LO: To use adjectives in my writing

Read the story ‘Owl Babies’  by Martin Waddell (presentation below if you do not have the text) or watch the Owl Babies picture book animation on on YouTube. Discuss how the owl babies are feeling at different points in the story. Talk about the word 'brave' and what it means. Encourage the children to talk about times when they have been brave. Work together to create a story map to show the main parts of the story and use this to retell the story.

Ask:

• How do you think the owl babies are feeling in the story?
• Which owl is finding it the most difficult to be brave?
• When have you had to be brave?
• What other animals do you think might be out at night?
• What do we call animals who are awake at night?
• The mummy owl is hunting. What do you think that means?
• Why do owls need to hunt?
• What might she bring back for the babies to eat?
• How do the owls feel when their mummy comes home?

Discuss with the children what an adjective is.  Use the Owl Babies adjectives word mat to prompt discussion e.g. How could I describe their feathers. Use the examples given but allow children opportunity to develop their own.

Ask children to describe the woods at night using their senses. What can we hear? What can we see? Use these words in a sentence e.g. I can hear….  I can see…

For children less confident in writing, you could provide words for them to select to label the picture and write one sentence for each see and hear label.  This can be modelled (written down by an adult) for children to copy but encourage them to say the sounds to spell ‘can’.

In addition, you could Provide black paper, pastel coloured gel pens, sound mats and word banks for the children to retell parts of the story or create Owl Babies storybooks, complete with pictures.

Begin to introduce children to capital letters.  As you read the story point out capital letters and where they are used. You could use the presentation below to support this.