English at the Junior School
English lessons in the Junior School have been varied and creative, with many themes linking to other subjects.
Class books have included The Firework Maker’s Daughter by Philip Pullman; Freedom 1783 by Catherine Johnson and Leaf by Sandra Dieckmann. Learning in lockdown has meant that girls have enjoyed the time to write longer pieces of work and Year 4 even wrote their own chapter books, complete with front covers and blurbs.
Girls in Year 5 and 6 entered the School Creative Writing Competition and wrote beautiful poems about the Promise of Spring. Imogen C. and Izabella A. were both worthy winners.
Our World Book Day events took place online with the girls all dressing up as favourite book characters and the Year 6 girls took part in an online workshop. A highlight of learning online for many girls has also been that their teacher has been able to read to them more frequently, especially as the timetable was always structured to ensure they could come together at the end of the day. It was lovely to see soft toys, pets and siblings all joining in with the end of the day story and enjoying a good book together.
The girls in Year 2 wrote poetry inspired by the adventures of a polar bear in the beautiful book Leaf, which is a story about helping outsiders that highlights the plight of polar bears in today’s changing climate. Augusta F. poem is based on a beautiful illustration in Leaf (Pictured above). The girls responded to the illustration by writing 2 descriptive sentences, then a question (based on the format of Michael Rosen’s poem ‘Dinnertime’).
The girls in Year 4 were particularly inspired by the detailed and intricate descriptions of the firework displays in the competition at the end of The Firework Maker’s Daughter, and they wrote their own fantastic versions of spectacular firework displays. (Clara M.). They also wrote poetry inspired by the colours of the rainbow and used rhyme, simile and metaphor to produce stunning poetry (Gayatri K.)
The Year 6 girls spent the Spring Term reading Goodnight Mr Tom and as well as producing creative and discursive writing based on Michelle Magorian’s much-loved book. They also ended the term by writing book reviews for display.
Historical fiction such as Goodnight Mr Tom always encourages the girls to use their linking skills, and they applied their understanding of life on the Home Front to empathise with the villagers of Little Weirwold and the dangers faced by Will and Tom when they travelled to London during the Blitz. The girls in the Junior School have particularly enjoyed the more creative opportunities they have had in their English lessons and have written some stunning poems and descriptive pieces of writing, which often require the girls to persevere while they draft, edit and rewrite to perfect their final pieces of work for display.
The route to great work in English is always reading and this year especially the girls have been encouraged to read as much as they can. As we have been stuck at home, it is important to remember the Dr Suess quote: “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
Mrs Cliff
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