The Spell Binding Stories series ranges from KS1 (infants) to UKS2 (upper juniors) and each book contains a mixture of stories, sketches and poems, which support a fun and creative way of learning spelling. In each book the pieces cover the requirements for the learning of spelling as given in the National Curriculum of English in England. The books would also be useful in other regions and also support children and adults learning the eccentricities of English spelling, when learning English as a second language.
Amongst many other stories in the KS1 book, in ‘Double Letter Disaster’ the heroic Spellcheck battles the evil Spel Badlee to retain the double letters in certain words, In ‘S or ES’ the Long Tale Tit explains to the other birds why some words end with s and others es. ‘The L mountains’, which look like two Ls from a distance, with a steep valley dividing the city of Deuxdemis in two, describes the reason for the a spelling before L or double L. In ‘Alien Research’ professor Arloop von Burp debates word endings with students such as Carpetedge IV and Eggsandwich N4 on planet Soupplate V5. Also The Three Billy Goats Gruff encounter an ogre that’s very interested in homophones (oh and eating them).
The LKS2 book includes ‘Agitation about -ation’, which outlines events when a competition is held to create a sensible suffix ending for certain verbs, with most of the suggestions being unsuitable and generally downright daft. Gavin’s uncle introduces him to the ‘Sure-Ture-er game’, which he proves to be good at. Though his disgruntled uncle puts it down to ‘beginner’s luck’. The sketches ‘Stone Age -ous’ and ‘There’s no tricks with a Suffix’ give plenty of opportunity for drama. The book also has an added ‘Grammar Supplement’, which includes stories exploring how a bank robbery might occur without any verbs and why pronouns are so useful – particularly when lots of people, with extremely long names are involved!
The central ‘Set in for a spell quiz’ sketch/mini play in the UKS2 volume deals with several aspects of spelling but we still get to see what happens in a class on Planet Toaster where words are golden in every sense, meet the wizard who creates all seven types of ‘ough’ words and help the famous Belgian word detective Hurcules Paintpot solve a perplexing spelling puzzle or two. And that’s not all…
Spell Binding Stories KS1 is a collection of stories and poems which between them cover all the programme of study requirements for learning spelling in the National Curriculum, KS1. Each piece is accompanied by teacher’s notes that provide suggestions for ways of maximizing the benefit of each story/poem as a means of supporting the children’s learning. Apart from anything else the pieces should allow the learning of spelling to be more diverse, creative – and fun!
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Spell Binding Stories LKS2 contains a series of stories, sketches and poems designed to support the programmes of study for learning spelling listed in the National Curriculum for English for Years 3 & 4 (Lower Key Stage 2.) The aim is to approach the learning of spelling in a creative and innovative way to supplement and support standard approaches. Each piece is accompanied by Teacher’s Notes suggesting ways to enhance the benefit of using the pieces. A Grammar Supplement is included which provides stories that could be used to explore features of language and spelling in an original way.
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Spell Binding Stories UKS2 is the third in a trilogy of books aimed to support the teaching of spelling creatively, using stories, sketches and poems. These are supported with ideas to blend them into class lessons focusing on each spelling concept being explored.
The pieces are particularly designed to support the requirements for learning spelling for the National Curriculum in England. However, they should be supportive universally and could assist students learning English as a second language, trying to make sense of the complexities of English spelling! In this edition for example, Hercules Paintpot and his collaborators attempt to unravel a spelling mystery. We visit a school on a planet where words are not just worth their weight in gold – they are actually made of gold. We also experience the excitement and tension of the final in the series of the ‘Set in for a Spell’ quiz!
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