The Christmas Shed
The Christmas period doesn't have to be all glitter and rehearsals. I find it equally important to keep the children engaged throughout the festive season.
Hopefully some of the resources below can aid teachers in engaging and inspiring children to write. Merry Christmas to all from Rob and the Team. |
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John Lewis 2014 - Monty The penguin
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It has become a tradition in recent years for the big stores to release a Christmas advert, along with heart wrenching plot and chilled out musical cover version.
This year's advert from John Lewis didn't disappoint although it is not my favourite of theirs. I prefer the 2011 'The Long Wait' In this advert we see a small boy and his 'pet' penguin, they do everything together, but we soon see that the penguin has a yearning for something more. The penguin is looking for a friend a bit more like himself. At the end we have the big reveal and we find out that Monty is a stuffed penguin and the little boy's parents have bought him a 'mate.' Both the boy and the penguin are happy! 'Give someone the Christmas they've been dreaming of!' is the strapline. To see resources linked to The Sainsbury's advert click here The Christmas Truce |
Writing Opportunities
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Cadbury's Unwrap the Joy advert 2013
A street is woken up to find that every house, car and
lamppost has been wrapped ready for Christmas. The children
of the neighbourhood then set about bashing through the paper.
With key stage 2 children I would write news reports of the
event. Children could record vox-pop interviews, the children
would be happy but would everybody? Some adults may be
unhappy, because they have to unwrap their cars before they can
go to work. The neighbourhood watch lady may not be happy -
who is going to clean everything up?
You could have a go at recreating this in your classroom,
especially in KS1 and ask the children to unwrap eve
lamppost has been wrapped ready for Christmas. The children
of the neighbourhood then set about bashing through the paper.
With key stage 2 children I would write news reports of the
event. Children could record vox-pop interviews, the children
would be happy but would everybody? Some adults may be
unhappy, because they have to unwrap their cars before they can
go to work. The neighbourhood watch lady may not be happy -
who is going to clean everything up?
You could have a go at recreating this in your classroom,
especially in KS1 and ask the children to unwrap eve
Home Alone Soundtrack
It wouldn't be Christmas without the film Home Alone! Possibly, the best aspect of the film is its incredible soundtrack. Music is rarely used as a way to inspire writing, but by playing and comparing different parts of the soundtrack it can really inspire some great writing. This approach was inspired after a training session from John Murray.
Listen to the audio and ask the children to think about the following questions:
Ask the children for some initial words/phrases relating to these questions. Establish that this music reflects the busy and hectic run up to Christmas. Make a list of people who are busy in the run up to Christmas, what will they be doing? How would they feel? How can you tell by looking at their actions how they feel?
Children can then develop a paragraph based on the busy build up to Christmas.
Then ask the children to the next exert from the film:
- What time of year does it remind you of?
- Is the song quick or slow?
- What do you expect people to be doing if this was background music?
- Why do you think this?
Ask the children for some initial words/phrases relating to these questions. Establish that this music reflects the busy and hectic run up to Christmas. Make a list of people who are busy in the run up to Christmas, what will they be doing? How would they feel? How can you tell by looking at their actions how they feel?
Children can then develop a paragraph based on the busy build up to Christmas.
Then ask the children to the next exert from the film:
This is a complete contrast in pace to the previous clip. Again ask the children to think and picture what could be happening as this music plays? Establish that this represents more of the magic of Christmas, the happiness and joy that Christmas represents. Discuss with the children examples of this magic, maybe link to stories like a Christmas carol. Again children could develop and write a paragraph based on these ideas. The children could even link both songs and compare the manic preparations for the worthwhile rewards of a great family Christmas.
I have used this idea in lessons with Year 6, using Coveritlive as a tool for a live writing session. You can see the lesson here.
THERE ARE MORE IDEAS LIKE THIS ON @ICT_MrP's 12 days of iPad Christmas lessons.
I have used this idea in lessons with Year 6, using Coveritlive as a tool for a live writing session. You can see the lesson here.
THERE ARE MORE IDEAS LIKE THIS ON @ICT_MrP's 12 days of iPad Christmas lessons.
To use an image click pause - to copy it into a document then right click on the image to save it or to copy it.
'Twas the night before Christmas
Iconic version of this stunning poem read by Perry Como.
Could be used as a stimulus for children to write their own Christmas poems.
Could be used as a stimulus for children to write their own Christmas poems.
A Christmas Card to Friends
A short but perfectly formed Christmas music video. Many images of Christmas appear and disappear in the Snowglobe. Children can write descriptions about the different images that appear.
The John Lewis Adverts
Bear and Hare 2013
Click here for downloadable Bear and Hare Resources
A stunning animation, discuss what the Hare said to the Bear and write the Dialogue.
Write the story of the bear and the hare.
Describe/ Explain what Christmas is to the bear, someone who has never seen it before.
Create a Dual Narrative - A dual narrative is a story written from two points of view. In this case the story from the viewpoint of the bear and the hare. Ask the children in pairs to watch the video and write the story from the viewpoint of either the bear or the hare. Ask the child who is writing as the bear to write in blue and the children writing about the Rabbit in Red. Encourage them to write each sentence seperately, leaving a line between each sentence, here is some examples from a class we have used this with:
On all fours, the bear ambled through the forest displaying the toll of a long summer.
Sensing change, the bear's nose twitched and he glanced towards the chilly sky.
An icycle danced past the barren trees and nestled softly on the bear's nose.
The rabbit's version may start like this:
The warm, snug coat smothered the content Rabbit.
Content, Rabbit rode like a King on his proud stallion until suddenly he slid off.
Disheartened, worried, upset, Rabbit knew it wasn't long before bear would disappear again.
Ask the children to then cut out their sentences and mix with their partners to have one Bear sentence and one Rabbit sentence, when put together you will create a dual narrative that flips from each character and when done properly produces a really effective story, look what happens when we combine a sentence from each story:
On all fours, the bear ambled through the forest displaying the toll of a long summer. Content, Rabbit rode like a King on his proud stallion until suddenly he slid off. An icycle danced past the barren trees and nestled softly on the bear's nose.
or
The warm, snug coat smothered the content Rabbit. Sensing change, the bear's nose twitched and he glanced towards the chilly sky. Disheartened, worried, upset, Rabbit knew it wasn't long before bear would disappear again.
Once the stories have been put together, the children could record themselves performing their stories using Audioboo. Or even use iMovie to narrate the story over picture or the video of the advert.
THERE ARE MORE IDEAS LIKE THIS ON @ICT_MrP's 12 days of iPad Christmas lessons.
Write the story of the bear and the hare.
Describe/ Explain what Christmas is to the bear, someone who has never seen it before.
Create a Dual Narrative - A dual narrative is a story written from two points of view. In this case the story from the viewpoint of the bear and the hare. Ask the children in pairs to watch the video and write the story from the viewpoint of either the bear or the hare. Ask the child who is writing as the bear to write in blue and the children writing about the Rabbit in Red. Encourage them to write each sentence seperately, leaving a line between each sentence, here is some examples from a class we have used this with:
On all fours, the bear ambled through the forest displaying the toll of a long summer.
Sensing change, the bear's nose twitched and he glanced towards the chilly sky.
An icycle danced past the barren trees and nestled softly on the bear's nose.
The rabbit's version may start like this:
The warm, snug coat smothered the content Rabbit.
Content, Rabbit rode like a King on his proud stallion until suddenly he slid off.
Disheartened, worried, upset, Rabbit knew it wasn't long before bear would disappear again.
Ask the children to then cut out their sentences and mix with their partners to have one Bear sentence and one Rabbit sentence, when put together you will create a dual narrative that flips from each character and when done properly produces a really effective story, look what happens when we combine a sentence from each story:
On all fours, the bear ambled through the forest displaying the toll of a long summer. Content, Rabbit rode like a King on his proud stallion until suddenly he slid off. An icycle danced past the barren trees and nestled softly on the bear's nose.
or
The warm, snug coat smothered the content Rabbit. Sensing change, the bear's nose twitched and he glanced towards the chilly sky. Disheartened, worried, upset, Rabbit knew it wasn't long before bear would disappear again.
Once the stories have been put together, the children could record themselves performing their stories using Audioboo. Or even use iMovie to narrate the story over picture or the video of the advert.
THERE ARE MORE IDEAS LIKE THIS ON @ICT_MrP's 12 days of iPad Christmas lessons.
Click here to download still images from the animation
2012
The Snowman's Journey
Two snow people fall in love one snowy evening. When morning comes Mr Snowman has disappeared, set off on a tough journey over field and fell.
Why has he gone on this journey? What has made him travel into the city? He went shopping in the city for Mrs Snowman's Christmas present. |
Teaching Ideas
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Some examples of personification created by Year 6 Children at St Clare's RC School in Blackley, Manchester
The microscopic robin dancing on the colossal tree.
The whistle of the wind calling for me.
The twittering robins singing with joy.
The thought of my true love opening her present made my face light up.
The beautiful cars swished like reindeers.
To cold air skimmed across the delicate snow.
My blood bubbled with love.
The never ending blanket of snow covered the land as far as the eye could see, as if it was hiding something.
I tasted the songs running into my mouth.
The wind blowing in my ear, not bothering to go.
As the night grew darker the wind started to roar.
The wind was whistling, calling my name.
Sparkling lights prancing around me.
Snowstorms flushing through me.
Little snowflakes dropping from big, white clouds dancing on my tongue.
The two lampposts danced together like a couple on their wedding day.
A little robin singing softly in the snow.
Sequence the story - I have taken some screenshots from the video and saved them to a dropbox folder which you can access here. If these are saved to the children's iPads they can then arrange them in order to show how well they remember the plot of the story. They can use the app Pic Collage to help order the pictures.
The microscopic robin dancing on the colossal tree.
The whistle of the wind calling for me.
The twittering robins singing with joy.
The thought of my true love opening her present made my face light up.
The beautiful cars swished like reindeers.
To cold air skimmed across the delicate snow.
My blood bubbled with love.
The never ending blanket of snow covered the land as far as the eye could see, as if it was hiding something.
I tasted the songs running into my mouth.
The wind blowing in my ear, not bothering to go.
As the night grew darker the wind started to roar.
The wind was whistling, calling my name.
Sparkling lights prancing around me.
Snowstorms flushing through me.
Little snowflakes dropping from big, white clouds dancing on my tongue.
The two lampposts danced together like a couple on their wedding day.
A little robin singing softly in the snow.
Sequence the story - I have taken some screenshots from the video and saved them to a dropbox folder which you can access here. If these are saved to the children's iPads they can then arrange them in order to show how well they remember the plot of the story. They can use the app Pic Collage to help order the pictures.
THERE ARE MORE IDEAS LIKE THIS ON @ICT_MrP's 12 days of iPad Christmas lessons.
2011
The Long Wait
Throughout this short film we see a little boy waiting for Christmas to arrive. The soundtrack and the action lead us to think that he can't wait to get his Christmas presents, this year it seems like he is waiting an eternity.
The day finally arrives. What is it that the boy really wanted? He wanted to give his parents that he had bought for them.
Teaching Ideas
The day finally arrives. What is it that the boy really wanted? He wanted to give his parents that he had bought for them.
Teaching Ideas
- The children could write a narrative about the waiting, using sentence structure to build up the tension.
- They could write in the 1st person, perhaps as a diary, telling the audience of his frustration.
- Links with PSHE - Discussions could be had about the joy of giving, giving to people who are more worse off than us etc
Raymond Briggs
Warning these two films are on Youtube so they may not be viewable in school
Two versions of the walking in the air soundtrack.
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Aled Jones version.
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In this video the children could describe the images that they fly over.
Activities
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When Scrooge met the Ghost of Christmas Past
Disney animated version
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Here Scrooge is awoken by the 1st of the three Christmas Ghosts.
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In this clip from The Chronicles of Narnia Edmund meets Jadis - The White Witch.
She promises that he can be king in narnia and tempts him with some magical turkish delight. I love teaching Chronicles of Narnia in the build up to Christmas. |
Teaching Ideas
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The Polar Express
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An Underwater Tale
The Three Little Pigs
A christmassy alternative to the traditional tale. Just who ends up in the pot at the end?
