Ug: Boy Genius of the Stone Age by Raymond Briggs (Red Fox)

In this multi-layered graphic text the concept of a ‘stone age’ is taken to extremes with everything, including trousers made of stone. The story follows the quest of a Stone Age boy, Ug, in his search for softer trousers. With ideas beyond his time his questioning and inventive mind proves exasperating at times for his parents. This book provides many opportunities for discussion and lots of humour at different levels from the illustrations to the footnotes.

Overall aims of this teaching sequence:  To engage children with a story told through a mixture of speech and visual imagery  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 compose writing for a wide variety of purposes  To write in role in order to explore and develop empathy for characters

This teaching sequence is designed for a Year 3 or Year 4 class. Overview of this teaching sequence

This teaching sequence is approximately 4 weeks long if spread out over 20 sessions. If each writing opportunity is fully developed from inception to publication, sessions will need to be extended over more hours or more days to allow for this, thereby extending the number of weeks required to complete. The teaching sequence provides opportunity to explore the interrelationship between words and illustrations in a comic book and how the design and layout of panels on each page support narrative progression. It immerses the children in a fictionalized version of a Stone Age community in which the author plays with our expectations of the era to create humour in both the text and the images. There is much valuable opportunity to extend the sessions through cross curricular learning. A wider study of the history of the Stone Age and the history of inventions and inventors will provide children with a rich bank of knowledge and understanding to draw from in understanding the text.

National Curriculum objectives covered by this sequence

Reading: (Word reading / Comprehension) Writing: (Transcription / Composition)

Maintain positive attitudes to reading and Children should plan their writing by: understanding of what they read by:  identifying the audience for and purpose of  continuing to read and discuss an the writing, selecting the appropriate form increasingly wide range of fiction and using other similar writing as models for  identifying and discussing themes and their own conventions in and across a wide range of  noting and developing initial ideas, drawing writing on reading and research where necessary  making comparisons within and across  in writing narratives, considering how books authors have developed characters and settings in what pupils have read, listened to

©The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education. You may use this teaching sequence freely in your school but it cannot be commercially published or reproduced or used for anything other than educational purposes without the express permission of CLPE.

Understand what they read by: or seen performed  checking that the book makes sense to Draft and write by: them, discussing their understanding and  selecting appropriate grammar and exploring the meaning of words in context vocabulary, understanding how such choices  asking questions to improve their can change and enhance meaning in understanding narratives, describing settings, characters  drawing inferences such as inferring and atmosphere and integrating dialogue to characters’ feelings, thoughts and motives convey character and advance the action from their actions, and justifying inferences  using a wide range of devices to build with evidence cohesion within and across paragraphs  predicting what might happen from details  using further organisational and stated and implied presentational devices to structure text and  identifying how language, structure and to guide the reader presentation contribute to meaning  discussing and evaluating how authors use Evaluate and edit by: language, including figurative language,  assessing the effectiveness of their own and considering the impact on the reader others’ writing  participating in discussions about books that  proposing changes to vocabulary, grammar are read to them and those they can read and punctuation to enhance effects and for themselves, building on their own and clarify meaning others’ ideas and challenging views  ensuring the consistent and correct use of courteously tense throughout a piece of writing  providing reasoned justifications for their  ensuring correct subject and verb views agreement when using singular and plural, distinguishing between the language of speech and writing and choosing the appropriate register  proofreading for spelling and punctuation errors

Speaking and Listening:  Listen and respond appropriately to adults and their peers  Participate actively in collaborative conversations  Use spoken language to develop understanding through imagining and exploring ideas  Select and use appropriate registers for effective communication  Ask relevant questions to extend their understanding and knowledge  Use relevant strategies to build their vocabulary  Articulate and justify answers, arguments and opinions  Give well-structured descriptions, explanations and narratives for different purposes, including for expressing feelings  Maintain attention and participate actively in collaborative conversations, staying on topic and initiating and responding to comments  Use spoken language to develop understanding through speculating, hypothesising, imagining and

exploring ideas  Participate in discussions, performances, role play, improvisations and debates  Consider and evaluate different viewpoints, attending to and building on the contributions of others

Cross Curricular Links:

Computing  Children can be encouraged to use ICT to enhance learning: recording storytelling, filming role- play, using digital photographs to make books or present ideas; internet research; combining images, narration and music to create a book trailer. Personal, Social and Emotional  Children can explore themes such as determination and perseverance. Through their study of Ug, children might explore issues around how the community judges him and his ground-breaking ideas. Geography  Children might develop their knowledge and understanding of physical geography by considering what features a Stone Age community might look for in choosing a place to settle. Can we locate known places where Stone Age artefacts have been recovered using atlases or online maps? Can we identify features of those locations? Children could then use this knowledge to work in role as a village leader persuading their community to settle in a chosen place perhaps within the locality of the school. History  This book lends itself ideally to a closely linked study of the Stone Age as well as an understanding of the chronology of human history and invention. References are made to this throughout the sequence, however any additional study, experiences or school visits would support children’s developing understanding of the text, of how Raymond Briggs plays with historical fact and anachronism as well as their growing knowledge and appreciation of world history.  Some useful online resources include a series of animated videos produced by BBC for their ‘Story of Britain’ (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01z2nn3/clips) and classroom and gallery resources produced by the Museum of London: o https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/schools/learning- resources?s=true&foundationAndPrimary=1&secondary=&specialSchoolAndSEN=&int ernationalAndESOL=&supplementary=&ages=&historicPeriod=|Stone_Age_to_Iron_A ge&topic=&type=&textSearch Art and Design  Inspired by their cross curricular work in History, children might experiment with creating their own cave paintings, perhaps to represent more modern concerns.  As part of their exploration of stones and rocks in Science, children could look at the growing sculptural fascination with the natural world, such as the work of Michael Grab and Manu Topic who are expert stone stackers. There is even a European Stone Stacking Championship. Example video links to support children’s own stone stacking attempts include:

o http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-39711866 o Manu Topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3zcL3bOiuM o Michael Grab: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caiAzVzX7N4; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFZdZ5igtwI

Design and Technology  Ug’s fascination with inventing could spur many opportunities for the class to design and construct their own inventions. Children will be encouraged to consider the given properties of various materials, starting, of course, with the varied but limited options of using only stone as a material.  You will find many resources to support STEM learning, including the history of invention and challenges for children to undertake at: https://www.stem.org.uk/  Children might be inspired to design an appropriate pair of trousers for Ug that meet his requirements and even consider the limited materials that were available to him. Having worked up a design, children could develop sewing skills by mocking up a pair of trousers for Ug. As well as the materials they use, children can consider the different kinds of stitches, their relative strengths and ease of application. Science  Children’s exploration of both the text and the Stone Age more generally lends itself ideally to the elements of the Year 3 programme of study relating to rocks (as does the Power of Reading sequence for the information book Pebble in my Pocket by Meredith Hooper, illustrated by Chris Coady, Frances Lincoln Children’s Books).  Children should also consider the properties of different materials in relation to those they might find within Ug’s environment and also those that are most suitable for different inventing purposes.  Ug’s attempted inventions include a stone wheel and a stone boat which will support discussions around children’s understanding of forces and resistance. Music  As well as using music to support their other areas of learning, children might be excited to learn the Stone Age song written for the Horrible Histories television show - The Ages of Stone – which summarises some of the key features of the period and contextualises some of the subject specific vocabulary - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5kpmnbS_4M

Teaching Approaches Writing Outcomes  Responding to Illustration  Procedural: Script  Reading Aloud  Instructions  Role on the Wall  Postcard  Collaborative Writing  Information Writing  Book Making  Recount  Double Bubble  Comic Strip  Developing Enquiry  Persuasive Speech  Role Play  Advertisement  Writing in Role  Note  Conscience Alley  Poetry

 Book Talk  Persuasive Presentation  Non-Chronological Report

Links to other texts and resources.

 Stone Age Boy by Satoshi Kitamura (Walker)  Littlenose Collection: The Explorer by John Grant, illustrated by Ross Collins (Simon and Schuster)  Stone Age Tales: The Great Cave by Terry Deary (Bloomsbury)  Cave Baby by Julia Donaldson and Emily Gravett (Macmillan)  Dave’s Cave by Frann Preston-Gannon (Nosy Crow)  Glog by Pippa Goodhart, illustrated by Nick Maland (Walker)

 Audrey the Amazing Inventor by Rachel Valentine & Katie Weymouth (Words & Pictures)  Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty and David Roberts (Abrams)  What do you do with an idea? by Kobi Yamada, illustrated by Mae Besom (Compendium Inc.)

Other books by Raymond Briggs:  The Snowman by Raymond Briggs (Puffin)  Father Christmas by Raymond Briggs (Puffin)  Fungus the Bogeyman by Raymond Briggs (Puffin)  Jim and the Beanstalk by Raymond Briggs (Puffin)  The Bear by Raymond Briggs (Puffin)

Linked Non-Fiction Texts: The Stone Age  The First Drawing by Mordecai Gerstein (Little, Brown)  Savage Stone Age (Horrible Histories) by Terry Deary, illustrated by Martin Brown (Scholastic)  Stone Age, Bone Age by Mick Manning and Brita Granström (Franklin Watts)  The Stone Age: Hunters, Gathers and Woolly Mammoths by Marcia Williams (Walker)  Writing History: Stone Age by Anita Ganeri (Franklin Watts)  A Cartoon History of the Earth Volume 4: The Stick and Stone Age by Jacqui Bailey and Matthew Lilly (A&C Black)  The History Detective Investigates: Stone Age to Iron Age by Clare Hibbert (Wayland)  Britain in the Past: The Stone Age by Moira Butterfield (Franklin Watts)  Stone Age: History in Infographics by Jon Richards and Jonathon Vipond (Wayland)

Linked Non-Fiction Texts: Inventors  Inventions by Adam Hart-Davis, illustrated by Nishant Choksi (Walker)  Three Cheers for Inventors! by Marcia Williams (Walker)  Brilliant Women: Pioneers of Science and Technology by Georgia Amson-Bradshaw, illustrated by Rita Petruccioli (Wayland)  Impossible Inventions by Matgorzata Mycielska, Aleksandra Mizielińska and Daniel Mizielińska (Gecko Press)

 Invent It! by Rob Beattie (QED Publishing)  Women in Science by Rachel Ignotofsky (Wren & Rook)

Related films: The Croods, Early Man, The Flintstones

Links to other resources on the Power of Reading Website:  ‘Tell Me’ grid and questions: https://www.clpe.org.uk/powerofreading/teaching-approaches/tell- me-booktalk  Book making guidance: https://www.clpe.org.uk/powerofreading/teaching- approaches/bookmaking-journals

Weblinks:  Two websites offering support and strategies for creating your own comics or organising a ‘comic jam’ (both written by Sarah McIntyre): o http://www.jampires.com/activities/set-up-your-own-comics-jam/ o http://jabberworks.livejournal.com/742643.html  A guide listing episodes of the Horrible Histories TV shows which feature the Stone Age: https://horriblehistoriestv.wordpress.com/savage-stone-age/  A useful website to support education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics: https://www.stem.org.uk/  BBC Bitesize resources to support learning about Prehistoric Britain: https://www.bbc.com/education/topics/z82hsbk

Teaching Sessions Before Reading:

Before starting work on the book, create a space in the classroom for a working wall to enable you to pin examples of responses, reflections, notes and language generated from each session. If you do not have the space for a working wall you could create a class ‘reading journal’ using large pieces of sugar paper and use the pages of the journal to capture responses. It would also be helpful to create space for a class timeline that could be developed and added to throughout the sequence.

It would be highly beneficial to create a display, as part of your class reading environment, of related texts – fiction and non-fiction – that would allow children to read and research more widely about Stone Age settlements (see related texts). These texts might also form part of your read aloud programme thereby supporting the class in making connections with a wide range of material.

Session 1: Response to Illustration

. Print a copy of the inside cover illustration which depicts the key characters: Ug, Dugs, Dug and Ag. . Arrange the children in small groups and give each group a copy of this illustration, perhaps pasted into the middle of a larger sheet of paper, in order for them to be able to scribe their ideas around the edge of it.

. What is the first thing you notice about the illustration? What can you tell about these characters? What assumptions might we make about them based on their appearance, their dress, their facial expressions, etc. . What clues are there that might allow us to starting predicting what this story might be about? Who is the main character? Where might it be set? What could happen? What position might the character be in at the start of the story and how might this have changed by the end? Allow each group to make predictions as to what they are expecting from this story, annotating these on their handouts. . Allow each group to share their thoughts with the class, collecting these early views in your class journal or on the working wall. . Once children have offered their initial suggestions about the book, share the front cover with them, perhaps as another handout or displayed on the IWB. What do they notice? What more can we tell from the cover of the book? Does it confirm our original thoughts about the story or

provide new possibilities? What questions or puzzles do we have about the story? What do we want to find out? Do our early impressions of this story remind us of anything else that we’ve read/seen/experienced? . The subtitle displayed on the cover might confirm some early predictions that the story is set in the Stone Age. What do we already know about the Stone Age? Allow children to talk in groups for a little and then share this grid to allow children to capture their shared knowledge as well as any questions they might have. If children have tentative thoughts about the era but are unsure whether or not they are true, support them in recasting these as questions.

What we know about the What we would like to What we have found out: Stone Age: know:

  

. Children might complete their grids independently, in pairs or small groups or as a whole class. you might consider displaying an enlarged grid somewhere in the classroom that children can easily access and encourage them to add further questions or facts that they have discovered throughout their independent study both at home and at school. . Support the children in understanding how long ago the Stone Age took place. For example, you might take the children to an outdoor space where there is plenty of space (the playground, an athletics field, football pitch, etc.). If we visualise time as a 2D line where each year is 1cm apart, then you can demonstrate that from a given spot in the playground, the time in which the children were born was 7-9cm away from today’s date. You might measure and draw this in chalk as you continue to explore different dates and distances starting with eras and events that children are confident in talking about, possibly based on prior historical studies or their own interests. You might measure and mark down the dates of your own birthday, your grandparents’ birthdays, World War 2, the reign of Queen Victoria, the Tudor period, the English Civil War, the Medieval era, the Roman invasion of Britain. By now, your timeline might be as much as 20+ metres long. Discuss how at this scale it will be difficult (depending on the size of space available to you) to add events such as the Iron Age, the Bronze Age or the Stone Age because they happened so long ago.

. Back in the classroom, you could demonstrate this using an online resource such as Google Maps. If you right click on the map, perhaps in the locality of your school, you have the option to ‘measure distance’. Demonstrate scale by zooming in and showing 28 metres (the distance in time to the start of the Iron Age: 800BC), 45 metres (the start of the Bronze Age: 2500BC), 320 metres (the time at which Neanderthals are thought to have died out: 30,000 BC), 1220 metres

(the appearance of Homo Sapiens, modern humans: 120,000 BC), 2520 metres (the first evidence of Neanderthals: 250,000 BC) and 5 kilometres (the Stone Age begins: 500,000 BC) [All distances and dates approximate; you might want to use dates given in classroom books and resources] . How might life have been different for those early humans? Allow groups to refer back to their grids and continue to add ideas and questions. . It would be useful to create a class timeline depicting major events that can be referred to and added to throughout the reading of the book and any cross curricular study opportunities. . Providing time and resources for ongoing independent study as well as guided/shared research opportunities outside of the English lesson, linked with History sessions, will benefit children’s understanding of the period and support their appreciation of the text.

Session 2: Response to Illustration, Reading Aloud

. Display the final panel of page 1 without the speech bubble depicting Ug and his father. What are our initial impressions of these characters and their relationship? What do we know about them? What would we like to know? . Read aloud the first page of the story and then refer back to those questions and our initial responses. As the story is told in comic strip format, it would support children’s understanding if they are able to follow the panels as you read; you might want to use a visualiser or similar technology to allow you to share and discuss the illustrations with the class. In discussing their understanding of the story and the characters, it will be as important to draw on the layout and illustration as the text. Look at how the text is depicted – the size and style of the writing, the choice of speech or thought bubble and how it is outlined, for example, what assumptions can we make about the mum’s tone of voice from the jagged edges of her speech bubbles. The use of punctuation is important in establishing tone of voice, hesitancy, etc. How much does each panel show us of the characters, the location, the space (or lack of space) given between or around the depicted characters? How do facial expressions or body language inform us of the characters’ thoughts, motivations, responses, emotions, etc.? . Refer back to the grid started in the previous session and any early knowledge the class has acquired through cross curricular work. What does Stone Age really mean? What were the key features of the Stone Age? . Ug’s dad says “Nowadays everything is made of stone. This is why nowadays is called the Stone Age.” Is this true? Was everything made of stone in the Stone Age? . Explore how Raymond Briggs uses exaggeration or taking a supposition about an era to its logical (and illogical at times) limit in order to create humour for the book. Would Stone Age humans have worn stone trousers, lain on stone beds under stone blankets and with stone pillows? Do you think the book will be a factually accurate representation of the era? Why/why not? Consider some of the differences between a book like this and a non-fiction text – perhaps something like Marcia Williams’ book The Stone Age which still uses comic book formats and invented characters, but for the purposes of communicating information. . Allow time for children to share any other responses to the first page; perhaps any further questions that have been set up, or how what they’ve found out reinforces their early predictions about character or plot. They might pick out other uses of language and illustration that provide humour, such as the modern concept of ‘airing the beds’ within this Stone Age world. Then go on

to read aloud page 2 in which Dug demonstrates writing. Support the children in reading the footnotes and discuss how they add to the story – on the surface, they appear to be providing us with facts to support our understanding. Is that their purpose, or are they there to underscore the humour of the situation? It’s a rarely used feature in fiction texts, in which the author gets to speak directly to the reader. How do the class feel about that? Do they like or dislike the use of footnotes? Is the information given in the footnotes true? How might we find out? . What is writing? Who were the first people to use writing to communicate? Children might research and explore this outside of the English lesson and add their findings to the timeline and to their enquiry grids. . This quote might be helpful and is from page 18 of Writing History: Stone Age by Anita Ganeri (Franklin Watts): “The walls of the Pech Merle Cave in France are decorated with bison, mammoths, horses and handprints, as well as symbols, such as triangles, circles, crosses and branch-like shapes. They date from around 30,000 years ago. Archaeologists think that the symbols are arranged in patterns, like a code, and that they may have been a very early form of writing.” . Allow the children opportunity to note and discuss any words or phrases that they don’t understand. For example, does everybody know what is meant by the term ‘anachronism’? Can they deduce any possibilities using the context? The idea of anachronism is very important to the humour of the book – children might give some examples from popular culture such as the Horrible Histories TV series or films like Early Man which use anachronism as a device for humour. If possible, you might want to share the Stone Age page from Spot the Mistake: Lands of Long Ago (by AJ Wood, Mike Jolley and Frances Castle, Wide Eyed Editions) which asks children to spot the anachronisms hidden within each illustration of a given era.

Two suggested web links to articles about Stone Age writing for the class teacher:  https://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/mar/11/cave-painting-symbols-language- evolution  https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23230990-700-in-search-of-the-very-first-coded- symbols/

Session 3: Role on the Wall

. Read aloud, share and discuss the next page of the story. What have they noticed? What more have we learnt about Ug, his family and his community through the text and illustrations? Where is the humour in this page? How is it created? . Children might consider Ug’s body language, for example the difference between panel 2 as he looks down at his meal and panel 4 as he recounts Og’s ‘hot’ food experience. What impact does it have that mum’s speech bubbles in panel 3 and 8 are so much larger than Ug’s? Why might Raymond Briggs have used Dugs’ body to block Ug in the final panel? What is the impact of combining the image of mum chewing the blood-covered bone with her speech bubble: “Disgustin’!”? . Why does Ug says ‘when the trees went hot’? What might have happened? Do Ug and his family

know what fire is? What does this tell us about their community? Is this historically accurate or is it another of Briggs’ exaggerations - when did humans invent fire? . Continue to draw on children’s growing knowledge of the era: what would Stone Age people have eaten? . Allow children to continue to add to their grids, and add our class knowledge about when and how fire was used and what food would have been eaten to the class timeline. . Reflect on what we know so far about the family. What words would they use to describe each family member and what behaviour, action or speech have they seen in the story that has led them to that perception? . Complete Role on the Wall posters for the whole family. On 3 large sheets of paper, draw a simple outline to represent Ug, Dug and Dugs. You could give 3 sheets to each group for them to complete, or you might divide the class into 3 groups and give them one character each for which to complete their Role on the Wall. . If the class have not completed a Role on the Wall activity previously, you might need to model the process for them before they begin. Explain that around the outside of the outline, they should write words which describe the character’s external characteristics, e.g. words that might be used to describe their appearance, phrases to describe interests, or talents, things that they do or the clothing they wear (they could also write down the type of things that they say or how they say them). On the inside of the outline, explain that they will write words to describe internal characteristics – words to describe the personality as well as thoughts and feelings. . Ask each group to use a specific colour felt tip pen or pencil to annotate their role on the wall, as these will be revisited later in our study of the book as we learn more about the family. Explicitly make links between external and internal: consider what a specific aspect of appearance might tell us about someone’s personality, or how the personality makes a specific action seem likely (i.e. for an action to be ‘in character’ or characteristic). . Display the role on the wall diagrams on the working wall or around the classroom. Encourage children to respond to them when writing and discussing the family throughout the sequence. . Use these Role on the Wall records from today’s session to begin to explore different reactions towards ‘change’. How does Ug feel about the way things are – in relation, so far, to his clothing and his food? How does Dug respond? How does Dugs feel about change? Start to support the children in understanding some of the subtle differences in the parent’s responses to Ug’s ideas – his dad seems to be resigned to things the way that they are, whereas mum seems more anxious about his ‘radical’ ideas and language.

Session 4: Procedural Language

. Revisit page 3. What could Ug do to convince his community to try cooked food? What resources would they need? How could he persuade them? . Ask children to work together in small groups and to imagine that they are Ug and his friends. In order to demonstrate the benefits of a wider variety of menu options for their meals, they are going to produce their own cookery demonstration for the tribe demonstrating the very best in Stone Age dining. . Ask the class if they have seen any cooking shows or they are aware of any chefs. You might

watch some famous chefs who have particularly distinctive delivery styles, e.g. Ainsley Harriott, Lorraine Pascale, Jamie Oliver, etc. You might share shows that are aimed specifically at a primary age group, e.g.: . CITV’s ‘The Munch Box’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6GuJhD1wFE) . Matilda Ramsay (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f91Mxutc1UM) from CBBC’s ‘Matilda and the Ramsay Bunch’ (full episodes are available from BBC iPlayer). . CBeebie’s ‘My World Kitchen’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMs0mlno-LI) presented by Ainsley Harriott (https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/shows/my-world-kitchen) . Choose a short video, either one of the above or another that is appropriate for the class, and allow children to reflect on what they found effective about the language and style of delivery. What words or phrases helped you to understand what to do? And what words or phrases kept you engaged, wanting to watch and potentially try the recipe for yourself? It will probably be necessary for children to watch the video more than once to refine their thoughts about the exact language and phrasing used. Jot down the children’s ideas for them on the flip chart or working wall, or provide them time in groups to discuss their notes and combine these together to create a set of advice for creating a clear and engaging cookery demonstration. . Now children need some time to consider what their cookery performance might demonstrate. Explain that, like Raymond Briggs, we can be a little anachronistic in our suggestions: we could take a modern day food item and give it a Stone Age twist, ham and pineapple pizza could become mammoth and apple pizza. Draw on children’s research from previous sessions and cross- curricular lessons to decide what food might be included as ingredients, but children needn’t feel restricted by these lists if they have an alternate idea that they are excited about. Similarly, children could decide on invented Stone Age implements to help them prepare the food: a sharp stone instead of a knife, a stone chopping board, rocks to bash rather than chop the vegetables, a stone pestle and mortar, a hot rock rather than a frying pan, etc. . If children need further inspiration for their anachronistic cookery show, they might watch a short ‘Historical Masterchef’ sketch from a Horrible Histories episode. This link (https://horriblehistoriestv.wordpress.com/historical-masterchef/) lists all of the episodes which include a Masterchef sketch. The best place to find a full episode to share with the class is BBC iPlayer or DVDs are available to purchase. . Allow each group time to discuss and jot down their ideas for what they are going to cook and what implements they might need to cook it. Share these ideas around the class, allowing the children to support each other in clarifying and developing their initial thoughts and ideas. . Once each group has settled on their idea, ask them to work together to write the script for their demonstration, deciding on what combination of presenter(s), chefs, tasters, etc. they might use. Remind them of the language features which supported their understanding and engaged their interest in any of the videos or texts explored earlier in the session and remind them that they are able to draw on these words, phrases or models of language as needed (e.g. carefully chosen and precise verbs; noun phrases that stimulate the taste buds; adverbs that clarify and define the action required; prepositional phrases so that the listener/viewer knows exactly how, when or where something should be done; figurative language (alliteration, similes, personification) to engage the audience and tempt them to take part). . As children write, as well as after they have finished their first draft, encourage them to read aloud and perform their text, refining it to ensure that it meets the requirements of purpose and

audience – will it support Ug’s Stone Age tribe to move beyond raw dead animal bits and instead try a richer variety of cooked foods? . Before sharing with a wider audience, each group could partner with another, to try out their presentation and get some feedback on how well it meets its aims. The completed presentations could be shared in assemblies or videoed to share digitally with a wider audience. Filmed presentations could even have music, text or voiceover added to more closely resemble a professional cookery show or a food vlog.

Session 5 and 6: Procedural Texts, Book Making

. Reread the book from the beginning and read on to the end of page 5 (“You’re a Neanderthal, Ug!”). . As previously, spend some time discussing what we have found out and what we have noticed in the text and illustrations. How does Raymond Briggs play with anachronisms again? Would they have played football, tennis or cricket in the Stone Age? How does it help us to better understand Ug’s frustrations? . Allow the children to develop their own anachronistic ideas around Ug’s recreational activities. What other popular modern games might he and the other children try and play? How might only using stone spoil them? . Based on what we know so far about actual Stone Age communities, what other materials might be available to them and could be more appropriate in making balls, nets, racquets, bats, etc. Children would benefit from extending their thinking around this subject within other curricular areas, such as Science or Design and Technology. What are the different properties of the available materials and why might that make them more suitable? What are the properties of stone? What does that make it most and least useful for? . Challenge the children to invent some games that could be played within Ug’s community. Ask them to work in small groups to devise appropriate games using only the resources that might be available. They could decide whether they are going to limit themselves to only using stones, or whether they will include other items that might be available in the Stone Age (plants, wood, bones, animal skin, fur, water). You might choose to take the children outside to develop their games, providing them with a small number of stones to play with, although clear guidelines and discussions about using these within safe parameters would be needed first. . Once each group has had the chance to devise and, ideally, try out their game, ask them how they could go about sharing that game with another group. . Work with the class to clarify the audience and purpose for their task. Who are they trying to communicate the rules of the game to? How will that affect the language and layout used? Would photographs, video or audio recordings support somebody in understanding how their game works? If so, how might these be incorporated? . Before children start collaborating on any written instructions, or taking photographs to guide and support their communication, each group would benefit from orally explaining their game. Provide sufficient time for groups to teach each other their game and then reflect on which aspects of the game were easily understood, any language (words, phrases or sentences) that was used which was particularly effective in explaining rules, strategies or sequences of activity, any aspects of the game that needed to be physically demonstrated and how that physical

demonstration might be recreated in their finished text – would diagrams or photographs support their explanation? . After each group has completed a first draft of the guide to their game, ask them to partner with a response group to see if there are any aspects of their instructions that do not meet the aims and purpose of their task. Does the response group understand how to play the game and, as a secondary consideration, want to play the game? . The group can then use the response from their peers to refine the content and layout of their instructions before producing a final draft. . These instructions can then be collected together into a class compendium of Stone Age games which could be shared with other classes throughout the school or sent home to be tried out by the children’s families and friends.

Session 7: Double Bubble

. To support the children in developing an understanding of how the book is structured (for example, how the page turns work and how body language and panel layouts are echoed throughout the text), reread the book from the start, this time up to the end of the sixth page (which ends with the ‘Stone Age’ footnote). . As before, allow children to discuss anything new that they have noticed or discovered about Ug, his family and his community, as well as share any questions they might have. Children might observe, for example, that all of Ug’s speech bubbles on this page are questions. How often does he ask questions? Why do you think that might be? What does it tell us about his character? What assumptions might we make about people who ask a lot of questions? How does dad respond to him when he asks questions? What about the other characters? . What do they think of dad’s view about Neanderthals? . Spend some time unpicking the footnote which says that people living in the Stone Age would have considered it a modern age, just as we believe we are living in a modern age too – adding a hesitant ‘Time will tell’ at the end. . In comparing this Stone Age community with our own ‘modern age’, how might we see ourselves reflected in the attitudes and behaviours of this Stone Age tribe? What might future societies call the age that we are living in? How might the world change? What features of our daily lives might a time traveller from the future find surprising or strange? Will they still eat food the way we do? Will they acquire information the way we do – internet, book, TV? Will schools be the same? How might travel change? . Use a Double Bubble handout (see resources) to support children in exploring some of the differences and similarities between the depiction of Ug’s world compared with our own, based on what we know so far.

. Ask children to feedback to the class using the notes on their handout as a prompt. What sort of things have changed? Start discussing the impact that inventors (known and unknown) have had on the progress of human civilisation since it began back in the Stone Age. Is there a particular development that they think is more important than the others? Key breakthroughs under consideration might include the use of fire (for warmth, cooking and as a tool for constructing other items), the development of writing, domestication of animals, the use of medicine (from early herbal remedies to the development of antibiotics), the printing press, electricity, the telephone, steel, the internal combustion engine, etc. To stimulate the initial conversation, you could watch an extract from the London 2012 Opening Ceremony which took the viewer through some major developments in British history including the Industrial Revolution (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4As0e4de-rI – the section depicting the Industrial Revolution starts at about 17:00 and lasts until about 33:30). . On the flipchart, whiteboard or working wall, keep a note of the developments and inventions that children mention for use in future sessions. Invite children to undertake their own independent research into important inventions and innovations in human history to use in future sessions. . Support the children in preparing to write a short paragraph reflecting how the world has changed and how it might change in the future. Explain that we are going to engage in some time travel activities – this could be undertaken in the classroom or you might decide to take the children into a different space – the hall or the playground. Ask them to stand in a space on their own and explain how this time travel will work. Unfortunately, it doesn’t allow us to interact with the past only to view it (you might give them a device to look through to see the past – special glasses or plastic binoculars). On a given signal, they will have access to the past and will be able to look around and see a Stone Age settlement (you can base this on the Stone Age generally, if children have had sufficient opportunity to explore this in their wider curricular studies, or you could base it solely on children’s knowledge of Ug’s world). Narrate some of the things that they might be able to see, challenge them to spot things in the distance, etc. Then, ask them to talk in small groups of 3 or 4. What can they see that surprises them? What makes it surprising? How is it different from our own lives? . For children who struggle to visualise the environment, ensure access to illustrations and

photographs that they could describe to their partner. Alternatively, you could share videos for children to respond to or use VR headsets and online content to bring the Stone Age environment to life for them. New VR content is being produced all the time by companies such as Google Expedition or Discovery VR. The British Museum recently developed some VR resources linked to artefacts and Class VR have some resources at the following link related to Stone Age environments: http://www.classvr.com/school-curriculum-content-subjects/historical-times- lessons/history-virtual-reality-students/?country=GB&id=1034883194 . Once children have returned to the present, ask them to write a ‘postcard from the past’, drawing what they saw in the past and writing a short paragraph describing what they visualised and explaining what they thought of it. They could also consider how things might continue to alter in the future, as new inventors promote progress and change. . Some children might benefit from a simple writing frame, such as the sentence starters shown below, while other will prefer to write more freely. In the Stone Age, they… Now we… In the future, perhaps they’ll….

Session 8 and 9: Developing Historical Enquiry / Writing for Information

. Following yesterday’s session and the initial discussion about breakthroughs in technology and inventions through the ages, note these key moments on the class timeline. Are there any further inventions or inventors that children have discovered that they would like to add to the list? . In small groups, ask children to choose one invention or inventor that they would like to find out more about (for example: Thomas Edison; Marie Curie; Louis Braille; Hertha Ayrton; Stephanie Kwolek who saved many lives by inventing Kevlar; Garrett Morgan who, amongst other items, invented a reliable gas mask and a traffic light warning system; Lewis Latimer, who worked closely with both Edison and Bell, and whose own inventions, including the carbon filament, were invaluable to the achievements of others. Also worth exploring would be recent young inventors such as: Deepika Kurup, who won an award for invention, a system for cleaning water using solar energy, when she was 14 years old; Azza Abdel Hamid Faiad who was 16 when she won an award for her invention which transformed plastic waste into biofuel). . Children could start by making some notes on a small version of the enquiry grid from the first session. What do they already know about the invention/inventor? What would they like to find out? . Creating a list of questions (and then refining these by considering which will provide them with the richest responses) is a useful way of ensuring that independent research, when it happens, is more focused and productive. If children are not used to undertaking independent research, they might require aspects of the process to be modelled first, such as effective use of a search engine, skim reading for useful information, annotation of key quotes and language rather than entire paragraphs, etc. As part of their research, they might consider why the technology or invention was created. Who were the key people in creating it? Does history remember them or is there no way of finding out who they were? What was the impetus behind the invention – why was the inventor driven to pursue their goal? What was the impact of the invention? What effect did it (or could it) have on society/progress?

. Once children have had sufficient time to make notes and discuss their project focus (which may take more than one day and could be extended as a cross-curricular or homework activity), ask them to prepare a presentation of their findings. You might decide to allow the children an element of choice in how they do this. They could: o create a small book on the subject (for book making techniques, see https://www.clpe.org.uk/powerofreading/teaching-approaches/bookmaking-journals or refer to Making Books by Paul Johnson, A&C Black Publishers). o make a poster combining text and illustration o make a digital text, using PowerPoint, Publisher, Prezi, Comic Life, etc. o prepare a spoken presentation for the class which might include some illustrated and written elements. . Giving children an element of choice in what and how they write is an effective way of supporting engagement and inclusion. However, the range of choice provided may be limited by children’s prior experiences. . Regardless of the form chosen, once children have had the chance to draft, review, refine and publish their work, find an opportunity for them to share their work more widely. Books could be presented to other classes, posters displayed in hallways or shared spaces, digital texts could be placed on the school website or presentations could be filmed or shared in an assembly. . Complete these sessions about inventors and inventions by creating a class Role on the Wall poster for an inventor. What characteristics and behaviours would we expect to see in a successful inventor? Compare the conclusions reached by the class with the Role on the Wall created for Ug.

Session 10: Role Play

. Share the illustration from page 7 with the class, either as a handout or on the whiteboard, blanking out the speech bubbles so that children can’t see what the two parents are discussing. . What can we tell from the characters based on the illustration? Judging by their facial expressions and what we know about the characters so far (refer back to the role on the wall work), what might they be thinking or feeling? If we could eavesdrop in on this moment, what might we hear? . Discuss and annotate the illustration with some of the things that they might be saying. Then, working in pairs, ask children to rehearse a possible conversation between Dug and Dugs. What has Ug been doing today and how might they be recalling it? How did they feel about it? They might refer to his lack of satisfaction in his trousers or his food, about his attempt at playing games with the other children or his questions about Neanderthals. They might invent other questions or ideas that Ug has raised throughout the day. . Once children have had a little time to rehearse their conversation, tell them that soon we will be listening in on some of these conversations. We won’t be listening to very much of it, and they will have a choice of whether they continue to make up the conversation from wherever they have got up to, or whether they will repeat something that they have already rehearsed. Give children a little longer to practise in case they choose to share some rehearsed dialogue. . After the rehearsal/practise time has elapsed, ask children to stay sitting in their pairs, and then when your hand points to them that means that we can now hear their conversation, but once your hand moves on, we can’t hear anymore. We’re just going to listen in on a tiny bit of their

ongoing conversation about Ug. . Listen to a few of the groups. There is no need to listen to every group, although if lots of groups would like to share their rehearsed dialogue, you could pair them up to perform for each other. . You might choose to record their ideas, either in digital or written format. They could be recorded on mp3 devices, or children might complete their own speech bubbles for the illustration using their ideas, or they could write out the dialogue as a short play script so that it could be performed by another class. . Now read aloud page 7 and allow children to compare the actual text with their predictions. What do you notice about the parents’ responses to Ug’s way of speaking? Does it reflect your expectations of that character? . Explore some of the phrases with the class. Dugs says that Ug “lives in another world” and one of the children on page 5 said Ug doesn’t “live in the real world” – what do they mean? what impact does it have that it come straight after the footnote “Today we believe we are living in the modern age. Time will tell.” – is Ug not living in his world or his time a positive or negative statement? . Discuss the anachronistic use of the phrase “youth culture” (a term that reached prominent use during the 20th Century) and how, ironically, Dug talks about them having their own “lingo” – both terms being ones that appear out of keeping with the Stone Age setting. . Based on what we know of the Stone Age, why is Dugs prediction of Ug’s future a humorous thing to say? . Dug doesn’t understand the idea of fruit juice: what other concepts might Dug and Dugs find difficult to understand? Create a list using ideas from the class that could span from the basic (fire, potato, book) to the high-tech (smartphone, tablet, satellite). How would you explain it? . Ask children to choose one word from the list and create a definition that Dug and Dugs might begin to understand. . Once children have written down their definitions, you might play a game where children offer to read out their definition and the class tries to work out which item from the class list has been described. . Afterwards, you might look at some of the definitions in the class dictionary and decide how helpful they would be to Dug and Dugs in properly understanding the word or phrase. How do you think Dug and Dugs would react to your definition? Based on our current understanding of the character, do you think they would react in the same way or would their responses differ? What do we look for in an effective definition or explanation?

Vocabulary and Spelling This section of the text provides further opportunities for word investigations and spelling strategies.

. Discuss how language changes naturally over time and how people might respond to those changes. . Investigate some of the new words added to the dictionary since 2010. Some examples of recent additions to the Merriam-Webster (US) or Oxford English (UK) Dictionaries include: cryptocurrency, chiweenie, harissa, schnoodle, glamping, case-sensitive, life hack, bandwidth, subtweet, mansplain, hangry, binge-watch, humblebrag, ransomware, bestie, face-palm, photobomb, ping, listicle, embiggen. . What words do children use with their peers which they feel could be added in the future or might

already have been recently added?

. As well as the addition of new words to the language, you might also choose to investigate the gradual removal of words – something that evolves gradually as words are used less and less and also at an official level as they are removed from published dictionaries, etc. In her introduction to Adder, Bluebell, Lobster (illustrated by Paul Bommer, Otter-Barry Books), poet Chrissie Gittins explains how she came to write the poems in the collection in an attempt to recapture words linked with nature that had been removed from published dictionaries – “the words that were taken out of the dictionary have been replaced by technological words… These are all useful words and I wouldn’t want to argue that one set of words is more necessary than another, but I’m sad that the words about nature have been elbowed out.” More recently, Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris have collaborated on The Lost Words (Hamish Hamilton) which similarly celebrates words linked to the natural world that are in danger of disappearing through Robert’s acrostic poems and Jackie’s paintings. See Jackie Morris’ blog for more details: http://www.jackiemorris.co.uk/blog/book-list/the-lost-words-a-spell-of-words-by-robert- macfarlane/ . Is it right for us to remove or erase words if they are not being used? Should we, for example, remove the names of animals or plants if they become extinct? What might the consequences be of such an action?

. Weblinks featuring videos and articles about how language has changed over time which might be of interest to the class teacher: o https://www.ted.com/playlists/228/how_language_changes_over_time o https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-languages-evolve-alex-gendler o http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/sounds/changing-voices/ o http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-43298229 (news article about a term invented for a Simpsons episode in 1996 which was eventually added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary in 2018)

. On this page, Dugs tries to familiarise herself with a new word by breaking it down into its syllables: “terr-if-ic”. Recognising syllables in words is an important element of early phonological awareness – hearing the ‘beats’ or different elements within a word is an important step on the way to supporting the child in identifying the different sounds and engaging in segmenting for spelling. Later, syllabification can be one of many independent strategies that a child (or adult) might draw on to support themselves in spelling less familiar vocabulary. . You might provide children with the chance to investigate and explore the syllabification of words. In pairs, they could choose a word (from this text or perhaps from a spelling log or vocabulary book, if they keep one) and write it out on to a large card, cutting it up to represent its separate syllables. How will they decide where to cut? They will need to read the word aloud carefully trying to hear where one syllable finishes and the next starts to decide where to cut. They might then choose one of those syllables and try and find other words that feature the same syllable. After writing out as many of those words as possible, they could investigate a range of spelling patterns – does the syllable always occur in the same place within the word? Is it always spelt the

same way, or might a syllable that sounds the same be spelt differently? Might the spelling by more subtly different – perhaps a single consonant in one word but a double in another? Can they develop their own hypotheses around a chosen syllable?

Sessions 11: Role on the Wall / Writing in Role

. Reread from the beginning and up to page 9 (Ug finds a baby woolly mammoth skin and has some ideas for how he could use this new resource; Dug and Dugs continue to share their responses to their son’s ideas). . Are his ideas so far-fetched? Why do you think they struggle to understand his motivations? . Compare Briggs’ depictions of Ug and his parents in terms of how they use language and how they appear in the panels: Ug’s eagerness and politeness, Dug’s confusion and lack of understanding, Dugs’ anger and repulsion. . Revisit the Role on the Wall posters created for each of the family members. What more have we learnt about each of them? Use a different colour felt tip pen to add new observations, and discuss any early assumptions to see if these have been reinforced or overturned. . Explain that twice now in our reading of the book Raymond Briggs has allowed us to be privy to the thoughts of Ug’s parents by relating their night time conversations. What might Ug be thinking and feeling as he goes to sleep? What are his reflections on the day’s events? . In small groups, ask children to map out the main events of the story so far for Ug (his conversation with his dad about getting soft trousers, then with mum about eating hot food, trying to join his friends for different games, helping dad find food while talking about Neanderthals and living in caves, and finding the baby woolly mammoth skin. They might also include his conversation with dad about fruit juice even though we, as readers, did not get to see this directly but has it reported to us by dad). . Once each group has made a note of the main events that they wish to explore, ask them to try and imagine each experience from Ug’s point of view. What was he thinking and feeling, initially as he expressed the idea or potential invention/innovation, and then after his friends and family responded to his thoughts and ideas. . Children could use a graph of emotion to map these events and Ug’s emotional response, noting the key events under the horizontal x axis and Ug’s range of potential emotions next to the vertical y axis. Children might need to consider that, for some events, Ug experiences a whole sequence of emotions – first in relation to a struggle or a difficulty, then a different emotion as inspiration strikes and he shares his thoughts, then a third after seeing or hearing someone’s response to his ideas.

. Provide an opportunity for the groups to come back together as a class and share what they know about Ug so far. What more would they like to find out? . Use Teacher in Role to allow children to interact with Ug and ask him any questions they might have about his life and place within the community. It is helpful to use ‘teacher in role’ rather than pupil for this hot seating activity initially, so that the Ug’s sensitive position within his society can be explored more deeply. However, once you have modelled the ‘in-role’ language and point of view, children may be eager to take on the role themselves. A simple prop that denotes when an adult or pupil is being Ug can be a useful signifier for the conversations. . Give children a chance to prepare questions in advance, allowing them to work together to hone their questions to create those that are going to provide them with the most relevant information. . Afterwards, reflect on what children have discovered from the activity. They may wish to add further to the ‘role on the wall’ posters in response to this. If you have another adult in the room, they might scribe relevant quotes during the ‘teacher in role’ activity for the children to return to and utilise in their writing. . Now that children have a better understanding of his situation, ask them to utilise this by writing a short first person account, as Ug, reflecting on the events of the day. This could be in the form of a diary or journal entry. . Children may add authenticity to their recount by drawing on their expanding knowledge of the Stone Age when adding detail to their account.

Session 12: Comic Book Writing

. Read aloud the next two pages of the book (in which Ug tries to give his mum a bunch of flowers, and then tries to carve a boat out of stone). . As always, allow time for children to respond to what they have seen and heard. Why might Dugs be smiling in the final panel of page 10? Does her response in this moment allow us to draw any further conclusions about why she behaves the way that she does? What does she want for Ug? . On page 11, you might reflect on how the design of the panels not only depict the action, so that even with no speech bubbles we would know what was happening, but also demonstrates the relationship between Ug and Ag – After they push the object into the water (or on the water, as Ug clarifies), in each panel Ag is drawn further and further away from Ug until eventually Ug is left alone again. What might the composition of those panels tell us about the characters’

relationship?

This latest attempt at invention and innovation might prompt children’s own investigations into what materials sink or float or how the design of those objects supports flotation. Is it possible to design something that floats out of a ‘heavy’ material?

. In Raymond Briggs’ version of the Stone Age, everything is made from stone. We know from our cross-curricular study that this isn’t historically accurate – why might he have made that decision? What challenges and complications does it create for Ug? . Give children some time in small groups to consider some activities that Ug might engage in that could prove challenging within Briggs’ Stone Age world. They might have fun creating some anachronistic suggestions! For further inspiration, they could watch and read Michael Rosen’s poem ‘I Was Born in the Stone Age’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tq3Q85aA_0k) or look at examples of Stone Age anachronism from popular culture, such as The Flintstones cartoon and films which feature an array of inventions which primarily use only stone and animal power. . Inspired by these struggles, what other things might Ug try and invent? What other items being made from stone would be unsuccessful due to the nature of stone? Will he try and make them from stone or will he attempt to convince other people to let him use different materials that we know were available during the Stone Age? . Explain that the children should use their favourite idea to create a comic strip spread depicting the event. What might they include so that the reader understands Ug’s inspiration as well as the outcome? Will they show the reader Ug facing whatever difficulty or challenge prompts his attempted invention, as Briggs does on the sports page? Will they show him attempting to build something, like on the page where he is carving the ‘boat’? How will they show the outcome of his attempts? Will we see another character’s response to his ideas or Ug’s response to his own failure? . Allow children to sketch out in rough the number of panels they think they might need to tell their story. Inspired by the variety of panel designs which Raymond Briggs employs, the children might consider how they could use different sizes and shapes of panels and different layout options to support the reader in understanding their story. They will also need to think about where they are going to leave space in their illustrations for any speech or thought bubbles that are required. Some children might prefer to produce a script before starting their design, whilst others will be happy to rough out their ideas directly into the panels. . Further support on making comic books can be found on Sarah McIntyre’s blog (http://www.jampires.com/activities/set-up-your-own-comics-jam/) or in Neill Cameron’s How to Make Awesome Comics (David Fickling Books).

Session 13: Working in Role

. Read aloud the next two double spreads which depict Ug engaged in three lengthy conversations: two with his dad about trees and fire, and one with his mum about diverting the river. . What more do we learn about Ug and his family on these pages? Why do we think his parents might be resistant to his ideas? What are some of the benefits and challenges of change? Is change always good – do you think his parents are right to be resistant?

. Ask children to work with a partner in order to rehearse a performance of one of these conversations. First, they should choose which conversation they are most interested in exploring. Then, they will need to text mark it to support their performance. For this, you might provide them with a transcribed version of the dialogue or a photocopy of the relevant page – it would be helpful, if possible, for children to be able to refer to the illustrations to support their reading / performance choices. . They might annotate their copy of the text with notes about how the character might be feeling at this moment and how they might best communicate this. Will they alter their volume or their tone of voice? Will they use body language or eye contact to demonstrate their feelings and thought process? What other clues are there in the text that can help us to infer feelings and thoughts? We might consider the manner in which they have been illustrated, the shape of the speech bubble, the language choices, the use of typography and the choice of punctuation. How might we adapt our performance because of ellipsis, a dash, an exclamation mark, a comma? . If they have chosen to perform Ug’s conversation with his mum, they will also need to consider how best to perform the two thought bubbles. . After children have had sufficient opportunity to rehearse, allow them to perform their conversations, either to each other or to the whole class. . Reflect on what we have learnt from listening to each other and from rehearsing and text marking our own scenes. How do we think his parents’ resistance to his ideas makes Ug feel? How does the lack of suitable language/vocabulary to express new ideas cause difficulties?

Session 14: Persuasive Speech

. Read the first 5 panels of the next spread (until Dug says “You can’t stop animals from running away! They’re frightened. They don’t want to be killed and eaten!”) . What could Ug suggest to overcome this problem? If Ug could solve this problem for his whole tribe, how might that change his position within the community? . Make a list of any initial suggestions children might have for how these Stone Age people could make capturing and eating the animals easier. Some children might even suggest that they could stop eating animals and move towards a more vegetarian diet instead. . Ask children to work in small groups to select one idea that they can develop further. . What makes that the most effective solution? Is it the ease with which it could be accomplished? Is it the range of resources or the time required to set it up? Is it the plan with the most likely possibility of success? etc. . Explain that, as a group, they are going to need to present their idea to the class (who will represent the wider community to which Ug and his family belong). They will need to try and persuade the class that their idea is the best (if possible, you might provide the class with a more neutral audience by presenting the ideas to another year group – perhaps a KS1 or Upper KS2 class would be willing to judge the presentations). . If children haven’t had much experience in writing or speaking persuasively, they will benefit from listening and responding to some different models. For example, this presentation by young inventor and scientist, Deepika Kurup, who children may have discussed in Session 8: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7zLelyelBA . What techniques does she use to persuade her audience that her ideas are worthwhile, practical,

achievable, etc.? Consider how she uses logic and facts, how she makes herself a credible expert, how she paints a clear picture of the current situation as well as a potential better future. . Support the class in considering other grammatical aspects of persuasive speeches that might contribute to their effectiveness, such as complex sentences and connectives which expand upon or join ideas together (therefore, so), emotive language, rhetorical questions, facts as well as opinions, and repetition and alliteration to make the speech memorable. For performance purposes, they might also consider the impact of tone and delivery, eye contact, etc. . When they have had a chance to write a first draft of their presentation, children can partner with other groups for response purposes and to try out their chosen approaches. After receiving some feedback, groups can return to their drafts, in order to make refinements to ensure that it clearly communicates the idea and would be persuasive in convincing a group to try it. . Once children have had a chance to refine and rehearse their presentations, provide them with an opportunity to share them with the chosen audience. . Complete reading the double page spread. What do children think of Ug’s potential solution? Is he able to communicate his idea clearly to Dug? Why/why not?

Session 15: Persuasive Writing

. Read aloud the next double page spread in which Ug starts to consider other options beyond living in caves. How is Dugs increasing frustration with Ug depicted? What clues are we given in both the images and the text to show us how Ug might be affected by his mum’s response? Why do you think that Dug might have sat down in the circle of stones that Ug had built? What might Ug have been trying to do? Do they agree with Dugs that he ‘could have been eaten alive’? . Based on our research and study of Stone Age society, is it true that Stone Age people only lived in caves? What type of materials did Stone Age people make their homes from? . Share some images of Stone Age houses, these might include wooden frames covered in earth or animal skins, homes made from stone with turf roofs (like those on Skara Brae), temporary homes which utilise both wood and animal bone as structural materials, as well as some communities which did indeed reside mainly in caves. . Allow children time to respond to each of the images, jotting down any words or phrases that they might use to describe these – precise nouns, expanded noun phrases, carefully chosen verbs which support descriptions of what the building materials do, comparative language, including similes. . Explain that many Stone Age families would be nomadic and would change where they lived depending on the season. For this session, they are going to imagine that they are a Stone Age estate agent and they have been given the job of selling a family’s home before they move on. Ask them to choose, from the range of images explored earlier, the property that they would most like to sell. . Drawing on the persuasive speeches prepared in the previous session, what sort of words or phrases, or non-language features, do they think they might need to include in an effective advert? Children might also look at some example texts and consider which words, phrases or features are most impactful and persuasive. . After they have had the chance to discuss these, support children in summarising which aspects of the texts were most effective: emotive language, putting a positive spin on each feature of the

property, consideration of the properties key selling points: location, condition, views, price, etc. . After children have written their first draft, provide them with the opportunity to work with a response partner. Give children prompts to support them in talking about the impact of the writing related to audience and purpose. What were the aims of the writing? In what ways did it meet these aims? Did it make you intrigued enough to visit/consider the property? Were there any passages/sentences/phrases that were unclear or that might put you off? Is there any way in which the text could be made more persuasive? . After children have had the chance to respond and make any refinements, they might be given the opportunity to work up their copy for publication. Perhaps an estate agent’s display board could be made somewhere in the school or on the school website. Which property attracts the most attention?

Session 16: Conscience Alley

. Read aloud and share the next double page spread in which Ug invents the stone wheel. What do they notice, like or dislike in this spread? . The wheel is often listed as one of most important inventions in human history: why do they think Ug’s elation doesn’t last? What do they notice about the structure of the dialogue on this page compared with the rest of the book? How does the final illustration make them feel? Why do you think Raymond Briggs might have chosen to draw Ag and Ug in separate panels at the bottom of the page rather than one continuous panel? . What do we know about the invention of the wheel? What were the earliest uses of the wheel? When did the wheel start to be used for transportation? What materials were they commonly made from? Add information to the class timeline of invention. . Ug has been repeatedly frustrated in his attempts at inventing throughout the book, either being unable to access materials or breakthrough his community’s traditions to try out ideas, or inventing things that don’t work the way he envisaged (like his stone boat) or creating something that works, like his wheel, but that he has no practical application for. How could he build on what he’s found out? How could it be helpful? Do you think he should give up on his invention or keep working on it? . Look at the ‘Graph of Emotion’ and the ‘Role on the Wall’ posters that you started for Ug. Based on our understanding of his character and the emotional impact of his efforts, do you think that he should continue inventing or revert to his community’s traditional approach? . Display a decision line across the classroom (or in a larger space such as the hall or a playground). Tell children to position themselves on the line depending on how much they agree or disagree that Ug should continue following his passion for inventing. If they definitely think he should continue (regardless of any negative emotional impact and the response of his community) then they would stand at one extreme of the line, or if they believe the opposite (that he should definitely stop pursuing invention and change and instead accept things the way that they are) they would stand at the opposite end of the line, with all scales of emotional/intellectual response in between. . Talk to children about their reasoning. Why have they chosen to stand there? After listening to a few of their peers’ reasons, do any of the children want to change their positions? Why? What have they heard to change their mind?

. Use ‘conscience alley’ to help the class reach a consensus on what Ug should do. Ask the class to form two lines facing each other with a gap between the two lines. Ask one child to take on the role of Ug and slowly walk between the lines listening carefully as each member of the group speaks their advice – one line encouraging him to continue with inventing, the other encouraging him to accept the status quo. When the child in role has heard all of the suggested reasons, they can make their decision, explaining what they heard that persuaded them. . Having had the opportunity to reflect on Ug’s options and a variety of reasons for and against him continuing as an inventor, ask children to decide for themselves what they think he should do. Then, ask children to write a short note giving him advice. What do they think he should do and why? Discuss how they might sensitively address any worries he might have. Could they give him some different options that will support him in making his own mind up? . After the children have written their notes, you might display them for others to read, or you could ask children to fold them in half and pass them around the classroom. Children could then read the note in role as Ug. How do they think Ug would respond to the advice? . Read aloud the next page which demonstrates how Dug and Dugs respond to Ug’s efforts with the ‘round’ stone. Children might need support unpicking the humour in the footnotes: is this really why so little progress was made? Drawing on our growing knowledge of the era, do we agree about the lack of progress? . If children are curious about the story of Sisyphus (referred to anachronistically by Dugs), you can find a suitable retelling of the myth in The Orchard Book of Greek Gods and Goddesses by Geraldine McCaughrean and illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark (Orchard Books).

Session 17: Reading Aloud

. Read aloud the next 3 pages (up to the ‘Boots’ footnote: “Consequently, no Stone Age boot has ever been found, and of course, never a pair.”) stopping when necessary to respond to the illustration or the footnote asides. How do you think Ug might feel in the last panel of page 23 as he says “Oh, I see…”? Why do you think he might feel that way? Compare his body language and the way he is illustrated in this panel to that on the preceding spread as he looks at his stone wheel in the water. . You might also want to reflect on the concept of time and how our understanding affects our impressions of it: do you need to know that minutes are there, that they exist, in order to feel time passing? When does time feel like it’s going by quickly and when does it seem to drag? . Provide children with the opportunity to update their family ‘Role on the Wall’ posters as they approach the end of the story. Have the characters changed over the course of the book? Which character do they think has changed the most? Why? . Do they think change is important? Do they like change? Why/why not? . Revisit the Dugs quote: “If you’re a cave dweller in the Stone Age, you’ve got to be hard. Hard as nails. There is no room for warm! No room for soft! And no stoning nice!” . To what extent do they agree or disagree with Dugs? Does this help us understand why she responds the way that she does to Ug’s questions, ideas and innovations? . Share the next double page with the children (in which Dug and Ug join forces to try and make softer trousers). . How do they feel reading this spread? Why do they think their design fails? What would they like

to say to Ug and Dug? Refer back to any work that has been undertaken on properties of materials and their suitability for different purposes. Was the mammoth skin a good choice for this purpose? Why might it be a good choice? What more is needed for it to succeed? . Add any developments and changes in clothing that have been researched outside of the English lessons to the class timeline: when, for example, might the needle (originally made from bone) first have been used? . Ask the class how they think the story might end. There is only one more page left of the book, what do they think might happen? What are they hoping for? Is that the same as what they expect? Children might note down their thoughts on post-It notes to add to the working wall and refer back to in the next session. Alternatively, children might be provided with a blank page to sketch out their predicted ending to the story.

Session 18: Poetry

. Read aloud and share the final page. How might you summarise the feelings and thoughts of adult Ug? Compare these with the Role on the Wall poster that has been created for him over the course of the whole story. Has he managed to fulfil his promise of being an inventor? Have his mother’s worst fears been realised? Why do you think he might have struggled with being a ‘change maker’? What would happen if we all gave up when challenges are faced? Is there anything that you would say to him if you could? . Discuss their reflections on how society has changed since then. Do they feel that the modern world is better? What has stayed the same? What is different? What challenges do we face now? . Ug wonders whether things are going to get better: how would you explain an element of the modern world to Ug who has never seen anything that isn’t made of stone? . Imagine if Ug was able to communicate with his younger self, send a message back in time with advice. What do you think he might say? What advice would he give? . Read aloud the following poem by Karl Nova (from his book, Rhythm and Poetry): Text message from the future

They’re going to tell you it’s corny to dream of a better tomorrow don’t believe them just leave them alone and continue along the road You will hear them say “Don’t be naïve, don’t be simple minded, Open your eyes and don’t be blinded” simply because they’re tired with heavy eyelids weighed down by the cares of this world I know it sounds farfetched but a time will come when dreaming big and believing in possibilities will appear dumb not to everyone but to some

I mean those who are grumpy with a mood so glum Take these words as a message from the future a poetic text message to wake you up and shake you up Never stop dreaming, never stop believing that you can do better as you keep breathing

Another poem by Karl Nova – ‘Younger Me’, also from his collection Rhythm and Poetry (Caboodle Books, 2017) – would provide further inspiration for exploration and insight into these themes. The book won the 2018 CLiPPA award. A teaching sequence supporting study of the whole collection and aimed at Year 4 or Year 5 is available from the CLPE Poetryline website, where you will also find videos of the poet performing selected works from the collection: https://www.clpe.org.uk/poetryline/resources/teaching-sequences/rhythm-and-poetry

. Allow children time to talk in groups about their initial impression: do they like or dislike the poem? Why? What questions do they have? Were there any words or phrases that were particularly impactful or memorable? Why? Does it remind them of anything? . Provide groups with sufficient copies of the poem to allow them to reread it for themselves. Do they have a different response to the poem when they are looking at it on the page? Allow children to discuss the poem in greater depth and give a further response. What have they noticed about the use of language? About how the poem is set out on the page? Encourage them to try reading the poem aloud themselves to consider the rhythm and the sound of the individual words and syllables. Tell the children to make a note of any words or phrases that they are unsure of the meaning of and encourage them to discuss these within their groups or as a whole class so that they can support each other with clarifications or definitions. . If the children haven’t already done so, support them in connecting the themes of the poem with Ug’s experiences in the book. What is there in the poem that they feel might reflect Ug’s experiences within his community? Are there any words or phrases that seems especially pertinent? Is there any advice here that they feel Ug’s younger self would have benefited from hearing? . Give children time within their groups to text mark and annotate any words, phrases, lines that seem to relate to Ug’s story, e.g. “They’re going to tell you it’s corny to dream of a better tomorrow…” – who was Ug getting that message from? Did he believe them?

. Return to your earlier questions: what advice do they think Ug needed to achieve his goals? Ask them to work in small groups to jot down their ideas and advice. After sufficient time to develop some initial ideas, get some feedback from each group and create a class list of ideas that everyone can draw from during the composition process. . Model the process of drawing on these ideas to draft a few lines of a poem which advises Ug,

giving him some insights into the future as Karl Nova does (“…a time will come.”). Use this as an opportunity to demonstrate explicitly aspects of the writing process: trying out ideas by reading them aloud, experimenting with adjusting line breaks, being precise and careful with vocabulary choices, reading aloud to hear the rhythm of the words and the lines, demonstrating some aspects of poetic language and structure, e.g. assonance, alliteration, rhyme. . Allow time for children to draft their own poem around the theme, then allow them to read aloud to a response partner to lift the words off the page, hearing how they sound when performed. Give time for response partners to ask the writers questions, discuss parts they aren’t sure are working or make suggestions to improve the writing. Think together about how the poem could be presented on the page to enhance the meaning and the reader’s understanding. . Give further time for children to redraft any parts of their poems that they discussed with their response partner in the previous session, or to work on their poems further if they need time to do this. . When you have a poem that you have read aloud to a partner, discussed and explored changes that you are happy to present to a wider audience, start to think about how that poem could be best presented. How will it look on the page? What form will it take? How will you use line breaks, spacing on the page to enhance the meaning or emotions behind your poem? Will you hand write it? Will you publish using ICT? Will you make any specific decisions about the way certain words look or are placed on the page? Will you illustrate the poem? If so, how will the words and illustration sit and work together? . Allow plenty of time and space for the children to make a final draft and then publish their work accordingly. . When they are happy with the way their poem looks on the page, think about how this could lift off the page and be performed to an audience. Give each child a photocopy of their finished poem and allow them to mark this up with performance ideas. Will you perform on your own? Do you need others to support you? How will you use voice, body movements and facial expression to enhance the listener’s engagement and understanding? . Ensure time is given to try out ideas and rehearse performances of children’s own poems. . Display the children’s own poems prominently in the library or a shared area so they can be read by a wider audience.

Further guidance and resources to support the teaching of poetry can be found on the CLPE Poetryline website, including the ‘What We Know Works’ booklet which was updated with new research in January 2018: https://www.clpe.org.uk/library-and-resources/research/poetry-what-we-know-works

Session 19: Book Talk

. Allow children to reflect on the book as a whole by rereading the entire text. . In small groups, provide the class with an opportunity to discuss and reflect upon their response to the book using Aidan Chambers’ basic questions from his book Tell Me (Children, Reading and Talk) with The Reading Environment (How Adults Help Children Enjoy Books) (Thimble Press). You might give each group a copy of the grid to note down any of their initial responses to share with the class later.

Likes Dislikes What do you like about the Was there anything you disliked about it? book/illustrations so far?

Puzzles Connections / Patterns Was there anything that puzzled you? Does it remind you of anything?

. After they had the chance to talk in their groups, ask the children to share some of their responses, valuing any personal connections they might have made with the text and opening up their discussion to involve the whole class. . They might also summarise their responses and thoughts about the text as a whole by completing the graph of emotion that they started in session 11 and revisiting the role on the wall posters that they created for each family member. Did their initial impressions of the three characters remain representative for the whole text or did the characters change? Which character do they feel changed the most? Why do they think that might be? . Do they feel the book has a message or a theme? What did they take away from the book? Who do they think should read the book?

Session 20: Persuasive Presentation

. Challenge children to join Ug and become an inventor too. Ug faced many challenges in his Stone Age community and was always trying to think of ways to improve that existence, either to make it better, more comfortable or more efficient. Are there any aspects of modern life that can be difficult or challenging that they would like to find a solution for? . In small groups, ask children to collaborate to make a list daily dilemmas that they face, and some potential inventions that might solve them (alternatively, they might decide to work on a Stone Age invention which solves one of Ug’s dilemmas, limiting themselves to Stone Age materials and technology!). . For further inspiration, you might choose to share the results of the ‘Inventors!’ project which took place in Sunderland in 2015/16: http://inventorsproject.co.uk/inventions/ . Further sources of support might be the crazy ideas found in Impossible Inventions by Matgorzata Mycielska, Aleksandra Mizielińska and Daniel Mizielińska (Gecko Press) or the practical advice in Invent It! by Rob Beattie (QED Publishing) which suggests that young inventors might “make a list of the things you hate and then think of ways to stop them driving you crazy.” . Once children have a small selection of possible projects, explain that they will need to choose one of their inventions and then prepare a presentation that will convince a panel of investors that their project has potential. . Work together to generate some suggestions as to what they might need to consider when

presenting their ideas in order to be successful. What might they produce? A clear design, a working model, diagrams demonstrating its use, cost breakdowns, viability, profitability, as well as any opening speech that might need to be presented by one or more of the team. . Draw on the work undertaken throughout the sequence on being persuasive – what was effective when preparing Stone Age food, designing games, farming animals or selling houses? . You might choose to watch some extracts from ‘Junior’ editions of Dragons’ Den or CBBC’s Pocket Money Pitch and then discuss what was or wasn’t effective in the presentations, both in terms of language and performance. o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0kbMpQ5Qc4 (Dragons’ Den: Children in Need 2007) o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQC7BfIEi_4 (Dragons’ Den RTE, 2013: pitch starts at 3:30) o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9Cw2Ben3nM (Pocket Money Pitch, Series 1, Episode 3: Inventions) . After children have had sufficient time to allocate roles and responsibilities throughout the group, prepare any materials and draft the speech, assign response partner groups to watch and reflect on the impact of their presentation. How does it effectively communicate the benefits and purpose of the invention? What does the presentation include which might persuade somebody to invest or support the project? . Allow further time for groups to refine and rehearse their presentation, before allocating a time and place for the pitch to happen. If possible, create a panel of experts to hear each group, asking them questions and giving advice on how they might pursue their invention. This might include the Headteacher, a school governor, a representative from the local community, etc. . The presentations might be given in the classroom, or, if children have had sufficient time to prepare and refine their performances, it could have a larger audience in front of parents or their key stage.

After completing the sequence, children could work collaboratively to produce a class book about the Stone Age, drawing on all they have learnt alongside the text and across the curriculum. Each group might choose an aspect of the era that interests them before drafting, revising, refining and publishing pages that can be compiled together to create the finished book.