Inspired by: Flotsam - Week 5

In an engaging lesson centred on understanding the use of possessive apostrophes, students delve into the mystery of a series of intriguing photographs, one of which features an alien spaceship. The objective is to learn how to indicate possession for both singular and plural nouns. The activity prompts students to examine two sentences: "The alien's camera fell to the seabed" and "The aliens' cameras fell to the seabed." Through comparison and discussion, they are taught that to show possession by a singular owner, an apostrophe followed by an 's' is added. For plural owners, where the noun already ends with an 's', possession is indicated by adding an apostrophe after the final 's'. This grammatical point is illustrated within the context of the story, making it both memorable and enjoyable for the students.

Building on the theme of the photographs, the next part of the lesson focuses on developing narrative skills and encouraging discussion. Students are invited to imagine that Jack, the protagonist, has brought these mysterious photos to school to show them. This sparks a conversation about the content of the photographs, and in pairs, students are tasked with creating a 'back-story' for their chosen photo. They are encouraged to think about the setting, characters, and plot that could explain the scenes captured in the images. Students then write their narrative, which can take various forms such as a play, a ballad, or a short story, thereby practising their storytelling skills and reinforcing their understanding of narrative structure.