For the next 3 weeks we will be exploring the beautifully illustrated story The Secret Sky Garden by Linda Sarah and Fiona Lumbers.

This week we will be developing our inference skills to find out about the main character. We will also be looking for clues in the illustrations to help us make guesses and predictions about what might happen next in the story. We will cover everything below over one week.

Before sharing the title and cover of the book with the children, begin by exploring the front endpapers that feature a metal fence. Ask your  child to look deeply at the illustration and make comments and ask questions about what they see. Encourage them to use their inference skills to find out information from the illustration that might give clues as to what the story might be about. For example, they might notice the litter and suggest it is a place that is not looked after.

After this initial short activity, reveal the cover and the title and talk about what the story might be about now.

If you do not have access to the book, here is a video of it being read on youtube.com. Please take care when using external websites. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNZ5TgoK4wI&t=19s

Read up until the page that reveals that "something was missing." We are going to infer what the character, Funni, is thinking and feeling.

Talk through how she might be feeling using her facial expression as a clue. Think about what could be missing.

Draw a picture of Funni from this page. Imagine you are Funni and write a sentence about how you are feeling and why.

Carry on reading. Funni "hatched a plan". Before reading the rest of the text on this page, infer what Funni's plan might be. If you were going to hatch a plan, what would you do to the old airport carpark? You can use a piece of paper to plan and make notes. Think about these three things: 1. What do you want the carpark to look like? 2. How will you make it that way? 3. What will you need to use?

After Funni's efforts to create her beautiful sky garden, there is still something missing. What could it be?

Think about all the things Funni has that make her happy and draw them. Eg. her recorder. What does she not have?

Past home learning 2020-2021