Traditional and fairy stories
(4-5 weeks or 2-32 weeks)

This is the third of a block of four narrative units in Year 1. It builds on children's knowledge and experience from narrative units 1 and 2. The unit can be linked to many other curriculum areas. It is designed to be taught over four weeks or could be divided into two sequences (phases 1-3 and phases 4-6), each lasting two weeks.

Phase 1

Read and tell a selection of familiar and less familiar traditional tales. Identify basic story elements and summarise the plot using 'beginning-middle-end'.

Phase 2

Compare stories and draw out typical features: beginnings and endings, story language, characters and plots. Re-enact using pictures, puppets or props. Individuals retell stories for the group using story language and organising events in sequence.

Phase 3

Focus on particular characters from stories read. Identify information in text about appearance, behaviour, goals and characteristics. Explore motives and behaviour using hotseating and role-play. Write character profiles using pictures, words and captions, based on evidence from text and additional information from role-play.

Phase 4

Select a story with versions in written text, audio tape or video and playscript. Read the story and identify basic elements. Listen to the audio or video version and make comparisons. Comment on how interest and excitement are created.

Phase 5

Read the same story as a playscript. Make comparisons with the written version, for example regarding the role of the narrator. Reread with children joining in, using features of the playscript and adapting voices for different characters. Explore the way that characters are presented. Children retell the story using puppets.

Phase 6

Retell the story orally using pictures as prompts. Demonstrate how to plan making brief notes of main events and organising into 'beginning-middle-end'. Demonstrate how to write the story in your own words, referring to the plan and asking children to contribute ideas. Children plan and write their own version of another traditional tale, sequencing events and using complete sentences.

Overview

• Read and tell a range of traditional stories and fairy tales. Include well-known stories and some that children will be less familiar with. Identify basic story elements and represent outlines of plots. Talk about the reasons for events in stories.
• Make comparisons between stories and identify typical features, for example beginnings and endings, story language, typical characters.
• Children use pictures, puppets or props to help them remember the main events and characters as they re-enact stories. Individuals then retell whole stories for a group of children. Include story language and present events in the correct order.
• Look at particular story characters and identify information in the text, for example appearance, behaviour, how they speak. Make predictions about how they will behave in different situations. Demonstrate how to write a character profile. Children select own character and write a simple profile based on evidence from the text.
• Watch/listen to a film/tape version of a familiar traditional tale. Comment on how the story is presented.
• Read a version of a familiar traditional tale written as a playscript. Talk about similarities and differences with a written story. Children join in with the script, using voices for different characters.
• Groups of children select a story and retell it using puppets. Use this as basis for a written version of the story. Children retell a traditional tale in their own words using a series of sentences to sequence events. Support children in organising the sentences into three sections: beginning, middle and end.

1998 Framework objectives covered:

Year 1, Term 2: T1 and T2 apply reading skills; T4 retell stories; T5 story language; T6 story themes; T7 reasons for incidents; T8 characters; T9 character and dialogue; T10 basic story elements; T12 spelling; T14 represent outlines of plots; T15 character profiles; T16 use elements of stories to structure own writing.