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Key Stage 1 Famous for more than Five Minutes - NEW LOOK
Authors

Be inspired by the lives of William Shakespeare and J. K. Rowling. Compare their timelines, and compare the technologies they would have used to write their books. Study fantasy characters the authors created and make your own fantasy stories about a magical object. Learn about the café where Rowling wrote and create a writers’ café in the classroom. Discuss what you would write, before making your own books and writing your own fantastic stories.

block outcomes

Session 1 Meet William Shakespeare and J. K. Rowling

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Objectives

History

  • Understand the lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements.

English

  • Become increasingly familiar with and retelling a wider range of stories, fairy stories and traditional tales.

Lesson Planning

Learn about the lives of Shakespeare and J. K. Rowling. Meet 2 fantasy characters. Create a fantasy character.

Teaching Outcomes
 To contrast and compare William Shakespeare and J. K. Rowling.
To understand the features of fantasy stories and create a fantasy character.

Children will:

  • Understand that William Shakespeare and J. K. Rowling are famous writers from different times.
  • Understand that timelines can be expressed in different ways.
  • Be able to discuss the features of a fantasy story or character.

Provided Resources

  • Pictures of Shakespeare and J. K. Rowling
  • Venn diagram of Shakespeare and J. K. Rowling
  • William Shakespeare timeline
  • J. K. Rowling timeline
  • Shakespeare’s and J. K. Rowling’s fantasy characters
  • Fantasy character list
  • Blank venn diagram
  • Fantasy character frame

You Will Need

You do not need any particular resources for this session.

Weblinks

There are no weblinks needed for this session.

Session 2 Shakespeare, J. K. Rowling and their technologies

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Objectives

History

  • Understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses.

English

  • Understand both the books they can already read accurately and fluently and those they listen to by drawing on what they already know or on background information and vocabulary provided by the teacher.

Lesson Planning

Learn more about Shakespeare, his work and his world. Compare technologies used by a writer in the 16th-17th century and now.

Teaching Outcomes
 To begin to learn about Shakespeare’s world; To find out how people used to write in William Shakespeare’s time.
To find out where Shakespeare’s plays were performed and the names of some of his plays.

Children will:

  • Know the names of one or more Shakespeare plays.
  • Compare writing implements in the past with those available now.
  • Make an information sheet using a layout of their choice.

Provided Resources

  • Old and new writing technologies
  • A printing press in Shakespeare’s time
  • A modern printing press

You Will Need

  • Tablets/computers

Session 3 Writing like Shakespeare and J. K. Rowling

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Objectives

History

  • Understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections and draw contrasts.
  • Understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed.

Design and Technology

  • Select from and use a range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks.

Lesson Planning

Learn more about how Shakespeare wrote his plays and J. K. Rowling wrote her books. Make a simple quill pen and experiment with writing with it.

Teaching Outcomes
 To understand how people wrote in Shakespeare’s time.
To make a straw quill pen and experiment with straw widths and angle of nib.

Children will:

  • Learn new vocabulary related to writing in Tudor times.
  • Make and experiment with a quill pen, and evaluate it verbally.

Provided Resources

  • Examples of Shakespeare’s writing
  • Examples of Tudor writing
  • Example quill pen
  • Paper feather templates
  • Example of J. K. Rowling’s writing

You Will Need

  • A large feather
  • Straws
  • Watery brown paint

Session 4 Creating magical stories

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Objectives

History

  • Gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history.

English

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

Lesson Planning

Study the story of Midsummer’s Night’s Dream. Work as a group to create a story/play about a magic object.

Teaching Outcomes
 To understand that Shakespeare wrote stories a long time ago that we can still enjoy today.
To work together as a group to create ideas for a story or play.

Children will:

  • Understand more about Shakespeare’s historical context.
  • Work collaboratively and develop ideas through speaking and listening.

You Will Need

You do not need any particular resources for this session.

Session 5 Performing magical stories

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Objectives

English

  • Speak audibly and fluently with an increasing command of standard English.
  • Participate in discussions, presentations, performances, role play, improvisations and debates.
  • Gain, maintain and monitor the interest of the listener(s).

Music

  • Play tuned and untuned instruments musically.

Lesson Planning

Improvise a short story about someone who has found a magic object.

Teaching Outcomes
 To experience taking part in an improvisation and performing it to other people.
To experiment with including instruments in an improvisation.

Children will:

  • Understand some of the elements that make a good performance.
  • Make the link between imaginative play and stories.
  • Work co-operatively as part of a group.

Provided Resources

This session does not need any provided resources.

You Will Need

  • Magical object planning chart (completed in session 4)
  • A few untuned musical instruments

Session 6 Creating a writers' café

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Objectives

History

  • Understand the lives of significant individuals in the past (and present) who have contributed to national and international achievements.

Art

  • Use a range of materials creatively to design and make products.
  • Develop a wide range of art and design techniques in using colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space.

Lesson Planning

Learn more about the life and writing of J. K. Rowling. Learn about The Elephant House café in Edinburgh. Create own writers’ café.

Teaching Outcomes
 To understand how J. K. Rowling started out in her writing career.
To make eye-catching and informative posters.

Children will:

  • Understand that famous people often struggle at the beginning.
  • Use different techniques to make an eye-catching poster.
  • Use role play to inspire writing.

You Will Need

  • Art materials
  • A3 paper
  • Cups
  • Drinks for the children

Session 7 Making your own book

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Objectives

History

  • Gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history.
  • Study the lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements.

Design and Technology

  • Select from and use a range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks.
  • Explore and evaluate a range of existing products.
  • Evaluate their ideas and products against design criteria.

Lesson Planning

Discuss writing own book. Make a book to fill with magical stories.

Teaching Outcomes
 To review what has been learned about Shakespeare and J. K. Rowling.
To fold and cut paper accurately to make a folded book.

Children will:

  • Review what they have learnt about J. K. Rowling and William Shakespeare.
  • Gain some understanding of the way a book is made.
  • Make and evaluate a simple folded book.

You Will Need

  • Venn diagram of Shakespeare and J. K. Rowling (from session 1)
  • Hardback and paperback books
  • A3 white paper
  • Coloured paper

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