpowers with –ing endings e.g. freezing people, flying etc. Discuss rules for adding –ing, with examples.
Activity
Pairs have pictures of superheroes. They think of –ing words to match, then write these, e.g. climbing skyscrapers. Some children only write one –ing word per picture. Some children discuss what happens if the word ends –e, e.g. slide, where we lose the ‘e’ to get sliding.
Day 3 Teaching
Show more of day 1 clip. Write a statement about a superhero and point out –ed ending. Discuss spelling rules for –ed endings with examples.
Activity
Children write two sentences about superheroes, using the past tense and some given regular verbs (see resource). Some children also draw on irregular verbs to write past tense sentences.
Day 4 Teaching
This day consolidates the learning and makes sure that the spelling rules are familiar and beginning to become embedded in children’s spelling strategies. Revise rules for –ed endings, -ing endings and plurals.
Activity
Set up three tables with resources and instructions (see resources). Children move round each activity, writing the words they have changed using correct spelling (see resource). Some children write sentences.
Group Readers
Superheroes All Sorts
A quite superb book which points out that there are many types of superhero – human and otherwise! All children (and adults) will love the illustrations which can make us laugh out loud. This text is perfect for beginning readers.
You can purchase printed copies of this Group Reader from Hamilton Education.
Unit 3 Composition: Recognising and writing antonyms and comparisons
(suggested as 3 days)
You Will Need
Texts
Super Daisy by Kes Gray and Nick Sharrett
Group Readers
Superheroes All Sorts
Planning and Activities
Day 1 Teaching
Read Super Daisy and look at the pages with comparisons, e.g. Super Daisy is stronger than a lunar elephant. Discuss that opposite of strong is weak and make up a sentence E.g. Super Daisy is as weak as a new born baby. Identify some pairs of opposites (antonyms) with children.
Activity
Children read the illustrated sentences (see resources) and then answer comprehension questions about them (see resources). Some children read these sentences as part of a group and have a discussion.
Day 2 Teaching
Re-read Super Daisy and look at ‘as fast as… as strong as…’ sentences. Look at Superheroes All Sorts (see resources) and write comparisons about the superheroes e.g. Nana superhero is as nice as chocolate cake, etc.
Activity
Children make up superheroes and write comparative sentences about them, e.g. Bendy superhero is as bendy as a snake. They can use the Helpful words sheet (see resources) to help them. Some children are challenged to write comparative sentences containing synonyms.
Day 3 Teaching
Re-read Super Daisy and Superheroes All Sorts (see resources). Make a list of superheroes who may be regarded as opposite, e.g. long/short, flat, bumpy, speedy and sluggish, etc.
Activity
Children work in pairs to invent superhero opposites. They can use the Opposite Superhero illustrations (see resources) and Superhero Words (see resources) to help them. They orally compose the sentence then write comparisons for their pairs of superheroes. Some children work as a group to do this and write one comparative sentence.
Group Readers
Superheroes All Sorts
A quite superb book which points out that there are many types of superhero – human and otherwise! All children (and adults) will love the illustrations which can make us laugh out loud. This text is perfect for beginning readers.
You can purchase printed copies of this Group Reader from Hamilton Education.
Unit 4 SPAG: Alphabet and initial sounds; using capitals for proper names
(suggested as 3 days)
You Will Need
Texts
Superhero ABC by Bob McLeod
Planning and Activities
Day 1 Teaching
Read Superhero ABC by Bob McLeod, focussing on the pages A,B,C,D,P and W. Rehearse singing or chanting the alphabet, then discuss the way the author has used names and words with the same initial sounds and letters.
Activity
Children complete a carousel activity. Put four copies of each of the pages G,H,O,R,S and V on six different tables e.g. table 1 has four copies of G etc. Children visit each table and write words beginning with the same letter on post-it notes.
Day 2 Teaching
Revisit Superhero ABC and then write two children’s names on the board without capital letters. See if children spot the mistake. Remind children that even superheroes need capital letters.
Activity
Children choose a consonant letter and pick the matching Superhero Planning sheet (see resources). They think of a name for their superhero and some words to describe them beginning with the same letter. Some children are given the letters T, S or N and some suggested adjectives to make it easier.
Day 3 Teaching
Revisit the Superhero ABC book and look at the ‘W’ page. Discuss the features of the page and help children to think about the layout for their own pages.
Activity
Children create their own superhero ABC pages. They draw the superhero, add the name using capital letters and then write words and phrases to describe that superhero using the same initial sounds. Some children write longer phrases and sentences.
Unit 5 Composition: Write dialogue and produce a comic strip about a superhero
(suggested as 5 days)
You Will Need
Group Readers
Superheroes All Sorts
Planning and Activities
Day 1 Teaching
Display examples of Superheroes and discuss powers they might have. Children think of possibilities for their own superhero and use –ing words to describe these, e.g. saving children in danger. They also consider who the baddy might be whom their superhero will need to oppose.
Activity
Children work with a partner to invent a new superhero. They write –ing words to describe their special powers. Some children write full sentences, e.g. Sonic Girl loves flying through clouds.
Day 2 Teaching
Give children ‘thinking time’ and ask them questions about their superhero’s history, e.g. How/when did they discover their powers? Were they happy/scared? They then imagine a ‘baddy’ character and his/her characteristics. Model how to fill out the Superhero ID Form (see resources).
Activity
Children discuss the information to go on the Superhero ID Form (see resources) with a partner. They then fill out the form individually. Some children work in a group with an adult to do this.
Day 3 Teaching
Children think more about the ‘baddy’’ character. Role-play a conversation between a superhero and a baddy using either a confident child or another adult. Model how this dialogue can be recorded in Speech Bubble Dialogue (see resources).
Activity
Children work in pairs to create oral dialogue between their superhero and their baddy. They swap roles to include all their characters. Some children go on to record this dialogue on the Speech Bubble Dialogue sheet (see resources).
Day 4 Teaching
Discuss comic book strips and their features. Model writing a comic book by writing some dialogue in speech bubbles on the enlarged Comic Strip sheet (see resources) and include extra captions below the pictures. Discuss punctuation.
Activity
Children begin writing their comic book strips on enlarged copies of the Comic Strip sheet (see resources). Some children only have 3 frames to complete (Just pictures today).
Day 5 Teaching
Model the editing process to children by using two examples from the class. Discuss how speech bubbles can be added to their comic strips. Recap the use of punctuation. Encourage children to re-read their writing to check that it makes sense.
Activity
Children re-read and edit their comic strips so far, before continuing until finished. Then they present all their work on Superheroes to an audience of peers and parents.
Group Readers
Superheroes All Sorts
A quite superb book which points out that there are many types of superhero – human and otherwise! All children (and adults) will love the illustrations which can make us laugh out loud. This text is perfect for beginning readers.
You can purchase printed copies of this Group Reader from Hamilton Education.