Year 5 have had an exciting start to the term through the exploration of the text Kaspar Prince of Cats by Michael Morpurgo in Literacy lessons. The children have been transported back in time to the hustle and bustle of London in 1912, with the third-floor corridor being transformed into the luxurious Savoy hotel - the setting of the story.
Using this rich text has enabled children to learn explicit grammar skills in context through the story, allowing them to apply their grammar purposefully to their writing. This week, Year 5 were able to write letters in role as a character from the story showcasing the various skills that they have learnt so far:
- Using a wide range of conjunctions to create subordinate clauses within multiclause sentences.
- Using expanded noun phrases.
- Using historical nouns.
- Using adjectives that end in the suffixes -cious or -tious.
In addition to developing their grammar, punctuation and spelling, children have also developed their inference skills and more importantly a love of reading. They have been on a rollercoaster of emotions with the twists and turns of the plot and characters!
See if you can spot any of our recent learning in the letter below.
April 22nd 1912
Dear Countess Kandinsky,
It has been such a long time since we last mer. After the omnibus hit you, I was torn apart and so was Kaspar. So much has happened since the incident occurred. Whenever I tried to feed Kaspar, he didn’t munch a single piece of food, instead, he started purring miserably. He lost his voracious appetite and his luscious fur thinned out. His vivacious personality escaped from his soul, leaving him to transform into a ghost of his former self. I was extremely worried about Kaspar, everyone was.
One normal, regular day at the Savoy Hotel, another one of those ostentatious, aristocratic families, with many privileges in their lives, arrived. It turned out that the family were called the Stantons. They only had one child, a girl called Elizabeth. She was very mischievous, hiding everywhere all the time.
The first few days that the Stantons arrived, Elizabeth hid somewhere and the Stantons asked me to find her. I accepted because they were Americans and usually Americans gave huge tips! Surprisingly, I found her in my room in the attic, feeding Kaspar. Kaspar was back to his usual self and I was glad because of it.
The Stanton’s stayed for a while and Lizziebeth and I became friends. While I was working, I came back to my room and found the window wide open. It revealed Lizziebeth on the rooftop, trying to save a pigeon. In a flash, I immediately climbed up and saved her. The Stantons had delight written all over their face and offered me a huge tip. I was drowning in a pool of happiness, unable to escape my vivacious feeling.
The next day was terrifying, absolutely terrifying. Skullface (Mrs Blaise the housekeeper), had found out that I was keeping Kaspar in my room. The rule at the Savoy is, you aren’t allowed to keep animals with you. I was breaking the rules.
After this, the Stantons had to leave. I was filled with despondency. Although they were rich aristocrats, they were extremely generous. While I was taking them to the Titanic (their ship), I decided to go with them to New York. Without anyone noticing, I boarded the ship!
So here I am. I promise that I will write to you when more happens.
Best wishes,
Johnny Trott
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