In shared reading, discuss children's understanding of the RSPCA. What do they know? What can they tell you about the organisation? Make links to Animal Hospital and Pet Rescue TV programmes with which they should be familiar.

Discuss the role of the RSPCA and wide role and responsibility, including the five freedoms. Ensure the meaning of the word 'prevention' is explored and discussed – stress 'prevention', not 'protection'. Discuss the difference between the two concepts.

Introduce the film clip 'A day in the life of an RSPCA inspector'.

Share the film with the class, allow them to discuss responses in general terms, and then watch the clip again.

Discuss the role of the RSPCA inspector; record the children's responses on the interactive whiteboard (IWB) above the image of Brian, the inspector. Link back to prevention role, using the dog Tyson as an example. The dog was given to the RSPCA because the five freedoms are not met.

Rewatch the section of the film from the call to the RSPCA inspector until Tyson is ready for re-homing. Scribe the different activities that take place, drawing from the children's ideas from talk partners. The sequence is:

• phone call
• sign off of the dog by the owner
• taken to the animal centre
• checked over by vet
• vaccinated
• given a kennel
• ready to be re-homed.

This could then be re-enacted, using drama techniques or small-world play to embed the sequence. Digital photographs could be taken of the groups acting out the sequence or small-world play and used to sequence the process on IWB or on paper.

Plenary activity: Groups share their own versions of the sequence and others comment.

Learning outcome

Children can listen to a recount and ask questions to support their understanding.

Phase 2 – Developing empathy and understanding of varying points of view (3 days)

In a shared session, get the children to hot-seat both the RSPCA inspector and Tyson's owner. Encourage the children to ask 'why' questions.

Tyson's owner

• Why did you give up your dog?
• Why didn't you want to keep him?
• Why did you give him to the RSPCA?
• How do you feel? Why?
• Why did you get him in the first place?
• Would you get another dog? Why?

RSPCA inspector

• How do you feel when you are asked to take a dog away?
• What do you think would have happened to Tyson?
• What would you tell someone who was thinking of getting a dog? Why?

Try to encourage two different attitudes for Tyson's owner: a positive model from the children, then perhaps teacher models a more negative response to show two different perspectives.

Introduce the concept of what Tyson would say if he could talk and put his point of view. Ask the children to suggest some key questions they would like to ask Tyson if he could talk. Teacher scribes on the IWB a range of questions from the children for Tyson.

In groups, children write a response to specific questions from Tyson's viewpoint. This could form the basis of a display if responses were recorded in speech bubbles.

Plenary activities: Role-play, with Tyson in role and hot-seated by the rest of the class using key questions.

Conclusion: Discuss the fact that Tyson cannot really talk and so his voice has to be represented by people, including the RSPCA, demonstrating the need for the organisation.

Learning outcomes

Children are able to prepare questions which focus on the reasons for characters' actions.

The children's responses show an understanding of the characters' thoughts and feelings.

Phase 3 – Shared and supported writing (5 days)

In shared writing, the teacher recounts Tyson's story orally, using picture cards from the film to sequence events. Children discuss the order of events and resequence pictures to represent what they have seen.

Using supported composition, children, in pairs, scribe on mini-whiteboards an introductory sentence for the first picture of the call to the RSPCA. Share ideas and capture strong vocabulary. Draw on use of time connectives, such as first.

Group work

Each group is given a picture from the sequence and asked to write a sentence or paragraph for this part of the sequence, depending on ability. In guided writing, the group is supported before the point of composition by discussion and modelling by the teacher of the sequence of recount and introducing time connectives.

Plenary activities

The teacher draws from each group a 'best sentence' to use to create a whole-class recount of Tyson's story. Work could be displayed by means of a visualiser or IWB.

In shared reading, the teacher uses class recount from the previous lesson as a starting point for modelled writing. The structure of this writing will probably be simple sentences – one for each stage of the sequence.

In shared writing, the teacher models adding additional detail to the recount to engage the reader. Children are encouraged to use vocabulary and descriptive language. The teacher brings in emotions from the previous hot-seating session.

Differentiate group activities to meet children's abilities; children individually write a recount, including specific details of Tyson's story.

Differentiation could include groups drawing the recount and adding simple captions or taking the recount from a particular viewpoint, for example, the RSPCA inspector or Tyson.

Conclusion: Discuss the key language features of a recount and create a class list of success criteria to use as a basis for future recounts.

Possibly move on to using Smokey's story as a model for recount, reminding the children of the class list of success criteria to support their work.

Learning outcome

Children are able to correctly sequence events.

Children are able to produce a simple recount making appropriate use of the vocabulary explored in the unit of work.