Title of the book: FArTHER Author/ illustrator: Grahame Baker-Smith Publisher/Year: Templar, 2010

Features of the text: circular plot, two main characters, is it a dream?

Notes: Based for a year 5 Linguistic features. Use the New National Curriculum to focus on: Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation /

Questions/Pages you would want to explore further

and why

Genre: Picture book

Post- modern

Structure: Chronological

circle of life- reflects this through the story line.

Words in bold and capitals tell their own story of the dream.

Narration: First person. No dialogue which reflects the features of a dream (you do not

normally speak in dreams).

Aspirations are often left silent.

Layout: Most pages are double page spreads with pictures are part from a few which have

boarders. Boarders are used on pages where aspirations and dreams are almost gone.. The

text follows the images on both left and right pages. Font is in black and all in capitals. Most

of the text is small.

Illustrations: Repetition of collage portrays how father and son have similar aspirations and

dreams. The view point stays the same throughout the story. The book contains a lot of blue

illustrations representing sky and therefore freedom. For example when the father goes

away to war the blue sky disappears suggesting the dream and freedom goes with the

father.

Foreshadowing illustrations:

the poppies

the doves

Reference to wings through images on every page, apart from when the father leaves to go

to war.

This book is absent of criteria on the national

curriculum, therefore it would be great to use for the

children to adapt the book with national curriculum

points.

For example:

using the perfect form of verbs to mark

relationships of time and cause.

using modal verbs or adverbs to indicate

degrees of possibility.

Children can use the text as a basic structure to then

add in verbs and adverbs.

The father is physically drawn to be particularly large to show prominence in the sons life.

However the father is drawn small when he leaves to go to war.

Characterization: The characterization is mainly told through the pictures in the novel.

However we do learn that the father is particularly aspiration and likes to look after his son

and protect him and show him the way. Clear relationship between the father and son rather

than the mother and the son.

Setting: Cliff house over a long period of time.

Themes: family relationships, dreams, aspirations, perseverance

Close Reading of key pages:

Drama Opportunities: When filling this in, make sure you add images from the page or page references so that the teacher knows what parts you are referring to

Drama Opportunities: When his father leaves to go to war, get the children to use freeze-framing and thought tracking to depict this part of the book. This must have been a difficult time for the family, so have the children recreate this scene and the teacher will then tap each character in the scene to find out their thoughts and feelings. During this part of the book the boy has managed to fly with his fathers wings. Children could use a drama strategy called soundscape. What would this scene sound like? Can they use their bodies and percussion to show a particular theme or mood to do with this moment in the story? How do you think the character felt at this time and how could you show this through sound/music?

Literacy Opportunities (with a focus on grammar) : Ensure that the links relate to the year-group expectations. Remember, get the grammar to fit around the text and not the text around the grammar. If you want to explore connectives, but there are none in the book then create an activity that has the children add them. Consider what types of writing activities might work around the text. Make sure you have made a game/sheet and attached it to your file. (see pages below)

Cross Curricular Opportunities: Use the curriculum jigsaw and copies of the NC to help you see relevant links to the text. History

Ancient Greece The story of Daedalus and Icarus. Explore how this story runs in parallel with part of the story (where the Father builds wings etc.) Design and Technology

'Use research and criteria to develop products which are fit for purpose and aimed at specific groups'

....create wings that respond to design specification: can't melt in the sun and defy gravity Science

'Introduce gravity, resistance' ...'Understand location and interaction of Sun, Earth and Moon' ...Use understanding of Science as criteria for creating the wings in D&T Mathematics

Geometry and measures- this is used when creating the wings in D&T

Receptive Context: Think about how you can use the room to excite and engage the children into wanting to explore the book and anything related to it more. How can you wow them when they first walk in? Before:

Exciting book display- copies of book, audio recording of it being read, images of Ancient Greek myth

Blank board of aspirations to be filled throughout unit... word/aspiration of the week

Questions to provoke thoughts about the book

Asking children prior to display who inspires them and why and then collate information and add to display/around the classroom

Other books by the author and/or books about aspirations etc. During (or after read the book)

Filling in the aspirations board

Children's thoughts about the book- picture of front of book and children to add post-it thoughts as book is explored

Different types of wings hanging from the ceiling... alongside aspirations hanging from the ceiling as well

Have picture of each character displayed and as the book is explored things about that character are revealed and put around the character... mainly looking at strength in relationships

After:

Wings on display with aspirations attached

Work done throughout topic displayed

Parents in to see what they've made

Questions you could ask to develop comprehension: Try and refer questions to specific pages from the text and make sure theyre open-ended What do the poppies represent? (Page 1-2) Why do you think the Father dreamed of flying? (Page 1-2) What do you think the Father is thinking in the picture on page 3? Why? What do the birds represent on each page? Why has the illustrator made the Father look so big on page 6? What do the colours used on these two pages show? (pages 7-8) Why has Grahame Baker-Smith chosen to split the page into lots of different images? (Page 9) Why do you think the dream was described as 'bossy'? (Page 11) Describe how the Father was feeling in the picture? (Page 16) What do the colours used on these two pages show? Where do you think the Father is going? (Both pages 17-18) What does the tree resemble? (Page 20) Compare the table with the tools on pages 3 and 21. What do you notice? What does this show?

Notes: Events -

Literacy Opportunities (with a focus on grammar) :

The following game is to support the use of Using modal verbs or

adverbs to indicate degrees of possibility.

In groups of 4/5, children are to throw the dice and decide which

sentence, from the pictures provided, the model verb is more suitable to

in order to indicate a degree of possibility. A justification is needed.

Children can then discuss other possibilities.

Must

Might Could Should

Ought

Shall