Inspired by: Tiddler - Week 1

Embarking on a literary underwater adventure, children engage in a descriptive activity inspired by the story of Tiddler. The focus is on verbalising their thoughts before writing, and connecting words and clauses using 'and'. The task begins with identifying Tiddler among other grey fish, using his distinct name as a clue to his size. The children explore synonyms for 'small' and 'big', and are encouraged to invent names for sea creatures based on their size. They then proceed to describe each creature by colour and size, and are tasked with labelling different parts of a creature. To model the activity, an example is given: 'A seahorse is small and orange.' The children are then prompted to tell their peers two things about their chosen sea creature, fostering their descriptive language skills.

In a separate activity titled 'Can You See…?', children continue to develop their descriptive abilities, this time focusing on using question marks. They are introduced to a variety of sea creatures and practice orally rehearsing sentences to describe their appearances and actions. For instance, 'In the picture I can see a squid that is big and orange,' or 'Tiddler is small and grey and is blowing small bubbles.' They collect verbs such as 'sitting', 'swimming', and 'hunting' to describe what the sea creatures are doing, and engage in a game where they ask each other to spot different creatures in a picture. This activity not only enhances their observational skills but also their ability to formulate questions and extend their sentences appropriately.