KS2 - Way Home by Gregory Rogers - 4 Week Writing Unit

Key Details:
Focus Text: Way Home by Gregory Rogers

• Contains Plans, slides, activities.
• 4 Week Unit

Shane is a boy who lives alone on the streets. We don’t realise this until the end of the book, when he takes the cat he has found back home with him to a shelter filled with his possessions, to be his friend. Shane’s fast paced story is told to the cat. The illustrations in this picture book are very evocative, full of symbols and meanings that add to what we learn about Shane and his life.

Overall aims of this teaching sequence:

To engage children with a story with which they will empathise
To explore themes and issues, and develop and sustain ideas through discussion
To develop creative responses to the text through drama, storytelling and artwork
To write in role in order to explore and develop empathy for characters
To write with confidence for real purposes and audiences

This teaching sequence is approximately 5 weeks long if spread out over 20 sessions. The book supports teachers to teach about emotional response to strong themes in narrative fiction. This text offers readers a good stimulus for writing. Teachers will need to be aware of any children who may have experienced homelessness or who live in shelters or temporary accommodation before sharing this text with a class.