Leon and the Place Between - Teaching Slides

The teaching slides for "Leon and the Place Between" encourage interactive learning and critical thinking about the book's content, setting, and characters. Students are prompted to explore the language used for writing, make predictions about the story, and discuss their personal experiences related to the themes of the book, such as visiting a circus or magic show. They are also guided to consider the characters' feelings and the atmosphere created by the writer and illustrator. The slides include exercises to enhance students' understanding of grammar and punctuation, such as the correct use of commas, possessive apostrophes, and verb tenses. Additionally, the slides provide opportunities for creative writing, asking students to write diary entries from the protagonist's perspective and to engage in discussions about the messages conveyed in the story.

Further activities focus on the development of writing skills, with prompts for proofreading and the construction of complex sentences using conjunctions and relative clauses. Students are encouraged to use a toolkit that includes dialogue, adverbials, and expanded noun phrases to write their own voyage and return stories. The teaching slides also integrate cross-curricular links to numeracy and science, with a Year 5 science topic on Earth and Space that explores the solar system, day and night, and historical figures like Neil Armstrong. Creative art links are also suggested, with tasks such as designing a moon surface and creating a moon buggy, culminating in a simulated moon landing project. This holistic approach to learning combines literacy skills with scientific inquiry and creative expression.