Finborough School Learning Programme
Year Group: Prep 2
Subject: English
Week Commencing
07/09
Learning (Objective)
I can listen and respond appropriately to my
peers.
I can maintain attention and participate
actively in collaborative conversations.
Autumn Term 2015
14/09
I can ask relevant questions.
I can maintain attention, stay on topic.
To understand and use a range of
punctuation, including full stops, capital
letters, commas, exclamation marks,
question marks and speech marks.
I can develop pleasure in being introduced
to non-fiction books (texts) that are
structured in different ways.
In pairs think of open questions to ask John
Patrick.
Discuss in pairs the excuses given.
Record these questions with the correct
use of a question mark.
Role –play interviewing John Patrick.
Show book The Three Guinea Fowl.
Explain that there are letters in the book
that solve a problem and you would like
everyone to look out for them when they
read the story. Show a variety of nonfiction books that are structured in different
ways.
Create two book reviews grading their most
favourite book from 1 to 5 stars and their
least favourite book from 1 to 5 stars.
Share the reviews with the class and
discuss your findings.
As a group list the excuses used in the
story and illustrate the list.
As a group discuss putting the excuses in
order of most believable.
Record results as a written list or as a
picture or as a story map.
As a group decide on three open questions
to ask John Patrick.
Independently answer these questions.
Answers need to be written in the form of
sentences and correctly punctuated.
Role –play interviewing John Patrick.
Show a variety of non- fiction books that are
structured in different ways.
Create a book review answering simple
questions and grading one book from 1 to 5
stars.
Share the review with the class.
As a group discuss what ‘excuse’ means. It
can sometimes be a false reason (what did
JP’s teacher think).
Write a grumpy letter from the teacher in
John Patrick Norman McHennessy to
JP’s parents. Include questions that the 
teacher would ask?
What might he want to say? He is fed up
with JP always being late for school and list
all the excuses he comes up with.

How would he start and end the letter?
Show a variety of non- fiction books that are
structured in different ways.
Write a review on the The Three Guinea
Fowl. Focus on punctuating correctly. Who
was your favourite character, and why?
I can explain my views to others in a
small group, and decide how to report
I can participate in discussion and
the group’s views to the class e.g.
presentations (improvisation).
devising.
Success
Criteria
Core
As a group discuss the excuses that John P
N McH used and then invent some new
ones.
Talk about these ideas and listen to friends’
ideas.
Decide how to record your best excuse to
share with the class.
Support
Challenge
21/09
Decide how best to relay this information
back to the class. Ensuring reasons are
given as to why the teacher should believe
them.
I can participate in discussion about books
that are read to them.
Did the characters feel real to you?
Focus on punctuating correctly.
Hot seat John Patrick and interview him.


Homework (s)
Play the yes no game at home with your
family.
Read a newspaper. Bring in and share
the most interesting article from this
newspaper.
Did the story keep you guessing? Share
and discuss the reviews.
Finborough School Learning Programme
Year Group: Prep 2
Subject: English
Autumn Term 2015
Week Commencing
28/09
05/10
Learning (Objective)
I can learn how to use both familiar and
new punctuation correctly incl. full stops,
capital letters, exclamation marks, question
marks.
I can use grammar terminology.
Success
Criteria
Write a postcard from the teacher
explaining to his best friend why he is fed
up with JP and all his excuses.
Notice how the message goes on the left
and the address goes on the right. Look at
the use of capital letters, full stops and
exclamation marks.
I can write narratives, about personal
experiences and those of others (real and
fictional)
I can consider what I am going to write
before I begin.
I can write down ideas/ key words, including
new vocabulary.
Write a card to your best friend explaining in
detail why you are always late for school.
Look at the use of capital letters, full stops
and exclamation marks. Address the letter
in the correct manner.
Produce a draft plan of your card before
writing in the actual card.
Core
Support
Challenge
Design the front cover of a postcard from
JP’s teacher. Write an independent
sentence on why the teacher is fed up with
all the excuses. Use correct punctuation.
Notice how the message goes on the left
and the address goes on the right.
Write a persuasive reply letter to the
teacher explaining why John Patrick should
stay at school.
Homework (s)
Design a wanted poster for your favourite
book character. Ensuring correct
punctuation.
Create a story map of why you are always
late for school. Label each excuse.
Write a diary starting on Monday ending on
Friday. Write in the first person. Explaining
why you are always late for school. A
different excuse is needed for each day.
12/10
I can consider what I am going to write
before beginning by planning or saying out
loud what I am going to write about.
I can encapsulate what I want to say,
sentence by sentence.
Design a profile of the character JP.
Design a draft copy of the profile. What
information does the profile need? Discuss
the profiles in a group. Do you need to add
anything?
Before completing the final profiles. Share
the finished profiles with the class.
Write two paragraph ones to describe Jp’s
character and one to describe his future.
Design a wanted poster explaining why Jp
is in trouble. Once the plan is complete the
poster can be created and shared with the
class.
The reasons must be written in correctly
punctuated sentences.
Create a profile for your favourite book
character. Design a draft copy and discuss
with class before completing the finished
profile. All profiles to be shared with the
class.
Profile must be written in correctly
punctuated sentences.
Finborough School Learning Programme
Year Group: Prep 2
Week Commencing
Subject: English
02/11
09/11
16/11
I can develop pleasure in reading and
motivation to read by: discussing the
sequence of events in books and how items
of information are related.
I can discuss and clarify the meanings of
words I can answer and ask thoughtful
questions.
Read Dear Teacher by Amy Husband.
Compare the book with, John Patrick
Norman McHennessy – the boy who was
always late. What is the same about them?
What is different? Create a list of
differences and similarities.
I can make simple additions, revisions and
corrections to my own writing by: re-reading
to check that my writing makes sense.
I can use verbs to indicate time that are
used correctly and consistently, including
verbs in the continuous form.
To think of at least 3 open ended questions
to ask John Patrick.
Keep a record of their answers from each
question.
To illustrate and label 3 differences in the
stories and 3 similarities.
Illustrate a card to send to a friend. Inside
the card write three or four sentences
explaining about an adventure they have
had. At the end, work in pairs to read
through the work and check that you have
remembered capital letters and full stops
and any other punctuation.
Role play
One child is the teacher they say fiercely to
each child ‘YOU ARE LATE AGAIN’ each
child then take it in turns to read their best
written excuse, e.g. “I am late, Sir/Miss,
because on my way...”
Share this role play with the class.
Group to re-read Dear Teacher and
brainstorm other things that could have
happened to Michael or adventures they
could have. Share ideas with a partner who
gives an opinion about which idea they think
is the best. Read out their ‘best’ idea to the
class. Take a vote about which is their
favourite.
Compose an imaginary email to ‘Dear
Teacher’ using another of the adventure
ideas (using computers if possible).
Download images to illustrate your work. At
the end, read through the work and check
that you have remembered capital letters
and full stops and any other punctuation.
Compose your e mail about an event that is
happening right now! Use verbs in the
continuous form.
Learning (Objective)
I can articulate and justify my answers and
opinions.
I can gain and maintain interest of listener.
Success
Criteria
Hot seat John Patrick. Everyone to have the
opportunity to be John Patrick and offer well
thought out replies to the questions.
Record questions and answers on paper.
Core
Support
Challenge
Autumn Term 2015
Homework (s)
Send your teacher an e mail this weekend
describing what you are doing.
Write a draft of a letter in the first person
using one of the adventure ideas from the
story. Write it in rough concentrating on
making the ideas flow and choosing
interesting vocabulary. At the end, read
through the work and check that you have
remembered capital letters and full stops
and any other punctuation.
Finborough School Learning Programme
Year Group: Prep 2
Subject: English
Autumn Term 2015
Week Commencing
23/11
30/11
Learning (Objective)
I can learn how to expand noun phrases to
describe and specify, e.g. the blue butterfly.
I can learn how to use the present tense
and the past tense correctly.
Success
Criteria
Listen to descriptive poems Pictures in my
Mind and So Small by Joan Poulson.
To expand a list of nouns by adding
descriptive text before and after the noun.
Eg: The bright blue butterfly sparkled in the
blazing sun.
I can develop pleasure in reading, motivation
to read, vocabulary and understanding by
building up a repertoire of poems/songs
learned by heart.
I can participate in discussions about
poems/songs.
Give everyone a copy of London’s burning
Ask them to read it out loud to themselves
and at the end of each verse to underline
words they do not understand and parts that
they would like to discuss.
In a different colour underline words and
phrases they particularly like. Discuss the
poem in groups.
Use sounding out decoding strategies to
read unfamiliar words. Practise reading the
poem a second and third time to build up
confidence.
Discuss the poem in a group.
Using a copy of London’s burning underline
the verbs in the present tense.
Write down a new verse and underline the
verbs .As a group change the present tense
to the past tense. Share these with the
class.
Write 2 new verses to London’s Burning but
write them the in the past tense. Share
these with the class.
Core
Support
Challenge
Homework (s)
Draw a picture and write as many adjectives
as they can to describe each picture adding
another adjective in each time they start a
new line. Eg A blue butterfly.
A bright blue butterfly.
A bright sparkling blue butterfly.
Give everyone a simple frame to help them
write a short poem with a simple repeating
pattern. Write one verse of 4 lines and then
draw a small picture to illustrate each line.
Use some or all of the ideas in the class
poem or invent something completely new.
Encourage use of adjectives by expanding
noun phrases.
Learn to recite your favourite Christmas
poem.
Plan a performance of London’s Burning
using simple instruments.
Think about which instruments they could
use to depict the sound of the fire. E.g.
whistles, xylophones, maracas, rain sticks,
voices, etc.
Presents their composition to the rest of the
class.
Can audience identify what is taking place fire building up/dying down - just by listening
to the performance?
07/12
Using a copy of London’s burning underline
the verbs in the present tense. Then write
the same verb in the past tense, adding the
suffix –ed, e.g. Fetched the engine, Poured
on water. Encourage them to explain that
the first action is happening now, and the
second action has already happened.