Red Giant: Reception - Shark in the Park - Teacher's Guide (Red Giant)

"Red Giant" offers children a structured experience of a full range of fiction and non-fiction texts; it provides specific coverage of the NLS range requirements at each year and term of Key Stage 1. Its revisiting structure reflects the fact that texts with sufficient depth can offer teaching opportunities at more than one level. At Reception and Year 1 each book is revisited in the subsequent year. At Year 2 the text is revisited in the same year and term as an optional and more advanced continuation of the first visit. Just as in the first visit to the book, the revisit is linked to a specific year, termly range requirement and corresponding teaching objectives. For every single Big Book there is a corresponding Teachers' Guide, which contains two 5-day lesson plans; one for the first visit to the book, and one for the second. The lessons are constructed to deliver a range of teaching objectives and take the form of a literacy hour. The Teaching notes show how writing skills should develop out of shared reading. The 5-day lesson unit moves from reading through to writing, using the text as a model so that children are helped to integrate the skills of reading and writing. These skills are then consolidated during independent work. In addition, "Red Giant" can also be used alongside the Developing Early Writing initiative and delivering the Early Literacy Support programme Independent group activities are suggested for every lesson. Some of the group activities are supported by photocopiable worksheets.