Reading Rocks at Home with Hachette Schools
We’ve teamed up with Reading Rocks to create a series of online lessons and activities to support home learning.
Tune in on Twitter at 11am each Monday, Wednesday and Friday, or catch up via the Hachette Schools YouTube channel.
*Please note that these videos will only be available until 30th September 2020. In line with our permissions guidelines*
Lesson 19: Jack’s Secret Summer
Join the Secret Summer Gang for an unforgettable magical adventure! Jack’s Secret Summer is the first book in a new series by Jack Ryder, perfect for fans of Roald Dahl and Famous Five aged 7 and up.
In Lesson 19 we listen to a reading from the book and practice our inference skills, in Lesson 20 we create our own magical gobstoppers and practice our persuasive writing skills, and in Lesson 21 we practice writing dialogue.
Download the full set of teaching activities.
Lesson 19:
Download the What’s in a Name activity sheets
Lesson 20:
Lesson 21: Jack’s Secret Summer
Lessons 17 and 18: Sea Keepers
In this lesson we dive into magical underwater adventures with the Sea Keepers! This new mermaid series for readers aged 5 and up has a strong environmental message about saving our seas.
Inspired by Sea Keepers: Mermaid Rescue, in lesson 17 we’re gathering facts and using what we’ve learned to to create a creature fact file. In lesson 18 we look at understanding recycling labels and find ways to reuse single use plastic. We also create our own environmental pledge and badge inspired by The Sea Keepers.
Lesson 17:
Lesson 18:
Lesson 16: This Book is Not Rubbish
To celebrate Water Saving Week we’re being inspired by the fiction book Where the Wilderness Lives by Jess Butterworth and non-fiction book This Book is Not Rubbish by Isabel Thomas to write a poem highlighting the importance of protecting our seas, oceans and rivers.
The resource pack for This Book is Not Rubbish contains lots of brilliant ideas for environmentally-themed activities that can be adapted for children of all ages.
Lesson 16:
Lesson 14 and 15: Where the Wilderness Lives
This lesson is based on the fantastic new book Where the Wilderness Lives by Jess Butterworth – an epic race for survival that follows four children and their dog through treacherous waterways, dense forests and the deep, dark wilderness of Wales. Perfect for readers aged 8 and up.
In lesson 14 we’re inspired by the use of similes in the text to explore our surroundings and create our own, then put them to use by writing a poem. In lesson 15 we use the special alphabet from the book to crack codes and create our own.
Lesson 14:
Download the tree spotter worksheet
Download the poem starter worksheet
Lesson 15:
Download the Crack the Code activity sheets
Lesson 11, 12 and 13: The Strangeworlds Travel Agency
This is the first lesson in a series of three inspired by The Strangeworlds Travel Agency by L.D. Lapinski, a brand new magical adventure series for children aged 9+!
Listen to the readings and use the worksheets to create your own magical magnifying glass and find magic, as well as using your creative writing skills to entice travellers to different worlds. In Lesson 12, plan your own trip around the world and use your research skills to do some fact-finding. In Lesson 13 we’re joined by L.D. Lapinski herself for an exciting Q&A!
Download the full Teaching Resource Pack
Download the full Home Learning Pack
Lesson 11:
Download the magnifying glass worksheet
Download the travel agent worksheet
Lesson 12:
Download the suitcase adventure worksheet
Lesson 13:
Lesson 10: Dogs in Space
Blast into space with Soviet space dogs Belka and Strekla in this week’s lesson!
Dogs in Space is a non-fiction picture book by Vix Southgate, that tells the story of the two dogs who changed the face of space history and became international celebrities in the process.
In this lesson we think about adjectives and synonyms, and use them to write a job advert for space dog recruitment. Use the worksheet to design a souvenir mug for Belka and Strelka the space heroes.
Download the resource pack here
Lessons 8 and 9: Scribble Witch
These lessons look at the first book in magical, funny new series Scribble Witch by author and illustrator Inky Willis. Scribble Witch is about a miniature witch who lives in Molly’s pen pot at school and is perfect for readers aged 7-9.
In Lesson Eight we talk about creating your own scribble friend with the help of Inky Willis, and writing notes to them like Molly. In Lesson Nine we practice equivalent fractions, using doodling to help us visualise them.
Download a free letter writing plan and the fractions practice sheets using the links below.
Download the free resources and worksheets here
Download the DT challenge resources here
Lesson Eight:
Lesson Nine:
Lesson 7: Women in Art
In this lesson we use the fantastic illustrated biography Women in Art by Rachel Ignotofsky to explore the power of art for expressing yourself and connecting with people.
Be inspired by artist Frida Kahlo to create your own self portrait.
Download the Frida Kahlo activity sheet
Download Frida Kahlo’s biography page
Find out more about The Elements and Principles of Art and Design
Lesson Five and Six: Fantastically Feminist – Michelle Obama
In these lessons we use the inspiring illustrated biography of fantastically feminist Michelle Obama, by Anna Doherty.
In Lesson Five we find out about Michelle’s hard work and determination to achieve her goals, plan and write a letter to Michelle Obama and design a vegetable garden inspired by Michelle’s garden at the White House.
In Lesson Six we structure and write a speech inspired by one made by Michelle when she was First Lady, and think about who we would nominate for a Michelle Obama Award.
Lesson Five:
Lesson Six:
Lesson Three and Four: Boot
These lessons are based on the brilliant new fiction series Boot by Shane Hegarty. This hilarious, warm-hearted story about a small robot on a BIG adventure is brought to life by Ben Mantle’s illustrations and is perfect for fans of Toy Story.
In Lesson Four we use our vocabulary and grammar skills to write a poem inspired by a passage from the book Boot. We’d love to see your poems so please do share with us on Twitter @HachetteSchools and @_Reading_Rocks_
Lesson 3:
Lesson 4:
Lesson One and Two: The World of the Whale
Based on beautiful non-fiction book The World of the Whale by Smriti Prassadam-Halls and Jonathon Woodward.
Lesson One introduces key maths topics including ordering lengths, conversions and scale. There’s also a fun craft activity for the whole family.
In Lesson Two we look at how to use questions (who, what, where, when and how) to find out more about a topic and set viewers some writing tasks using their research. This lesson supports SPAG (spelling, punctuation and grammar) and can be shared with primary school children of all ages.
Lesson 1:
Lesson 2:
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