©The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education. You may use this teaching sequence freely in your school but it cannot be commercially published or reproduced or used for anything other than educational purposes without the express permission of CLPE.

The Dark by Lemony Snicket, illustrated by Jon Klassen

Laszlo is afraid of the dark. The dark lives in the same house as Laszlo but mostly it spends its time in the basement. It doesn't visit Laszlo in his room. Until one night it does. With emotional insight and poetic economy, Lemony Snicket and Jon Klassen bring to light a universal and empowering story about conquering fear. Join a brave boy on his journey to meet the dark, and see why it will never bother him again. Two bestselling, world-renowned talents of children's literature come together for the first time to bring you a universal and empowering story about conquering fear of the dark. Overall learning aims of this teaching sequence.

To talk confidently about picture books and responses individual to them

To explore the story through a variety of teaching approaches including drama and role-play

To write a recount in role as a fictional character

To reflect on reading through keeping a reading journal

To write a story based on a known narrative

to compose poetry in response to visual imagery, story and known poems This teaching sequence is designed for a Year 1 or Year 2 class.

Overview of this teaching sequence.

This teaching sequence is approximately 4 weeks long if spread out over 20 sessions. This book supports teachers in enabling children to develop understanding and empathy through in depth exploration of character viewpoint. The book’s distinct style and strong relationship between the text and illustration throughout is captivating and highly engaging on several levels. It offers young readers a good stimulus for their own descriptive writing as well as some potentially challenging non-fiction text types.

National Curriculum 2014

Reading (Comprehension):

listen to, discuss and express views about books at a level beyond that which they can read independently;

discuss the significance of the title and events;

link what they hear or read to own experiences;

explain understanding of what is read;

discuss the sequence of events in books and how items of information are related;

discuss favourite words and phrases;

answer and ask questions;

predict what might happen on the basis of what has been read;

draw inferences on the basis of what is being said and done;

participate in discussion about what is read, taking turns and listening to others;

express views about reading.

Writing (Composition / Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation):

draft and write by noting ideas, key phrases and vocabulary, and composing and rehearsing sentences orally;

sequence sentences to form short narratives;

write for different purposes including about fictional personal experiences, poetry, non-fiction and real events;

reread and evaluate writing to check it makes sense and make simple revisions;

read writing aloud with appropriate intonation to make the meaning clear;

use new and familiar punctuation correctly;

use sentences in different forms;

expand noun phrases to describe and specify;

use past and present tense correctly and consistently;

use simple conjunctions to link subordinate and co-ordinating clauses.

Speaking and Listening:

Listen and respond appropriately to adults and peers;

ask relevant questions to extend knowledge and understanding;

consider and evaluate viewpoints, attending to and building on the contributions of others;

participate in discussions, performances, role play, improvisations and debate about what has been read;

use spoken language to develop understanding through imagining and exploring ideas.

©The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education. You may use this teaching sequence freely in your school but it cannot be commercially published or reproduced or used for anything other than educational purposes without the express permission of CLPE.

Cross Curricular Links Maths:

Children will use and apply a range of mathematical skills when conducting weather and seasonal investigations.

Children can investigate daylight hours different countries experience at certain points in the year then collect and interrogate the data.

Children can estimate the number of dots in prepared glow jars, and create patterns or group numbers of dots together when designing their own.

Children can investigate shapes and patterns in shadow play, including investigations into changing angles created by torchlight on various objects, doorways or pieces of furniture.

Art and Design:

Children can use a range of materials to design and make glow jars, light boxes, shadow installations, and other products alongside their design and technology work (see below).

Children can use drawing, painting and sculpture to develop and share their ideas, experiences and imagination about the dark, our fears, shadows and light.

Children can use a range of materials such as, charcoal, drawing pencils, putty rubbers, ink and paint, and develop art and design techniques when exploring tone, creating shadows in still life and producing monochrome pieces of art.

Children can study the work of Jon Klasse4n, his motivation, materials and techniques then create artwork inspired by his illustrative style.

Children can learn and appreciate the work of artists – both past and contemporary – who explore light and dark, shadows and silhouettes. They can describe the similarities and differences between different practices and disciplines and make links to their own work.

Design and Technology: Children can use a range of tools and materials, collaborate to design and make:

a shadow puppet theatre with puppets

an object what incorporates a light source such as a torch or lampshade or model lighthouse.

a camera obscurer or pin hole camera

a room in a model house for Lazlo complete with circuitry

reflective cat’s eyes

high visibility, reflective garments for night time Music:

Children can listen to, respond to and understand music – discuss choices of music for key moments in the story and incorporate in storytelling for effect.

Children can compose, make and combine sounds musically to represent the dark or a traditionally dark place like a ‘dark, dark wood’.

Children can listen to or create a musical score for a trailer of ‘The Dark’ – either recorded on film or played in a live theatrical performance.

Science:

Children can investigate the effect of light and dark on plant growth

Children can find out about nocturnal animals and they ways in which they adapt to suit the night time. How have

these adaptations been replicated in design by humans, e.g. reflective cat’s eyes?

Children can learn how our eyes work and how darkness effects vision.

Children can use their senses to cope in total darkness.

Children can describe the physical properties of a variety of reflective, translucent and transparent materials.

Children can learn about the sun as a light source and make charts and tables based on observations of the seasons

and length of day. They can compare with places where the seasonal patterns and length of day can differ

significantly from our own.

Children can monitor the effect of weather on light.

Children can explore simple electrical circuits when creating a light source Geography:

Children can investigate countries that experience differing seasons and periods of darkness. P.E.:

Children can explore, imitate and invent Lazlo’s body language and how he moves throughout the house as the story

©The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education. You may use this teaching sequence freely in your school but it cannot be commercially published or reproduced or used for anything other than educational purposes without the express permission of CLPE.

unfolds.

Children can choreograph, practice and perform a dance to music; depicting night and day, bedtime, nightmares or waking in the night, or simply depict the movements of Lazlo or the dark in the book.

Computing:

Children can film dance and drama, and take and use digital photographs to make books or present ideas about Lazlo or the dark.

Children can create short simple text using PowerPoint/Moviemaker that combine words with images (and sounds)

Children can use the internet to research the dark; seasonal changes, artists, footage, instructions to make products. Personal, Social and Emotional:

Children can explore viewpoints; Lazlo’s fears and what comforts him, the dark’s standpoint.

Children can debate: Should Lazlo ‘come closer’ into the darkness? Wouldn’t it be better to get rid of darkness?

Children can learn to empathise: Draw an Graph of Emotion to track Lazlo’s feelings and understand each other’s feelings and fears.

Teaching Approaches

Responding to illustration

Reading aloud

Book Talk

Role on the Wall

Reader’s Theatre

Storytelling

Visualising

Drama and role-play

Drawing and annotating

Debate and argument

Writing in role

Book-making

Performing Poetry

Writing Outcomes

‘Tell Me’ responses

Role on the Wall

Description of the dark

Writing a narrative sequence retelling the story

A free-verse poem about the dark (or light)

Writing on thought or speech bubbles

Piece of advice for Lazlo

Argument in defence of the dark or urging caution

Call and response poetry to reassure fears

Story based on known narrative – Lazlo’s viewpoint

Instructions to make a glow jar

Non-chronological report about nocturnal animals

Book review

Links to other texts and resources: Display a range of stories, poetry and non-fiction that relate to night and day, light and dark, light sources, as well as those that address common fears Other books by Lemony Snicket:

‘13 Words’

‘The Lump of Coal’

‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ (series) Books written and illustrated by Jon Klassen:

‘This is not my Hat’

‘I want my Hat Back’ Books exploring fears of night time as well as the magic of dark:

‘Orion and the Dark’ by Emma Yarlett

‘Bedtime for Monsters’ by Ed Vere (EYFS Power of Reading title)

‘Emily Brown and the Thing’ (EYFS/KS1 Power of Reading title)

‘Billy Monster’s Daymare’ by Alan Durant and Ross Collins

‘A Hairy Scary Night’ by Alex T. Smith

‘Shadow Chasers’ by Elly Mackay

The Monster Bed’ by Jeanne Willis and Susan Varley

‘Tappity-Tap, What was That?’ by Claire Freedman and Russell Julian

‘The Monster who Ate Darkness’ by Joyce Dunbar and Jimmy Liao

‘Boo to the Hoo in the Dark’ by Joyce Dunbar and Sarah Messine

‘Tell Me Something Happy Before I go to Bed’ by Joyce Dunbar and Debbi Gliori

‘Ready Steady Ghost’ by Elizabeth Baguley and Marion Lindsay

©The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education. You may use this teaching sequence freely in your school but it cannot be commercially published or reproduced or used for anything other than educational purposes without the express permission of CLPE.

‘Can’t you Sleep, Little Bear’ by Martin Waddell and Barbara Firth

‘Owl Babies’ by Martin Waddell and

‘The Owl who was Afraid of the Dark’ by Jill Thomlinson

‘Under the Bed’ by Paul Bright and Ben Court

‘‘I want my Light on’ and ‘I don’t want to go to Bed’ by Tony Ross

‘I don’t want to go to Bed’ by Julie Sykes and Tim Warnes

‘Darkness Slipped in’ by Ella Burfoot

‘The Hairy Toe’ by Daniel Postgate Non-fiction:

‘One Night far from Here’ by Julia Wauters (A KS1 Power of Reading title)

‘Flashlight’ by Lizi Boyd

‘If you were me and Lived in…Norway. A Child’s Introduction to Cultures Around the World: 6’ by Carole P. Roman

‘Nocturnal Animals (100 Facts)’ by Camilla de la Bedoyere

‘Where are the Night Animals (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out)’ by Mary Ann Fraser

‘What Makes Day and Night (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out)’ by Franklyn Mansfi Branley

‘Bat Loves the Night’ by Nicola Davies and Sarah Fox-Davies (Nature Storybooks)

‘White Owl, Barn Owl (Nature Storybooks)’ by Nicola Davies and Michael Foreman

‘Night Animals’ Usbourne

Links to other resources on the Power of Reading Website ‘Tell Me’ grid ‘The Light’ by James Carter

Weblinks: The Dark book trailers:

Official Little, Brown Books: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGva3mF5Ojk

#cuerockstar project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWoHwjpI89c Lemony Snicket’s Website:

http://www.lemonysnicket.com/ Jon Klassen’s website:

http://jonklassen.tumblr.com/ Danny Elfman’s Soundtracks:

Edward Scissorhands soundtrack ‘The Castle on the Hill’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3W28bQGx9U&list=PL90E20CAC6D637D98&index=3 Nightmare before Christmas soundtrack ‘Dr Finklestein/In the Forest

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Slha3HdE7pI&list=PL1AD08DBE262F494C&index=5 Poet, James Carter’s ‘The Dark’

http://www.jamescarterpoet.co.uk/poems.html#thedark Artists exploring light and dark:

James Turrell http://jamesturrell.com/

Gunda Foerster http://www.gunda-foerster.de/

Olafur Eliasson http://www.olafureliasson.net/works/your_rainbow_panorama_19.html

Kenny Sonnier http://sonnierstudio.com/

Jenny Holzer http://projects.jennyholzer.com/

Bill Culbert, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Daniel Rozin http://www.bitforms.com/artists/rozin Nocturnal Animals

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/nocturnal-animals/12649.html

BBC Newsround: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/adaptations/Nocturnality

BBC Nature Wildlife: http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_9480000/newsid_9488700/9488715.stm Glow Jar Tutorial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P9hNuoIRRM&index=6&list=PL0we-fGr5CgV3se8rxl-sD2PRxShQvTmn

All websites last accessed September 2014

Teaching Sessions

©The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education. You may use this teaching sequence freely in your school but it cannot be commercially published or reproduced or used for anything other than educational purposes without the express permission of CLPE.

Prior to teaching this sequence:

Have a Big Book already made-up to use as a class reading journal. This should be added to as the story is read together. Use shared writing to write in children’s comments as well as adding individual responses and sketches.

Make a collection of texts that relate to night and day, light and dark, light sources, as well as those that address common childhood fears.

Encourage sensory exploration by creating an interactive display of light sources, light boxes, black-out boxes, feely boxes, reflective materials for the children to display, perhaps within a small tent or dark room.

Pin up a large display with black backing paper that can act as a working wall - gradually illuminating it as the sequence progresses by adding characters and features from the book as well as the children’s ideas and artwork.

Create a large role on the wall of ‘The Dark’. Ask the children how this might be portrayed visually; perhaps framing black paper or simply being depicted with loosely arranged black fabric inside a box. The ideas about the dark will need to be scribed in as well as around this adaptation of the role on the wall.

Gather resources that will inspire creative exploration of light and dark, such as swathes of black and translucent fabric, saris inlaid with metallic thread and mirrors, and artist materials like charcoal, monochrome ‘conte’ chalks, soft drawing pencils, putty rubbers, pens, inks, watercolours and paper in a range of tones.

Invest in a range of glow-in-the-dark products, such as glow sticks, stars, stickers and paint. Fabric paint is best for making glow jars as it is less runny.

Session 1: Responding to Illustration, book talk ‘Tell me’, freeze frame and thought tracking. Learning Objectives:

Children draw inferences on the basis of what is being said and done

Children consider and evaluate viewpoints, attending to and building on the contributions of others

Children use spoken language to develop understanding through imagining and exploring ideas

Black out the words on the front cover and show the children an enlarged image of Lazlo at the top of basement steps:

­ Who is the boy? What can you say about him? ­ What is he looking at? ­ What is he thinking? How does he feel? Why do you think this? ­ How would you feel if you were him? Why?

Ask the children to take on the role of the boy then freeze frame him at the top of the stairs. Thought track Lazlo by gently tapping the children in turn and asking them to voice his thoughts. Less confident children may wish to listen rather than contribute at this stage. Scribe some of these ideas in prepared thought bubble shapes that can be pasted around the image in the class journal or on the working wall.

Provide each of the children with their own thought bubbles. With response partners, they can orally rehearse then write a sentence or two to express Lazlo’s thoughts and feelings at the top of those stairs. These can be pinned up around the image of Lazlo.

Show the children the book cover and title, noting ideas in the class journal: ­ What sort of story are you expecting? Why? ­ What do you think this story might be about?

Explore the children’s ideas about the dark, both for the boy and how they feel about it themselves. Scribe ideas under the heading ‘What is the dark?’ on the black working wall with white/yellow chalk.

Encourage the children to ponder what kind of book this might be. Dramatically whip the book away until tomorrow to create a sense of the suspense to come.

Session 2: Reading aloud, visualising, drawing and annotating, expanding vocabulary and shared writing Learning Objectives:

Children discuss favourite words and phrases

Children draw inferences on the basis of what is being said and done

Children use spoken language to develop understanding through imagining and exploring ideas

Remind the children of the image of Lazlo that we explored last session and how we feel and we think he feels about the dark. Show the children the online book trailers for ‘The Dark’, having first explained what a trailer is and what it aims to do:

©The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education. You may use this teaching sequence freely in your school but it cannot be commercially published or reproduced or used for anything other than educational purposes without the express permission of CLPE.

­ first https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGva3mF5Ojk ­ then https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWoHwjpI89c

In pairs then as a class, ask the children to discuss their initial responses to both the trailers, elicing descriptive words and phrases and noting ideas in the class journal or on the working wall:

­ Do you feel the same about what kind of book do you think this is going to be? ­ What do you think is going to happen? What makes you think that? ­ Does anything puzzle you? ­ Do you find anything particularly intriguing? ­ Does it remind you of anything else in real life or in stories? ­ Did both trailers make you feel the same way? Why? Why not? ­ How were they similar? How did they differ? ­ Why did the last trailer flicker at the end like that? ­ Did both trailers make you want to read the book? Why?

Read aloud the book up to “At night, of course, the dark went out and spread itself against the windows and doors of Lazlo’s house.”

Look again at the illustrations and talk about the way they have been executed by Jon Klassen; the contrast of the light against dark, the varying tones of the creeping shadows and the absolute pitch black of the dark hiding in and around Lazlo’s house. Re-read this part of the book again, asking the children to listen out for effective words and phrases that Lemony Snickett uses to describe the dark. Note ideas around the role on the wall alongside the children’s own perceptions of the dark.

Provide the children with black playdough or ink or charcoal with which to depict the dark for themselves.

When the children have finished their artwork, shared write a description of the dark, taking suggestions from the children and referring to the role on the wall, modelling the process of oral rehearsal, writing and editing your sentences.

Session 3: Reading aloud, response to music, visualising, dance, poetry and performance Learning Objectives:

Before beginning this session, take precautions to ensure that the children are not exposed to inappropriate imagery intended for adults. Play soundtrack music through speakers; monitor and IWB turned off.

Re-read the story, again up to “At night, of course, the dark went out and spread itself against the windows and doors

of Lazlo’s house.”

Play a piece of music that is intended to create suspense and evoke feelings of fear and anxiety, and that

accompanies scary stories set in darkness, such as Danny Elfman’s cinematic music:

­ Edward Scissorhands soundtrack ‘The Castle on the Hill’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3W28bQGx9U&list=PL90E20CAC6D637D98&index=3

- Nightmare before Christmas soundtrack ‘Dr Finklestein/In the Forest http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Slha3HdE7pI&list=PL1AD08DBE262F494C&index=5

As the children listen, ask them to sketch or paint the images that come to mind using charcoal or pen and brushwork

with black ink on paper of grey or midnight blue.

Play again, this time discussing the way in which the piece has been arranged and the instruments are being played

that creates suspense, atmosphere or feelings of anxiety. Asking the children to tell each other words or phrases that

come to mind to describe the dark. Elicit and model descriptive language.

Jot down the children’s oral descriptions on strips of black paper and share with the class, noting the onomatopoeic

quality of lots of the words and how they enhance the meaning and imagery. Display al the strips together as a list

and read aloud to the class, talking about how all these words and phrases sound together, i.e. the poetic quality.

Read again as a poem, emphasising onomatopoeic words by modelling appropriate intonation in the performance.

Provide swathes of fabric in a range of dark colours, matt and translucent, including pitch black. Ask the children to

co-ordinate themselves in small groups to move themselves and the fabric as though they Lazlo, trying to avoid the

dark (fabric) lurking in and around his house.

Re-play the music and support the children in choreographing their dark dances.

Ask the groups to perform to the class, inviting children to discuss anything they liked about the dark dances, offering

suggestions as to how they could be enhanced. Discuss variety in movement and facial expression that are

©The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education. You may use this teaching sequence freely in your school but it cannot be commercially published or reproduced or used for anything other than educational purposes without the express permission of CLPE.

particularly effective in creating suspense, atmosphere or evoking anxiety as the music does.

Ask the children to work individually or in pairs to orally compose and write a description of the dark, or fear of the

dark, on a strip of paper, bringing them together within each group and arranging them into a shared poem. Give

children time to rehearse their performance of the poetry, bringing in some of their most effective choreography.

Children perform their poetry to the class, evaluating the expression and quality of description.

Session 4: Reading aloud, re-reading, predicting, freeze frame, debate and shared writing. Learning Objectives: Children draw inferences on the basis of what is being said and done Children participate in role play what has been read Children consider and evaluate viewpoints, attending to and building on the contributions of others

Re-read from the beginning of the story up to ‘”Even closer,” said the dark.’ Ask the children to consider what Lazlo is thinking and feeling at this point.

Ask the children to freeze frame the scene as Lazlo holding the torch looking into the dark. Tracking Lazlo’s thoughts by gently tapping various children, asking:

­ What are you doing here? ­ How are you feeling? Why? ­ What will happen now? Why do you think that?

Scribe the responses on thought bubbles and display around the image on the double-page spread in the class journal or around Lazlo and the dark on the large working wall.

Ask the children to consider what Lazlo should do at this point. As a class, then in groups, engage the children in discussion and debate around fear of the dark and whether Lazlo should turn back or try to overcome his fears. The children might have some reassuring words for Lazlo or may take a no-nonsense approach based on their personal experience. Encourage the children to listen carefully to others and take on board viewpoints. Model the language and behaviour within debate.

Shared write the beginning of a piece of advice for Lazlo at this point in the story, taking contributions from the children.

Session 5: Re-reading, reading aloud, book talk and exploring viewpoint Learning Objectives:

Children discuss favourite words and phrases

Children draw inferences on the basis of what is being said and done

Children use spoken language to develop understanding through imagining and exploring ideas

Read aloud the whole book from beginning to end, pausing at the part when the dark tells Lazlo to “Open the bottom door”. Invite the children to predict what might be in the drawer, explaining why they think that to a partner. It might be fun for the children to jot down their idea on an image of an open drawer ready for the reveal in the book – why a light bulb? Ask the children to offer suggestions if they have not done so already when discussing their predictions.

Continue reading aloud the end of the book.

Discuss the significance of the light bulb, flicking back to the beginning of the book when Lazlo was lying in his bed in the glow of the nightlight then the unexpected visit from dark to his bedroom. Ask the children to think about what must have happened and what the offer of the light bulbs says about the dark.

­ What do you think of the dark now? What makes you think that? ­ Did the dark visit his room or did the light leave? Is there a difference? ­ How does Lazlo feel about the dark by the end of the story?

Revisit and re-read the page in which the author speaks about the dark: ‘You might be afraid of the dark, but the dark is not afraid of you…’

­ What is different about this page compared with the others in the book? ­ Why is there so much text and no illustration. (Discuss the use of text as an illustrative device on the

black page) ­ Who is speaking and who are they addressing? ­ What are they trying to tell us? ­ What would happen if there was no dark or any place for the dark to sit and hide?

©The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education. You may use this teaching sequence freely in your school but it cannot be commercially published or reproduced or used for anything other than educational purposes without the express permission of CLPE.

Discuss the children’s views about the dark and note some ideas on the inside of the role on the wall to signify the shift from initial perceptions to the reality. Model making references to the events in the book.

In small groups, children can discuss and write sentences to show what they have found out about the dark, referring to its actions and the events in the book.

Add the children’s sentences to the inside of the role on the wall, discussing any new thoughts and whether it has changed anyone’s mind about being afraid of the dark.

Session 6: shared writing, reading aloud, response to poetry - extending ideas and vocabulary and conscience alley. Learning Objectives:

Children consider and evaluate viewpoints, attending to and building on the contributions of others

Children participate in discussions, performances, role play, improvisations and debate about what has been read

Children discuss favourite words and phrases

With the children, write a list of all the reasons why people are often afraid of the dark. Review the list and discuss whether it is based on real experience or those from stories. Does ‘The Dark’ remind you of or make you think about any other stories? The children may refer to books on display in the classroom, those from home or characters in comics as well as popular films and television programmes. Invite them to talk about events and characters in their own cultural frame of reference, ensuring they are valued by inviting them to add to the class display.

Read the poem, ‘The Dark’ on James Carter’s website (http://www.jamescarterpoet.co.uk/poems.html#thedark) from his collection of poems: ‘Cars Stars Electric Guitars’ (currently out of print)*

Read again, displaying the printed page. Discuss what the poem is saying and the similarities between the design and the message in the poem and that in Lemony Snicket’s and Jon Klassen’s ‘The Dark’, particularly the passage voiced from author to reader looked at last session.

Display enlarged copies of the poem and the passage from the story side by side. Ask the children to work in pairs to find any words and phrases that they think are particularly effective in reassuring us about the dark; making us think differently if we were to be afraid of it. Support the children to pick out arguments that are used by both author and poet in favour of the dark.

Children work in small groups to pull out arguments for the dark, supported by re-reading their own copies of the poem and the passage. Groups create a list to counter the one made at the start of the session.

Arrange the class into two lines opposite each other to form a ‘conscience alley’; each child on one side to consider a compelling argument in favour of the dark, and those on the other to urge caution and instil fear. Invite a volunteer who is afraid of the dark to walk slowly through the alley towards an image of Lazlo at the top of the dark basement listening to each of the arguments made by the children. When the volunteer arrives at the ‘basement’, ask which side s/he is taking, identifying if there was one compelling argument that may have swayed it. *You may wish to read and respond to the poem, ‘The Light’, available as a resource alongside this sequence, with thanks to James Carter for permission.

Sessions 7 & 8: Role on the wall, shared writing and composing a call and response poem, performance, bookmaking and publishing Learning Objectives:

Children consider and evaluate viewpoints, attending to and building on the contributions of others

Children discuss favourite words and phrases

Children write for different purposes including poetry

Prior to this session, read plenty of stories set at bedtime and those that address fears of the dark or going to sleep.

Ask the children to recap the arguments for and against being cautious of the dark and note these down on large pieces of light and a dark of paper, alongside the arguments used by James Carter or Lemony Snicket.

Suggest that the children create their own poems, imagining being Lazlo or another children afraid of the dark who is being comforted and reassured by a parent at bedtime. The children could write the poems for such a child by way of further reassurance.

Ask the children to suggest what the child might be saying about the dark during bedtime. Ask pairs to orally rehearse the phrase or sentence then write it on a strip of black paper in white chalk or pencil.

Decide as a class what could be an effective response in role as the reassuring parent. Shared write this.

©The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education. You may use this teaching sequence freely in your school but it cannot be commercially published or reproduced or used for anything other than educational purposes without the express permission of CLPE.

Begin the poem by modelling saying a line in role as the child, followed by the reassuring response. Repeat with another child’s line, again followed by the same reassuring response. Ask each pair of children to take it in turns to say their child’s line with the whole class responding reassuringly as the parent.

Children can go on to write their own call and response poems in this style in pairs or small groups.

Their finished poems can be published with illustrations in a class anthology.

It might be interesting to write poems from the viewpoints of both the light and the dark, arguing their specialness in alternate lines.

Children could visit the library to source other poems exploring the light or the dark.

Session 9: Readers’ theatre Learning Objectives: Children participate in discussions, performances, role play, improvisations and debate about what has been read; Children use spoken language to develop understanding through imagining and exploring ideas.

Read aloud from ‘The voice of the dark was as creaky as the roof of the house…’ until ‘“Even closer,” said the dark.’ Model effective intonation, emphasising the dialogue between Lazlo and the dark.

­ Which words or phrases tell us how to read what the dark says?

Enlarge the passage describing the dark’s voice and shared read it, picking out the vocabulary: ‘as creaky as the roof of the house’, ‘as smooth and cold as the windows’, and ‘very far away’. Encourage the children to have a go at saying “Come closer” to a partner, in the ways described.

Discuss how Lazlo is feeling throughout the book, perhaps mapping his emotions - fear, curiosity, relief, calm - on th working wall alongside pictures of key scenes.

Prepare a readers’ theatre script of this text for groups to read, adapt, rehearse and perform. Read together again. Encourage the children to adapt the script and consider ways to emphasise Lazlo’s emotions and our perceptions of the dark, building suspense for the audience. How can this be performed in the group? Model marking the script with ideas re: expression and creative touches.

Assign roles, such as: the dark, Lazlo, and the narrator as well as perhaps the siblings and ‘special/creative effects’ roles. Children mark the script, make adaptations and rehearse the scene. This could be supported in a guided/group reading session or independently.

Children perform their reader’s theatre script to the class. Feedback on the creativity that went into their script adaptations as well as the performance itself. Discuss particularly effective elements that support author intent.

Sessions 10 & 11: Storymapping, sequencing events and retelling Learning Objectives:

Children discuss the significance of the title and events

Children discuss favourite words and phrases

Children discuss the sequence of events in books and how items of information are related

Children can retell a known story in sequence, using story language

Revisit the children's reactions to the story, focusing on the aspects that they found most interesting or surprising. Retell the story, encouraging children to contribute.

Remind the children that the main events are the main things which happen in a story and they must be told in the right order for the story to make sense. Hold up the opening phrase: ‘Lazlo was afraid of the dark.’ Talk about why Lemony Snicket chooses not to give Lazlo a more detailed character description in the print than that. Refer back to the very first session in the sequence, as well as his role on the wall, and what we had to say about him just by looking at Jon Klasson’s illustration. Discuss the impact of this short opening sentence then the subsequent description of the Lazlo’s relationship with the dark.

Following this setting of the scene, concentrate on sequencing the main events, starting with the dark coming to his room one night. Encourage the children to retell the story in stages, providing them with suitable adverbials to support the build up of suspense in their retelling, starting with ‘But one night…’ from the book, as well as those collected with the children, such as: After that, Slowly, With terror, etc. Pull out the descriptive phrases that lead Lazlo around the house, such as: ‘In Lazlo’s living room...’, ‘Above him the roof creaked...’, ‘In the basement...’, ‘Even closer.’

Swiftly demonstrate how to map the story along a winding path to demonstrate the events and Lazlo’s return to his

©The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education. You may use this teaching sequence freely in your school but it cannot be commercially published or reproduced or used for anything other than educational purposes without the express permission of CLPE.

bedroom. Label the story map with the adverbial phrases used in the oral retelling.

In pairs, invite the children to draw a map of the story along a winding path from the top of the page to the bottom (representing the journey from his bedroom upstairs to the basement and back up again). If possible use black backing/wall paper that can be rolled out as they draw and write in white chalk or pencils. Provide images from the book if necessary, perhaps even arranging them on a large wall display to roughly make up his house and Lazlo’s journey through it.

When completed, encourage the children to retell the story using their story maps.

Re-read the story aloud, this time listening out for more detail: descriptive phrases and repeated phrases like ‘“Come closer,” said the dark.’ that would be useful to support the storytelling.

Model adding detail to the shared storymap; repeated dialogue in speech bubbles, key words and phrases to remind them as they retell. Children now add detail to their own storymaps in the same way.

Make a storytelling circle and ‘pass the story around’. Stop at important parts of the story and ask children to go into the middle and act it out. Encourage the children to draw on repeated phrases and other techniques a storyteller might use in creating suspense. Provide props to support the retelling.

Sessions 12 & 13: Story mapping, shared writing of the story from the dark’s viewpoint, bookmaking and publishing Learning Objectives: effective Children compose sentences orally before writing Children can write a recount based on a fictional first person experience Children reread writing to check it makes sense and make simple revisions Children read writing aloud with appropriate intonation to make the meaning clear

Explain to the children that they are going to write the story from the dark’s point of view.

Ask the children to recall the main events, referring to their storymaps which will support the recount.

Working in small groups or pairs, encourage the children to retell the story in order using sequential and descriptive prepositional language discussed last session. Model this first.

Revisit the children’s thoughts and discoveries about the dark from sessions 5-10; the debate and learning, the revisited role on the wall and the poetry. Hotseat the dark, providing a model for its viewpoint and answering the any questions the children may have.

Walk through the storymap and invite the children to discuss their own ideas about how the dark might be feeling at different times, given that we know he was being kind to Lazlo, that he was actually giving the light back to him. Freeze frame the scenes, if necessary, enabling the children to begin thought-tracking the dark from place to place. Elicit and model the language and vocabulary needed to describe the dark’s feelings or viewpoint and create a large word bank.

Explain to the children that they need to add these emotional responses and viewpoint to their recount to ensure that the reader understands how patient and helpful the dark was being; gently coaxing Lazlo through the house to the stock of nightlights.

Use the storymap with annotations to help you begin to orally rehearse your first person recount. Give the children opportunities to offer up ideas, for example predictable phrases, feelings, time connectives, a closing sentence that says what happened in the end.

Through paired talk, ask the children to orally retell the event from the dark’s point of view.

Through modelled and shared writing, compose a narrative recount using the annotated storymaps and model how to orally rehearse sentences before writing.

At regular intervals, encourage children to re-read sections of their text to check it makes sense and make simple revisions. Support them in doing this and ask children to work in pairs to read their finished draft to a partner.

The finished work could be neatly published in handmade booklets, illustrated in the style of Jon Klassen including dark background and light typeface. Children may like to publish these narratives recounts using computer software, either as e-books or printed with scanned illustrations.

Children can read their narratives aloud to peers then, as a class, discuss how they compare to the original story told by Lemony Snicket, from Lazlo’s perspective:

- Is there a difference in how it makes you, the reader, feel each time? Why do you think that?

©The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education. You may use this teaching sequence freely in your school but it cannot be commercially published or reproduced or used for anything other than educational purposes without the express permission of CLPE.

Session 14: Following instructions, drawing and annotating: How to make a glow jar Learning Objectives:

Children follow instructions involving several ideas or actions

Children use past, present and future forms accurately when talking about events that have happened or are to happen in the future

Prior to this session, the resources for making glow jars will need to be in place for the children to gather. An appeal can be sent out for clean glass jars. This activity is well suited to group work with a skilled and supportive adult. You may be required to conduct a risk assessment, if the children are inexperienced in handling glass jars.

Ask the children what they would do if their nightlight went out, leaving them in the pitch black. Tell the children that we are going to make a different kind of nightlight for Lazlo, just in case his light bulb dies again in the middle of the night. Show the children the film demonstrating how to make a glow jar that won’t need any electricity: *http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P9hNuoIRRM&index=6&list=PL0we-fGr5CgV3se8rxl-sD2PRxShQvTmn

Re-read/re-run and discuss the required resources and steps we need to take. Talk with partners and take notes in the class journal. Support language development through modelling orally as well as collecting useful imperative verbs in a word bank and shared writing your own notes.

With the children’s help, gather and check the resources and begin to follow the instructions. You will need to take a tablet or laptop to watch to video outside as you make the glow jar.

Provide a digital camera for the children to record each step. This may need modelling.

When the glow jar is finished, take about what we did and how the children found the task. What else do we need?

Let the children take their jars home to test if they work and discuss back at school. Suggest the children think of somebody they know who is afraid of the dark. *Website last accessed September 2014

Session 15: Writing instructions: How to make a glow jar Learning Objectives:

Children express themselves effectively, showing awareness of listeners’ needs

Children answer ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions about their experiences and in response to stories or events

Discuss with the children who they thought of that they might give their jar to. There will be children that will want to keep their glow jar for themselves despite naming another child. Some will be able to think of more than one child. What do we do if we haven’t got enough resources to make all these extra glow jars? Elicit from the children that we could provide instructions for children to make their own glow jars at home.

Once the purpose for recording in writing has been established, discuss what we would need to tell the other children. Talk about and recount what we did, recasting sentences orally to include useful time markers and other adverbial phrases.

Through shared writing, model writing a set of instructions – ‘How to make a glow jar’ – using the photographs taken as a stimulus for oral rehearsal and writing each step. Mirror the adverbial phrases used in the recount and model the explicit use of imperatives, demonstrating the difference between ‘bossy’ (but helpful!) instructions, telling the children what to do for themselves rather than telling them what we did, how it felt, etc.

Ensure that the instructions are presented clearly and attractively for the recipient.

Shared write a note for the gift tag, explaining the thought behind giving these instructions as a present.

Session 16 - 18: Research and non-chronological report writing about nocturnal animals Learning Objectives: Children write for different purposes including non-chronological reports. Children explain understanding of what is read Children ask relevant questions to extend knowledge and understanding

Provide a range of non-fiction texts about nocturnal animals.

Investigate what the children know about these animals already and what they would like to find out. Establish some line of enquiry with the children, such as: species, habitat, diet, who it is prey for and adaptation to nightlife. Suggest that we could create a folder of fact files to teach people more about these special animals and these will be the subheadings for each animal.

©The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education. You may use this teaching sequence freely in your school but it cannot be commercially published or reproduced or used for anything other than educational purposes without the express permission of CLPE.

Watch the BBC footage about nocturnal animals then repeat, asking the children to choose an animal and make a few notes as they watch. This could be modelled and notes taken in group work with the support of an adult: http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/nocturnal-animals/12649.html

Arrange the children in pairs or small groups according to the animal that they would like to research. Model how to find information from non-fiction texts and make notes by the agreed subheadings in the fact files, perhaps using a mindmap. Throughout the process, encourage the group to check each other’s findings and begin to rehearse orally what they could say about each aspect of this nocturnal animal. Helpful websites include: BBC Newsround: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/adaptations/Nocturnality BBC Nature Wildlife: http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_9480000/newsid_9488700/9488715.stm

As children present their findings to the class or other groups, support and model their oral sentence structure to enable the information to be presented in a clear and precise way, encouraging additional detail with the use of adverbial phrases.

Children can go on to create a fact file about their chosen animal, orally rehearsing then writing a range of simple

and complex sentences that link ideas together and are relevant to the subheading. Read aloud to other peer editing partners, making simple revisions. Prior to this, ensure the children have had access to a range of published

factfiles in group work so that they are familiar with the way in which they are written. Children can publish their factfiles on card and include photographs or illustrations or produce them as e-fact files

using computer software. Published versions of the factfiles can be stored in a folder in the reading area alongside the non-fiction and

storybooks about nocturnal animals. Each group can share and present their work to the rest of the class and other interested members of the school

community. Website last accessed September 2014

Session 19-20: Drama, role-play, book talk ‘Tell Me’ and writing a book review Learning Objectives: Children are able to articulate the answer to a question Children express simple views of the story giving reasons for their answers

Talk briefly with the children about their responses to the story, using the ‘Tell Me’ grid: ­ What did you like and/or dislike? ­ Did anything surprise you? Why? ­ Did you find anything particularly interesting? Why? ­ Did the story remind you of anything in real life or in other stories?

Referring to a storymap, cast a few pairs of children as either the dark or Lazlo. Sitting in a large circle read the story again, with each pairs of children coming into the centre of the circle to act out their part of the book.

Through modelling, describe your favourite part of the story. Provide the children with an oral scaffold for example: the most memorable part of the story was... because...; my top moment in the story was... because... and in pairs ask them to identify their favourite part of the narrative. Encourage children to give reasons for their choices and invite some children to share these.

Invite the children to draw and describe their favourite part of the story. Model how to do this, orally rehearsing before writing, considering spelling and punctuation.

Encourage children to revisit writing with a partner to check that it makes sense, the meaning is clear and it is punctuated.

Publish the reviews in a class anthology and display prominently in school, alongside a display of Lemony Snicket’s authored books and those illustrated by Jon Klassen as part of an author / illustrator recommendation display. Invite other children and class teachers to add to the reviews and recommendations. Display the children’s Klassen inspired artwork as well as favourite words and phrases of Snicket’s alongside the recommendations.

©The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education. You may use this teaching sequence freely in your school but it cannot be commercially published or reproduced or used for anything other than educational purposes without the express permission of CLPE.

Word Reading and Transcription (National Curriculum 2014) Use and Application of Phonics and Spelling The following words could be used to exemplify learning at phonic phases: Phase 2: hid, sat, box, put, bed Phase 3: dark, roof, wait, far, morning, night, might, light, back, peek, visit, room, seem, now, see, bathroom, bedroom Phase 4: afraid, smooth, flights, stairs, spent, distant, press, chest, downstairs, splash, still, kept, lightbulb? Phase 5: alternatives: /ai/ day, say, away, same, basement, gazing, /ee/ creaky, squeaks, belonged, maybe, very /igh/ behind, time, “Hi”, outside, eyes, by, sky, like, smiling /oa/ cold, window, old, nobody, open, show, close /air/ dare, /u/ several, shower, corner, ever, over, longer, bother, above, bottom, welcome, look /or/ cupboard, drawers, doors, thought, all, almost /ur/, curtain /ar/ *ask /oo/ shoes /e/ spread /l/ rattles /ow/ house Alternative pronunciations: /c/ place, voice, /a/ washing, was, want, water, /ch/ machine * Regional Pronunciation: The following words are considered Phase 5 as the ‘a’ has an alternative pronunciation of /ar/. However, its pronunciation remains /a/, and therefore Phase 4, with when taught in some regions: ask Storytelling Language: Sometimes...But mostly...All day long...At night...But in the morning...But one night...never...Come closer...Even closer...Without a...

High Frequency Words:

a, was, of, the, in, house, as, with, behind, it, from, nobody, ever, itself, went, out, could, would, wouldn’t, come, came, him, his, be, why, by, where, there, he, that, if, but, one, did, said, very, what, do, you, want, something, here, no, yes, at, all, into, without, thank you, you’re, didn’t, go, , again Spelling:

Suffixes ‘-ed’ suffix ‘-ing’ suffix

root word simply + ‘ed’ double consonant then +‘-ed’

-e then + ‘-ed’

change y to i then + ‘-ed’

simply + ‘-ing’

double consonant then + ‘-ing’:

-e then +’-ing’

press pressed pressing

wait waited waiting

squeak squeaked squeaking

open opened opening

ask asked asking

want wanted wanting

©The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education. You may use this teaching sequence freely in your school but it cannot be commercially published or reproduced or used for anything other than educational purposes without the express permission of CLPE.

show showed showing

rattle rattled rattling

live lived living

close closed closing

dare dared daring

gaze gazed gazing

smile smiled smiling

‘-s’ plurals

simply + ‘-s’ change y to i then + ‘-es’

doors countries

windows

stairs