Arthur and the Golden Rope by Joe Todd-Stanton (Flying Eye Books)

Brownstone’s Mythical Collection: Arthur and the Golden Rope by Joe Todd-Stanton (Flying Eye Books)

Arthur Brownstone often ventures from the small Icelandic town where he was born into the nearby forest where his curiosity leads him to collect objects and forge friendships that will later be useful to him. One day a huge wolf extinguishes the fire that gives out essential warmth. The local wise woman Atrix advises that the only way to relight it entails someone brave enough to voyage to the land of the Viking gods. So our unlikely hero sets out, his adventures delineated using playful imagery in this graphic novel. He meets mighty Thor who enlists Arthur’s help to defeat the wolf whose identity is revealed to be Fenrir, son of Loki. The story is framed by commentary from a Professor Brownstone who is a descendant of Arthur’s and there is a strong hint that further family adventures may be in store.

Overall aims of this teaching sequence:  To engage children with a story told through a mixture of narration, 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 5 weeks long if spread out over 25 sessions. The teaching sequence provides opportunity to explore the language choices authors make and the interrelationship between words and illustrations in a picture book – many of the spreads in the book have very few words (sometimes none at all), so the illustrations provide a large proportion of the storytelling. The teaching sequence will immerse the children in a world of ancient storytelling encouraging and empowering them to tell their own mythic tales. There is much opportunity to extend the sessions through cross-curricular learning. A wider study of Norse gods and monsters would provide children with a rich bank of knowledge and understanding to draw from in understanding the text and imagining their own stories.

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 their own

©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.

 identifying and discussing themes and  noting and developing initial ideas, drawing conventions in and across a wide range of on reading and research where necessary writing  in writing narratives, considering how  making comparisons within and across authors have developed characters and books settings in what pupils have read, listened to  preparing poems to read aloud and to or seen performed perform, showing understanding through Draft and write by: intonation, tone and volume so that the  selecting appropriate grammar and meaning is clear to an audience vocabulary, understanding how such choices Understand what they read by: can change and enhance meaning  checking that the book makes sense to  in narratives, describing settings, characters them, discussing their understanding and and atmosphere and integrating dialogue to exploring the meaning of words in context convey character and advance the action  asking questions to improve their  using a wide range of devices to build understanding cohesion within and across paragraphs  drawing inferences such as inferring  using further organisational and characters’ feelings, thoughts and motives presentational devices to structure text and from their actions, and justifying inferences to guide the reader with evidence Evaluate and edit by:  predicting what might happen from details  assessing the effectiveness of their own and stated and implied others’ writing  identifying how language, structure and  proposing changes to vocabulary, grammar presentation contribute to meaning and punctuation to enhance effects and  discuss and evaluate how authors use clarify meaning language, including figurative language,  ensuring the consistent and correct use of considering the impact on the reader tense throughout a piece of writing  participate in discussions about books that  ensuring correct subject and verb are read to them and those they can read agreement when using singular and plural, for themselves, building on their own and distinguishing between the language of others’ ideas and challenging views speech and writing and choosing the courteously appropriate register  provide reasoned justifications for their views ● proof read 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; combine images, narration and music to create a book trailer (indicated in sequence).  Children could use technology to enhance their geographical understanding and sense of place in the world, such as Google Earth / Maps, the app Grid Finder, etc. Personal, Social and Emotional  Children can explore themes such as determination and perseverance. Through their study of Arthur, children might explore issues around how the town judges Arthur, and Arthur’s lack of selfishness in wanting to help his town. Geography  Children can use this book to stimulate a wider study of Iceland.  Children can use geographical language and vocabulary to describe the weather and climate, as well as the human and physical features. The maps in the book, including Arthur’s journey, can lead to a study of atlases and creation of maps.  Children could combine their geographical knowledge with art and design skills to create their own three-dimensional Icelandic landscape, complete with mountains, geysers and volcanoes. This could then be used to prompt role play and storytelling and to inspire their own comic book designs or film-making. History  Professor Brownstone and his vault of historical curios could lead on to wider consideration of how we use artefacts, amongst other sources, to learn about the past.  The incorporation of Norse myths, gods and monsters in the story, could lead naturally to a study of the Viking era and cultures.  The nuggets of information that Thor provides about some of the gods featured in the story might inspire the children to undertake their own research. The children could use the information from a variety of sources to create their own books – Arthur’s Guide to the Norse Gods. Art and Design  Children might be inspired by traditional Icelandic crafts or by the arctic environment. They might create watercolour landscapes of the Icelandic terrain or the Northern Lights.

 Children could explore traditional Viking patterns and designs, including the use of runes and rune stones.  Children can illustrate their own comics, using a range of materials and techniques. Design and Technology

 Children might investigate different methods for making rope, using a variety of materials. The Ropewalk Museum in North Lincolnshire hosts schools events and workshops and also has a wealth of online resources: http://www.ropewalkmuseum.co.uk/education-packs-for-schools/  If undertaking a wider study of Viking culture, children could design and build their own longship, longhouse or hall.

Teaching Approaches Writing Outcomes  Responding to Illustration  Free Verse Poetry  Book Talk  Script for Advertisement  Reading Aloud  Narrative Voice: Storytelling  Role on the Wall  Newspaper Article  Story Mapping  Writing in Role: journal  Story Telling  Letter Writing  Visualisation  Kenning  Freeze Frame  Non-Chronological Report  Thought Tracking  Book Trailer Narration  Conscience Alley  Comic Book Writing  Writing in Role  Book Making

Links to other texts and resources.

Books which explore similar themes:  Norse Myths: Tales of Odin, Thor and Loki by Kevin Crossley-Holland, illustrated by Jeffrey Alan Love (Walker)  Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Chris Riddell (Bloomsbury)  The Sleeping Army by Francesca Simon (Profile Books)  The Saga of Erik the Viking by Terry Jones, illustrated by Michael Foreman (Puffin)  How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell (Hodder)  Viking Boy by Tony Bradman (Walker)  Hilda and the Troll by Luke Pearson (Flying Eye Books)  Treasury of Norse Mythology by Donna Jo Napoli, illustrated by Christina Balit (National Geographic)  The Dragon’s Hoard: Stories from the Viking Sagas by Lari Don, illustrated by Cate James (Frances Lincoln)  Illustrated Norse Myths by Alex Frith and Louie Stowell, illustrated by Matteo Pincelli (Usborne)  D'Aulaires' Book Of Norse Myths by Ingri D'Aulaire (Bantam Dell Publishing Group)

 Falling Out of the Sky. Poems about Myths and Monsters by Rachel Piercey and Emma Wright (The Emma Press) o A teaching sequence for this poetry anthology, which directly references Rachel Piercey’s poem ‘To Asgard’, is available on the Poetryline section of the CLPE website: https://www.clpe.org.uk/poetryline/resources/teaching-sequences/falling-out-sky- poems-about-myths-and-monsters

Other books by Joe Todd-Stanton:  Brownstone’s Mythical Collection: Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx by Joe Todd-Stanton (Flying Eye Books)  The Secret of Black Rock by Joe Todd-Stanton (Flying Eye Books)

Linked Non-Fiction Texts  Vikings (History in Infographics) by Jon Richards (Wayland)  Viking Longship by Mick Manning and Brita Granström (Frances Lincoln)  Vicious Vikings (Horrible Histories) by Terry Deary and Martin Brown (Scholastic)  The Viking Invader (Newspaper History) by Fergus Fleming (Usborne)  Who Were the Vikings? (Starting Point History) by Jane Chisholm, Struan Reid and David Cuzik (Usborne)  You Wouldn't Want to Be a Viking Explorer! by Andrew Langley (Bookhouse)  Everything Vikings by Nadia Higgins (National Geographic)

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:  Joe Todd-Stanton’s website: http://joetoddstanton.com/  BBC Bitesize: Vikings - http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/topics/ztyr9j6  Jorvik Viking Centre, York - https://www.jorvikvikingcentre.co.uk/  Norse Myths - http://www.storynory.com/category/norse/  Animated Norse Gods video by ‘Cans’ (an education design company) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WbGEXzZgbY  Two website offering support and strategies for creating your own comics or organising a ‘comic jam’ (written by Sarah McIntyre):  http://www.jampires.com/activities/set-up-your-own-comics-jam/  http://jabberworks.livejournal.com/742643.html

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 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 further stories of Norse Gods and Viking settlers. These texts might also form part of your read aloud programme in preparing for storytelling, retellings and in supporting the class in making connections with a wide range of material.

Session 1: Response to Illustration

 Copy the endpapers from the front of the book (showing the map of Iceland, next to a diagram of the Norse World and portraits of four of the gods from the story) on to A3 paper so that each group in the class can see it. You may also wish to display it on your IWB using a visualiser or similar device.  Ask children for their initial reflections on the image – what do they notice/see in the image? Have they seen anything like this before?  Ask them to discuss the image in their groups and annotate the A3 paper with these initial thoughts. What do can they see? Does it prompt any questions? Is there anything that puzzles them?  Collate children’s thoughts and initial responses and questions using an enquiry grid that can be used throughout this sequence or as a stimulus for wider curricular study.

What we know about Iceland: What we would like to know: What we have found out:

    This conversation might lead to further cross-curricular study of Iceland, the four Norse gods pictured on this image, and an investigation into the meaning behind the various symbols and runes depicted.  If possible, display 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.  Return to the illustration and the wider class discussion of what we have found within it: What does this tell us about the kind of story we are about to hear? Can they make any predictions about the story based on this image? Some children may be familiar with aspects of Norse mythology from previous books they’ve read, wider curricular study or from popular culture (e.g. the character of Thor in his Marvel superhero guise).  Allow each group to make predictions as to what they are expecting from this story, collecting their ideas in your class journal or on the working wall.  Finally, share with the class the image from the title page. If possible, you could bring in the 4 objects for children to see and handle (or alternatively, share photographs instead) – a mug (of

steaming tea or coffee in the illustration), large leather-bound books, round framed spectacles and a feather (or quill). Why might these be important? Having seen these objects, does it change your mind about the type of story that we might be about to start exploring?

Session 2: Response to Illustration, Developing Language

 Display the illustration from the first double spread of the book (p6-7).  Working with a partner, ask children to write down a list of 10 things that they can see in the illustration.  Ask each pair of children to work with another pair to compare their lists – did anybody notice something new? Gather children’s ideas to make a class list of the different artefacts and objects that fill the Brownstone family vault. Model how children could expand single word responses into short noun phrases or descriptive sentences.  Discuss with the children: If they could ask Professor Brownstone a question, what would it be? Ask children to jot their question down and then share it with a partner. Imagine what the professor’s response to the question might be.  Continue to explore the vault. If they could take a closer look at just one object in the vault, what would it be? Why?  Share an advert that Professor Brownstone has placed in the newspaper inviting members of the public to visit the vault for the first time ever (see additional resources). In order to gain access, potential visitors must write to the professor explaining why they deserve the opportunity to visit, what they hope to see and what they hope to find out. The applicants who win the place will have proven themselves to have keen, enquiring and curious minds – what might we need to include in our letters to show that we are deserving of a visit to the vault? Give children an opportunity to deliberate over what they might include in their letter in small groups before opening it up to a wider class discussion.  Provide children with letter writing paper and envelopes and sufficient time to write their letters. Ensure children proofread their letters before sealing them into the envelopes.  Consider how you (or the professor) might respond to the letters, either individually or a collective response to the class.  You might also work with the children to create a replica ‘vault’ in a corner of the classroom. The children could each provide their own artefact – these might be modern or aged, consisting of souvenirs, curiosities, ‘heirlooms’ and other items of interest. Children could produce museum- style plaques for the items, complete with real or invented origins of the objects, or they could write their own guides to the collection.

Session 3: Reading Aloud / Writing Poetry

 Read the book up to page 10, sharing the illustrations with the children.  Allow pupils the opportunity to reflect and respond personally to this introduction to the book. What did they like or not like about the start of the book? Has it met their expectations so far?  Did they find it odd that his most treasured possession is a set of books? Why or why not? What would their most treasured possession be? What is it about books that make them valued?

 On the IWB, flip chart or working wall, display two sentence starters: Books are… and Books can be…  Ask children to work with the person next to them to come up with as many different ways to end each of those sentences as possible.  Collect ideas from the class and add to the display.  Read aloud and display a selection of poems that demonstrate how the poet feels about books and allow time for the class to respond to them. Which poems did they like and why? Were there any particular words or phrases that were memorable? “Books are key to wisdom’s treasure Books are gates to lands of pleasure Books are paths that upward lead Books are friends: come let us read” by Emilie Poulsson  Other possible poems to share include ‘The Book Party’ by Kwame Alexander (written for Scholastic and available online at http://edublog.scholastic.com/post/book-party-poem-kwame- alexander#) or ‘Uses’ by Rachel Rooney (from Wonderland: Alice in Poetry, edited by Michaela Morgan. The poetryline section of the CLPE website includes a teaching sequence for this anthology).  Use shared writing to work with the children to compose a class version of a ‘books are…’ poem. Children might adapt their ideas from the earlier sentence activity or create new sentences or phrases inspired by the poems they have discussed. Children shouldn’t feel hindered with the need to create a rhyming poem like Poulsson’s.  Once the class poem has been created, children may wish to write and illustrate their own book poems which could be displayed in the class book corner or the school library.

To finish, discuss their expectations for the adventure that is about to begin. The professor referenced both Eleanor and Eric Brownstone’s adventures – would the children have liked to hear about those? What might have happened in their adventures? Are there any clues we might take from the illustrations? Are there any other stories inspired by the professor’s collection of artefacts that they might like to hear? What do they expect from Arthur? Why do they think that the professor refers to him as ‘the unlikeliest of heroes’? Draw out children’s intertextual links with the concept of the ‘unlikely hero’ – where might they have come across this trope before? (Percy Jackson in the Rick Riordan books and films; The Hobbits in The Lord of the Rings; Edward Tulane in the book by Kate DiCamillo; Carl Fredrikson from the film ‘Up’; and various characters in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series might be classified as unlikely heroes).

Session 4: Shared Writing This extended session is intended to be taught as part of this sequence as well as in the children’s cross-curricular learning.

 Share the illustration from page 11. Now that we are entering the world of our Arthur’s story, what do they notice about the new environment? is there anything unusual that they’ve seen? Anything that they’re surprised by or want to ask a question about?  Share a variety of photographs of Iceland on the IWB, allowing the children a short amount of time to respond to each one, perhaps jotting down on a piece of paper or whiteboard anything that they noticed or anything that they wanted to find out. What can they spot or notice in the image? What does this tell them/what can they infer or deduce about the location based on this image? What do we know for certain and what might we reasonably assume? To avoid a narrow portrait of the country, ensure you include a wide variety of Icelandic places, people, fauna and customs.  Use book talk questions to encourage pupils to give their personal responses to the images – what did they like? What didn’t they like? Was there anything they saw that puzzled them or that they want to find out more about? Did any of the images remind them of anything – perhaps there are children in the class who have visited Iceland or have family members who have done so.  Looking at these images, what would be appealing about a holiday to Iceland? Is there anything that might put them off? List all of their ideas on the board. Continue to draw on the ‘Iceland’ enquiry started in the first session and any cross-curricular work you may have undertaken.  Ask them to imagine that they were trying to convince a friend to come on holiday with them to Iceland. Tell them to try and jot down 5 ideas for good reasons to go on that holiday. Children may need to access books or online resources to support them in gathering facts for their arguments.  Some holiday companies have YouTube channels with videos that could be watched with the children and examine for their tone, use of language, imagery and persuasive devices. Thomson and Expedia both have holiday guides to Iceland which might also be referenced for ideas. o Thomson Holidays Iceland Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujvlVRMRoyo o Expedia’s Iceland Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzSHcyXfNPw o Thomson Destination playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcw- HrLtk4k7dxRNiSk1D9WT9d6CcX1YO  Give children an opportunity to share ideas and write a list on the board of the different selling points that might be referenced if you were persuading somebody to take a vacation – both generally, and to Iceland specifically.  Tell children that they need to work in pairs to write a short script for a TV advert that will persuade people to holiday in Iceland. The script must last exactly 1 minute (adjust according to class) and might be designed to be spoken aloud/narrated or displayed on screen as captions to match specific images.  Once the scripts have been written, timed and rehearsed (which will provide children with a purposeful and authentic reason to revisit and edit their first draft of the script), children can consider and find suitable images to match/complement what they are saying.  Children can then either present their advert by performing the script live in front of a display of their chosen images, or they might choose to create short videos by compiling the video and

photographic content they have researched and either recording an audio track of their narration to lay over the images or converting their script into titles and subtitles for their edited video.  These videos could be shared in a school assembly or in neighbouring classes to provide a clear audience and help to determine which is the most persuasive.

Session 5: Role on the Wall

 Share the illustration of Arthur from page 13 and allow the children to share their first impressions – what words might they use to describe him? What in the illustration is supporting that opinion? Handout a sheet of A4 to each pair with a cropped image of Arthur from page 13 in the centre. Ask the children to jot around the image their first ideas about his characteristics. Refer back to the professor’s description of Arthur as an ‘unlikely hero’ and the subsequent class discussion.  Then read aloud page 11-15, sharing the illustrations as you read.  Return to the annotated illustration, can they add anything else that they have discovered about him. They might draw arrows and label the objects that he is carrying and they could add further adjectives to describe him or facts about his interests/talents based on what they have heard so far.  Put pupils together in groups of 6 and explain that they are going to discuss their opinions about Arthur in order to work together to complete a ‘role on the wall’. Give each group a large sheet of sugar paper or flip chart paper. Ask them to draw the outline of a person, or prepare the sheets by completing this yourself. On the outside of the outline, ask them to write words to describe Arthur’s external characteristics, e.g. words that might be used to describe his appearance, phrases to describe his interests, or talents, things that he does or the clothing he wears (they could also write down things that he says on this part of the diagram, but we haven’t heard him say anything yet!). On the inside of the outline, ask them to write words to describe Arthur’s internal characteristics – words to describe his personality. They could also write down what he might be thinking in this part of the diagram.  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 Arthur. Explicitly make links between external and internal – what might a specific aspect of Arthur’s appearance tell us about his personality, or how does his personality make a specific action seem most 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 about Arthur or in role as Arthur later in the sequence.

Sessions 6-7: Storytelling and Story Mapping

 Return to reread the second paragraph on page 12 about the town’s wise woman – Atrix. She is also the town’s storyteller. What does the fact that the wise woman is a storyteller tell you about the value this town places on stories?  Talk to children about their experience of storytellers. Have they heard a storyteller before? What does a storyteller do? How might storytelling be different from reading aloud? If children have experienced both, ask them what they prefer and why?

 Model storytelling for the pupils. Learn a Norse myth to retell to the class (there are a large number of published collections and online sources that you could use to find a suitable tale). Don’t feel that you need to learn the story ‘as written’ from whichever source you find it: learn the outline of the story and retell it in your own words. Create two resources to support your retelling that you can model using for the children: a story map and story stones. A story map can take many forms as its primary use is in supporting the retelling of the story and so should be adapted to suit the needs of the storyteller. Usually, it is largely pictorial illustrating the journey of the main character(s) through the narrative’s main events and locations. It might be annotated with key phrases that the storyteller wants to remember to include. The story stones are an even more condensed version of that story map – they are a series of images (as many as the storyteller feels to be necessary) which sequentially tell the story; they might be literal – showing a character, location or event – or symbolic – representing an emotion or turning point in the tale.

 For more information about storymapping and storytelling, visit the Power of Reading website: https://www.clpe.org.uk/powerofreading/teaching-approaches/story-mapping  After telling the class your story, discuss what made it an effective retelling of the myth. What made it different to having a story read aloud? Were there any moments in the story that are particularly memorable? If so, what made them memorable? Was it a particular phrase? Or was it a technique, such as repetition or alliteration that made it memorable? Was it dialogue or sound effects? Make a list of memorable techniques and phrases that children might wish to use in their own storytelling.  Explain to the class their task, which is to learn one Norse myth well enough that they could retell it to another group of children in Year 2 (or similar). You may decide that you want children to retell their story to a small group of pupils in another class, or to be able to take their story home and retell it to their family; they could even retell the story to other member of their own class, or work in small groups to retell their story in an assembly. What is important is that there is a specific audience and occasion that they are preparing it for.  Depending on the confidence of the children as readers, they will need differing support in preparing a story for retelling. Confident, independent readers may be provided with a sampling of Norse myths that they could read and select the story that most appeals to them; less confident readers might be supplied with just one story that you have already selected, or even given the outline of the tale that they could add detail to in the retelling. Other groups might prefer to work

with the story that they heard you retell, so that the story map and retelling have already been explicitly modelled for them. Other groups might benefit from having an adult working with them to help them to read, explore, understand and ultimately internalise the story before they can rehearse the retelling of it.  Once children have selected, read and reread their chosen story, they will need time to create their story maps and practise retelling it. Once they can retell it with a story map, they may choose to create their own story stones. These are more difficult to retell from, as there are no linguistic cues to support the retelling only pictorial ones. Children will need a response partner, that they can practise their retelling with. It might be beneficial if their response partner is working on learning and retelling the same story so that they can prompt each other if they get stuck.  After children have retold their story orally, they may want to use their story maps and story stones as prompts to aid their own written version which could ultimately be collected together to create a class anthology of Norse mythology.  More sessions may be required if children need further rehearsal or performance time or if they choose to transition from oral to written retellings.

Session 8: Visualisation, Looking at Language, Reader’s Theatre

 Read aloud page 16-18 without sharing the illustrations, asking pupils to try and picture what is happening. Repeat the passage on page 17 and ask pupils to draw what they think is happening. They might choose to draw a series of images, like a comic book, or one drawing to encapsulate what they are visualising. After pupils have had enough time to draw, ask them to annotate their illustration with any words or phrases that particularly inspired their depiction. Ask pupils to share and discuss their illustration with a partner, what is similar/different about their version?  Work with the class to revisit the text, looking at the author’s use of language – how did the authorial choice impact on our drawings? Can you identify specific words or phrases – fronted adverbials, verbs, noun phrases – within the illustrations that the children have produced?  Reread pages 16-18, this time sharing the illustrations with the class. How do the illustrations support the storytelling? What more did we learn about the story by being able to see the illustrations? Has our understanding of the situation been improved? Does the event in the town seem better than we imagined or worse?  To allow the children to continue to reflect on the author’s use of language and grammatical choices, ask them to prepare a performance reading of a section of the text. Part 1 One day while Arthur was attempting to track down a rare species of magical worm, he was startled by a terrible howl. A moment later he was plunged into darkness, as a huge black shape bounded over him and disappeared. Part 2 Arthur quickly clambered up the nearest tree and poked his head over the top of the canopy. Right there, heading straight for his town, was a monstrous black wolf! He could only watch in horror as the wolf put out the great fire, before it leaped back into the darkness of the forest.

Part 3 Arthur hurried back to the town and felt the cold close in on him. The final embers of the great fire were dying and everyone was huddled together as Atrix began to speak.

 Place the children into groups and assign the different parts of the text to each group (as there are only 3 sections of text some groups may be working on the same section).  Give the children time to text mark and to consider how they will perform the text that they have been assigned. For example, will they speak in unison, in canon, individually? Will they use movement or actions? Will they use props? Will they create sound effects? What tone and intonation will bring the text to life?  After the children have had time to prepare, put all the groups together to create a whole class performance. You may want to record this so that the children can watch or listen back to their performance.  You might use this as an opportunity to critique their readings and consider how they can be improved for further performance opportunities such as in an assembly, or next time Reader’s Theatre is used.  Following the performance, look at the text again and draw out what the children have noticed about the author’s use of vocabulary, choice of figurative language, punctuation and grammar and how these choices impact on the reader. How has this section of text evoked the sense of the drama, excitement and danger?

Session 9: Freeze Frame and Thought Tracking

 Revisit the text and illustrations from the previous session, then divide the class into 3 groups and ask each of them to create a freeze frame to represent the town community at different moments during the dramatic events. One group should freeze frame the town before the wolf arrives (the community enjoying fire, sharing stories, etc), another group will show the town during the attack (townsfolk might be hiding, seeking help or shelter, fleeing, retaliating) and the final group should show the town after the event (people might be angry, shocked, devastated, injured, dejected, hopeful, determined, etc).  Thought track members of each of the groups, keeping a record of how the townsfolk felt before, during and after the attack. Consider photographing each of the freeze frames and allowing children to access these on a computer/tablet. Speech and thought bubbles could be added and completed to reflect and capture the voices from the freeze frame/thought tracking activity.  Reflect on the last sentence from page 18. What might Atrix be about to say? How might the townsfolk be feeling? What, therefore, will be the tone of her speech? How will she be trying to make them feel? Children jot down their predictions about what Atrix might say.  Read aloud page 19 and allow children the opportunity to respond to what Atrix has said. Did it match their predictions? How did she deliver the speech? Consider how the author has used punctuation to impact on the potential delivery: how might the ellipses, exclamation marks and commas change the way we read it aloud?  What do they think of her suggested solution to the problem? Reflect on their freeze frame work as the townsfolk from earlier in the session: how would they feel if they were one of the townsfolk

listening to her speech? Would it encourage them or not? Why? Children may want to predict what could happen next in the story based on their experience of this type of story.  In order to further explore the town’s reaction to the event and to Atrix’s speech, create a whole class freeze frame. It might be useful to use a large space like the school hall or the school playground. Create a raised area for ‘Atrix’ to stand on (you may wish to take this role yourself) and ask the pupils to gather around as they listen to her speech. The pupil/adult in role as Atrix should read aloud her speech, then – on a given cue - all pupils in role as the townsfolk should vocalise their reaction to the speech. It might be a question for Atrix, an exclamation, a comment, an argument, an affirmation… It can be helpful to repeat this activity 3 or 4 times, raising the volume each time so that pupils have time to reflect on what they might say. The first time pupils could silently mouth their reaction, then whisper, then speak, and finally shout.  To finish, ask a selection of pupils to individually shout out their comments so that they can be shared with the class. Record these in order that they might be utilised in the next session’s writing activity.

Sessions 10-12: Newspaper Article

In preparation for this writing session, ensure the children have ample opportunity to tune in to the appropriate voice and writing style through reading aloud a range of newspapers as well as giving time for independent reading and revisiting. If children have little or no experience of newspapers, it would be beneficial for the school to subscribe to a children’s newspaper such as First News as well as engaging them in current affairs programmes, such as BBC Newsround online or on television: http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround

Support the children in identifying features and making comparisons between tabloid and broadsheet newspapers that are both well-known and unfamiliar to the children, for example, The Daily Mail, The Express, The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent or The Guardian. This could be a focus of the group reading sessions leading up to this session.

 Explain to the children that in response to the horrific and shocking attack on the town by this monstrous wolf, the local Icelandic newspaper is determined to make it a front page story. We, the journalists for that newspaper, need to produce the article for our editors. Discuss with the children the purpose of the story, we need to inform our readers of exactly what happened (so we’ll need some eye witness accounts to add authenticity to our report), we need to warn other towns of possible future attacks and we need to consider the possible consequences of the attack and what the town is hoping to do in response (How would we find out? Who would we need to speak to?).  Ask children to spend some time summarising the information that we have at our disposal, the timeline of events and what we still want to find out. Who do they want to interview? What would they ask?  Once relevant characters have been chosen that the children wish to interview, they should prepare questions. Ask pupils to initially prepare their questions working with a partner, writing each question on a post-it note. Then, each group should partner with another pair to evaluate

their questions. Have they got any questions that are identical? Have they got any questions that will only get a yes/no answer? Is that useful for our article? Could they adapt / rephrase those questions to make them more effective?  When the questions are prepared, use Teacher/LTA in Role as whoever the children want to interview. Talk to the children about the effective use of note-taking during interviews. Once you have modelled answering questions in role, you may wish for some children to volunteer to be further eye-witnesses to gather further quotes for the article.  Once children have collected the quotes and information required, model writing the article, making explicit your thought process as a writer. What type of sentences do we want to use at the opening? Summarising the article but also hooking the reader in. As you work through the article summarising what has happened, bring in other voices using quotes from the children’s role play notes. What will you quote directly and what will you summarise as indirect speech? How will you close the article, and does it reflect the original purpose you decided upon?  After children have written their articles, pair them up with their newspaper editor. What will the editor be looking for in the article? Ask each child to read their partners work from an editor’s point of view. They should have sufficient time to work together on each article, one at a time, rather than editing somebody else’s work in isolation. If children have not edited work before in this manner, it may need to be modelled for them. Does the article meet the purpose that was agreed upon? Is it fair and unbiased? Does it communicate the event and the outcome clearly?  After children have had a chance to edit and improve each other’s work, they should decide upon appropriate headlines and any pictures that would support the story.  Finally, the writing can be published. If children type their newspaper articles using a word processor or publishing program, the newspaper layout can easily be achieved. Alternatively, templates for newspaper articles can be provided. Remember that considerations of layout too early in the writing process can stifle rather than stimulate the content.  Allow more sessions if necessary to allow pupils sufficient time to respond adequately to each other’s work, edit and improve their writing and produce their published articles.

Session 13: Response to Illustration

 Re-engage children with the narrative of the story, by reading aloud the text from the beginning until the sentence on page 21: ‘“Arthur’s not hurt,” piped up one of his classmates.’  What are the implications of Arthur’s classmate’s comment? Do children think this is a good idea? What might the townsfolk think?  Share the illustration from page 21, but with the speech bubbles blank. How does the picture make them feel? What has the illustrator done to help them empathise with Arthur?  Discuss with the children what each of the characters might be thinking or saying as they look down at Arthur. Are any of them supportive of the idea of Arthur going on this quest? What might their opinions of Arthur be? What would they think about Arthur spending all of his time in the forest? Other illustrations, such as the one on page 13, may provide the children with further insights as to the townsfolks’ opinions of Arthur – and potentially the difference in opinions between the children of the town and the adults? Use your working wall display to refer back to

the role on the wall and any intertextual links that were made in previous sessions comparing our expectations of Arthur with other unlikely heroes in children’s fiction and film.  Ask pupils to complete the speech bubbles with dialogue that they feel reflects the expressions in the illustration.

Session 14: Writing in Role

 Read aloud page 21 and 22, and share the illustration of Arthur lying, sleepless, in his bed. Reflect on the dilemma facing him. Why can’t he sleep? What might he be thinking?  Put the children into small groups of 3/4 and provide each group with a selection of blank thought bubbles and a copy of the illustration. Invite them to complete as many thought bubbles as possible to reflect what he could be thinking about.  In the illustration, we can see Arthur’s journal and pencil next to the bed. What might he have written in his journal that night? Did he write about the wolf’s attack, about what he should or shouldn’t have done? Did he write about how he felt when he heard Atrix speak, and when he heard the townsfolk’s comments about him? Is he trying to decide what to do – if so, what are his options?  If possible, hand out small journals/exercise books for children to use and regularly update as Arthur’s journal throughout his quest. They could use them to write in role reflecting on his adventures or the decisions that he has to make, they could draw the things that he discovers or simply make notes. Based on the class discussion and the understanding that has built up regarding the townsfolk’s response to Arthur’s suitability for the quest, ask children to write in role as Arthur, imagining what he might have put into his journal before getting into bed.

Session 15: Debate and Conscience Alley / Writing in Role

 Return to the comments on page 21. Should Arthur be the one to go on the quest to the land of the Viking Gods? Is he the right person to save the town?  Give each group a large sheet of sugar paper or flip chart paper divided into two columns – Reasons for Arthur Going On the Quest and Reasons Against – and a stack of Post-It notes in two different colours – one colour ‘for’ and the other ‘against’. Ask them to complete as many Post-It notes as possible with different reasons for him going on the quest or staying in the town. As they add them to their large sheet of paper, they should check if there has already been an idea added that is similar to their own. If there is, they should group them together.  After sufficient time has been given for children to add their ideas, ask them to discuss as a group and decide which are the 3 most important reasons for going and the 3 most important reasons to stay.  Share the ideas as a class and discuss the children’s personal response to Arthur’s dilemma – do they think he should go? If they were Arthur, would they go?  Either create a class list combining all of the reasons for and against that children have come up with, or display the post-it notes that children wrote out somewhere in the classroom where they can be easily accessed.

 Explain to the children that you are going to hold a debate to decide what the best thing is for Arthur to do. Divide the class into two teams and allocate them with a position that they need to hold during the debate – for or against. Allow each team sufficient time to plan their argument – you may want each team to select a debate captain who will introduce the argument before allowing other members of the team to add their points. It will be important to clarify the rules for the debate before you begin – the manner in which points raised might be challenged will be particularly important, especially the idea that all opinions are valid and respected, everyone has the right to share their opinion and that when we disagree with someone’s opinion, we ensure that we contest the idea and not the pupil. When the debate has concluded, an adult or child from the class who has not directly participated in the debate, can summarise the arguments given on both sides.  Following the debate, support the class in using conscience alley to further refine their ideas. Ask the class to create two equal lines and then turn to face one another, leaving a narrow alley between the two lines. Select one pupil who, in role as Arthur, will walk between the two lines. As he/she walks between the lines, pupils on one side give reasons to persuade Arthur to stay at home, while pupils on the opposite side give their reasons why Arthur should go on the quest to the land of the gods. When the pupil in role reaches the end of the ‘alley’, they can explain the decision they have made and why. You might repeat the task, so that each side of the ‘alley’ has had the opportunity to argue both ‘for’ and ‘against’.  Having had the opportunity to reflect on Arthur’s different options and the reasons for and against him setting off on this quest, ask children to decide for themselves what they think he should do. Then, they should write a letter to Arthur giving him advice. What do they think he should do and why? Discuss how they might sensitively address the townsfolk’s treatment of him. Will they sympathise? Encourage? Will they give him some different options that will support him in making his own mind up?  If children write their letters on separate sheets of paper, you could also write Arthur’s response. When children have finished writing their letter of advice, ask them to fold their letter in half, put it into an envelope, seal and address it, before ‘posting’ it to Arthur. Once you have collected in all of the ‘posted’ letters, deliver them back to the class so that each child gets a letter that somebody else wrote. Explain that they are now all ‘in role’ as Arthur who is receiving the letter. As Arthur, ask them to read the letter that has been delivered to them, consider how Arthur would respond to the advice he has been given and write a note back to the advice-giver, thanking them for the guidance and explaining why they will or will not be following it.

Session 16: Debate and Discussion

 Read the text on p23 but don’t share the illustration until after the activity.  Discuss with the children what they might decide to take with them on a dangerous quest across the sea.  Ask each child to write a list of everything they would want to take with them.  When they have finished their list, ask them to share their list with a partner. On a new sheet of paper, have them amalgamate the two lists to create one new list following these simple rules: if they both had it written down it automatically gets to be included on the new list, but if only one of them had it written down, they have to convince their partner of its necessity before it can be written on the new list.  When they have created their new list, ask them to go through each item and write next to it the reason why it deserves to be included.  At this stage, now that the class have had an opportunity to consider all the items that might be useful on the quest, tell them that room on the boat means that they can only bring 5 items. Ask them to work together to decide on the 5 most essential items on their list. Give each pair 5 small pieces of card and ask them to write/draw the item on to the card.  Put three pairs together to create a group of 6. From their 15 cards, can the group decide on the 1 item that would be most important to take with them?  When all the groups have made their decision, work as a class to compile a class list of 5 items that Arthur will take with him on the boat.  Reveal the illustration from page 23 and discuss what they think of Arthur’s choice of ‘most useful possessions’. Compare these to their own considerations and make predictions on how they might be used as the story develops. Introducing the idea of ‘foreshadowing’ may support the pupils in their own story writing – a plot device where what is to come is hinted at often to arouse interest. This is often called ‘Chekov’s Gun’ as the Russian author Anton Chekov referred to it as one of the rules of writing – “If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it's not going to be fired, it shouldn't be hanging there…”

Session 17-18: Narrative Writing

 Share the whole text and illustrations up to page 23 with the class, spending some time reflecting again on how Joe Todd-Stanton uses the relationship between the text and the pictures to tell his story. Often, there is much more story going on in the illustration than the words could say on their own. Then display the illustration from the double spread on page 24-25. If possible, reproduce the illustration on A3 paper and then place this in the middle of a larger sheet of paper so that children can work in small groups annotating the space around the image.  Initially, simply allow children time to explore and talk about the illustration, tracing Arthur’s journey and discussing the various obstacles he encounters on his way across the sea.  Ask children to stick post-it notes on or around the image with any questions that they would like to know the answer to. Spend some time discussing and, where possible, answering these questions, with children adding answers around the edge of the picture or on to the post-it notes.

 Ask children to choose their favourite part of Arthur’s journey and, on paper or whiteboard, write a sentence to describe it. Tell them to try and make their sentence as dramatic and descriptive as the illustration.  Once they have written their sentences, ask them to work with a response partner to see if they can improve any aspect of them, remembering that the key purpose of any editing or reworking is the impact of the sentence on the reader.  Refer back to any prior discussions of Todd-Stanton’s writing style – he uses very few written sentences and therefore every word needs to count. Potential sentences worth examining for impact include: “High in an ancient tower, he discovered the Hand of Time, which held the power to freeze anyone who touched it.” p15 “A moment later he was plunged into darkness, as a huge black shape bounded over him and disappeared.” p16 “Arthur quickly clambered up the nearest tree and poked his head over the top of the canopy. Right there, heading straight for his town, was a monstrous black wolf.” p17 “Taking a deep breath, Arthur decided that he must go and find the god of storms.” p23 Depending on which sentences you choose to study, children may pick out different features that are effective in either propelling the story and the action forward or adding suspenseful or exciting detail. It would be worth noting the authors use of precise verbs and discussing their impact on the reader, or you might focus on his use of one or more subordinate clauses to add further action and detail to a single sentence thereby supporting the pace and flow of the story. Can they make use of similar grammatical choices (such as fronted adverbials) or the careful manner in which he selects vocabulary? After they have made changes, ask them to reflect on the impact of this change of style – do they prefer or not? Do they want to try something different?  Children may need some support in developing their sentence structure, particularly with the breadth of vocabulary at their disposal. Playing a word hunt game might be useful in broadening children’s vocabulary: read aloud a section of the text and ask children to spot and make a note of all of the verbs that the author has used (for example, explore, gather, venture, grant, discover, rescue, attempt, startle, plunge, bound, clamber, poke, and leap are just some of the verbs that they might discover between page 12 and 17).  You might support children further by asking them to identify a specific moment on the sea voyage illustration and work in 2s or 3s to come up with as many verbs as possible to describe what Arthur might have to do to overcome the danger. They could use classroom resources such as dictionaries or thesauruses to add to their word list. Having created word banks to support their composition, children will then be free to select the most impactful or precise word when creating their sentences.  Create a display, comparing some of the author’s sentences with the children’s own including reference to when they might be useful in their writing  Return to the illustration from page 24-25. Explain that as a class we are going to write the story of Arthur’s voyage to the land of the Viking gods. They are going to choose one moment from the journey (it might be the same moment they chose to write their sentences about earlier, or they may choose to select a different event). This time, rather than write one sentence, they are going to write about that whole event:

o the opening (Arthur spots the potential danger approaching or is surprised by it) o the build-up (Arthur attempts to deal with the problem but it escalates) o the climax (Arthur is very nearly overcome but somehow triumphs)  Allow children to make notes about their chosen moment from the illustration. Then ask them to take it in turns to explain to their partner what happens during that action-packed moment. The pupil who is listening should be encouraged to ask questions that might support the writer in adding detail or improving the clarity of their storytelling.  Model writing an action-heavy paragraph for your own chosen moment from the illustration. As you model the writing, be explicit about the decisions you are making as a writer and why you are making them, including what response you hope to get from the reader. Refer to the sentence work undertaken in the previous session, incorporating those specific structures where useful. Note how, once the action has started, the characters’ and monsters’ actions and reactions are the most important thing and so our verbs are the most essential part of our storytelling. Our sentences will probably include more than one action at a time, or else will be short and choppy to maintain pace. Adjectives are likely to be used only sparingly to make something seem even more dangerous or to highlight anything unusual.  After children have completed their own writing, ask them to work in pairs as ‘response’ partners. This allows them to support each other as they reflect on their writing. The child who has written the piece can tell response partners what they are pleased with in their writing, particular concepts or parts of they may have struggled with, as well as gaining a picture from the reader of how their work impacts on them. Response partners should be encouraged to reflect on the impact of the writing on them as a reader. Children can then re-draft sections of their work, based on these conversations.  After this, ask the children to work with a different pupil as ‘editing’ partners. At this stage, the children can support each other with transcription proof reading, looking at spelling, punctuation and grammar before final publication of their section in Arthur’s quest.

Session 19: Book Talk / Kenning

 Read aloud from the beginning to the end of page 28. Use Book Talk to support discussion around children’s responses to the book at this halfway point. What do they like about it? What don’t they like? Is there anything that puzzles them? Does it remind them of anything – other stories they have read; films they have watched; or experiences they have had? See the Power of Reading website for more information about the ‘book talk’ approach: https://www.clpe.org.uk/powerofreading/teaching-approaches/tell-me-booktalk  Display an image of the wolf – Fenrir. Ask children to work in small groups to gather as many words as possible to describe him and list some of the terrible things that he has done/might do.  Demonstrate combining children’s ideas to create a few lines of a kenning to describe Fenrir [A Kenning names something by describing its qualities in a two-word compound expression (often consisting of a noun and a verb made into a noun using an -er ending) for example mouse catcher = cat. The Kenning has its origins in Anglo-Saxon or Old Norse where Kennings were used to name swords: death bringer. Kennings can be developed into a poem or a riddle but a Kenning refers to the two-word expression], e.g.

Forest prowler Flesh tearer Bone cruncher Silent hunter (etc.)

 Continue to take ideas from the children and gradually build a whole class poem.  Reflect with the children how different lines of the poem might be read aloud and prepare a whole class performance: decide if there are any lines that might be read aloud together, or others that might be read by a smaller group or an individual, what the dynamic shape of the performance might be as well as the pace and rhythm of the performance. In preparing the performance, allow discussion of the language choices made and model the editing process by reflecting on any changes that could be made to improve the effectiveness of the final poem.  After the performance, display the poem on the working wall (along with any amendments that were made) and provide children with time to write and refine their own Kennings, either about Fenrir the Wolf or about our hero, Arthur.

Session 20: Developing Language

 Read aloud up to page 30-37, sharing the illustrations and discussing the author’s choices (of both language and viewpoint) as you do so. Provide each group with one spread from the section being read aloud and ask them to discuss what they notice. How is Joe Todd-Stanton using the illustration to tell this part of the story? How has he used/not used text? What do they like about the text that he has used? Are there any sections where they would have liked text to be included and it isn’t? Why do they think he made the decision to use illustration only/predominately to tell that part of the story? Does it remind them of anything they have seen before?  Display the spreads side by side – what do they notice? Consider the layout decisions: very few spreads have an identical layout – they certainly don’t follow a ‘traditional’ or clichéd comic book layout of a series of boxes – instead Todd-Stanton changes the layout to what is needed to best convey the story at that moment. Secondly, reflect upon the manner in which the point of view and the composition of ‘the shot’ keeps changing (there are further and more explicit viewpoint switches earlier in the text, for example the transition on page 27 from medium shot of Thor and Arthur to close up of Thor’s viewpoint or on page 17 the cut from Arthur in the tree with the town in the far distance to Arthur’s viewpoint through the telescope).  Display the spread from page 36-37. What is the impact of having the two illustrations of the world tree side by side? Even without the textual cues, the illustration takes the reader on the journey with Arthur, we transition from the library, to a close up of the parchment Arthur finds in the library, and then to the tree depicted on the parchment. The text then supports the transition, for example “It looked much bigger in real life…” as we move to the illustration of Arthur standing at the base of the tree.  Compare the illustration on page 37 to the one on page 26. In their groups earlier in the session, children might have commented on the narrative device that Joe Todd-Stanton uses in some of his illustrations of drawing multiple Arthur figures in one setting (for example, the mountain on page 26, the library on page 34/35 and creeping past Jörmungandr on page 30). What do the children like or not like about this technique? What does it bring to the story and the character? What is

the impact of choosing to depict only one Arthur on page 37, rather than repeating the technique of drawing multiple Arthurs engaging in the action? (dramatically pauses the action – taking a breath before carrying on, almost as the character might do; it allows the reader to anticipate and look forward to what will come when we turn the page, puts us in Arthur’s position of seeing the magnitude of the task ahead). You may also discuss how the composition of the shot aids the author in communicating the immensity of the tree – Arthur in the foreground, the mountains in the background, the tiny birds flying around it and the clouds into which it disappears at the top of the frame. What does this image tell us about Arthur’s thoughts and feelings as he gazes up at the tree?  Ask children to work in pairs to annotate their copy of the illustration with words and phrases to describe the ‘world tree’ and then use their journals to write briefly in role as Arthur reflecting on the challenge ahead.  To further develop children’s vocabulary and language choices you might use additional curricular time to recreate the tree for small world storytelling and play – twisted pipe cleaners or rolls of Plasticine or clay could provide a supporting structure for the tree, combined with a Lego-figure Arthur for scale. Children might use this modelled environment to create stop-motion animation to depict their own version of Arthur’s quest or use digital photography to get an Arthur’s eye view of the tree.

Session 21: Writing in Role

 Complete sharing Arthur’s two challenges by reading aloud as far as page 40. The spread on page 38 and 39 provides ample opportunity to revisit the visual storytelling techniques, both in terms of scale as Arthur climbs up beyond the clouds and also in how revelations are shared with the reader before Arthur discovers them – we see Wind Weaver coming in the final two panels before Arthur knows that he has been saved. Children may wish to look back through the story to remind themselves of Arthur’s previous encounter with Wind Weaver and the special feather that he chose to bring with him on the quest.  Ask the children to imagine what Arthur might have written in his journal to tell the story of how he completed the two challenges for Thor and succeeded in acquiring both items. Tell them that they are going to complete Arthur’s journal for one of these challenges. Once they have chosen which challenge to write, they can use the illustrations from the text as a story map to structure their retelling. Consider how the illustrations can support us in the pacing of our own versions. How might we use language and sentence structure to convey this moments of anticipation, action and emotion. Refer back to the exploration of Todd-Stanton’s sentence structure prior to the newspaper article writing to support children in understanding the impact of different sentence structures and language choices in context.  When children have had an opportunity to write and review their own work, ask them to share their writing with a response partner. Ask them to read each other’s work with focus on identifying moments where they have successfully conveyed the threat, the excitement or the anticipation of the adventure. How have they achieved that impact on the reader? Share examples and compare with original.

Session 22: Shared Writing: Poetry

 Read page 41 and share the illustration. Using ideas from the children annotate the illustration with different strategies for describing the golden rope – describe it using adjectives, using simile, metaphor and personification.  What ingredients were needed for Odin to create this magical golden rope? Arthur had to find two impossible objects - the sound of cat’s footfall and the roots of a mountain. In the original Norse myth, further impossible items were needed to create the rope, including the breath of a fish, the beard of a woman and spittle from a bird. What other items can we see or possibly imagine that would nevertheless be impossible to collect for a recipe or potion?  Give the children an opportunity to discuss and note some ideas in pairs before asking for volunteers to share their ideas with the class.  Work as a scribe to refine and enhance these initial ideas into a list poem entitled ‘Ingredients for Arthur’s Golden Rope’ (or using a title that you have created with the class).  Once children have had the style of writing modelled for them and have had the opportunity to contribute to the shared poem, ask them to write their own, either individually or working collaboratively with a partner.  Children may benefit from writing their poem outdoors, taking advantage of any inspiration that nature may offer – a beam of sunlight, a gust of autumn breeze, an evaporated raindrop, the web of a spider plant, etc.

Session 23: Book Talk

 Read aloud the rest of the book, sharing the illustrations and discussing some of the gaps that Joe Todd-Stanton leaves for us to consider. For example, you might pause to predict Arthur’s potential plan that is hinted at the bottom of page 42, stop to scrutinise all of the details in the double page illustration of the battle on page 44-45 and allow children to respond to Fenrir’s attack at the bottom of page 47 (an excellent example of the page turn reveal with the almost identical panel at the top of page 48).  Pause after reading page 49 and allow children some time to respond to the climax of the story – what did they think of the way Arthur defeated Fenrir? Had they predicted this strategy? How has Arthur used the items that he chose to bring with him on the quest? Is there anything that they still want to know? Was there anything about the battle that they particularly liked or disliked?  After reading the whole text, use some of Aidan Chambers’ ‘special questions’ to explore the children’s responses to the book e.g.  Think of yourself as a spectator. With whose eyes did you see the story?  When you were reading the story, did you feel it was happening now? Or did you feel it was happening in the past and being remembered? Can you tell me anything in the writing that made you feel like that? o Did any of the characters remind you of people you know? o Or remind you of characters in other books?

 As a graphic novel, consider how the book has been presented. In what way does it differ from a picture book, a comic strip or an illustrated novel? Why might the author have chosen to depict it in this way? How would their enjoyment of the book be changed if it was written as a novel or short story?  Do the class have any questions that they would like to ask the author? These two interviews contain answers to some questions that might come up, including where the idea came from and some of his influences. They also reveal that, between drafts, he completely rewrote the story after speaking to his editorial team – an important message about responding to your own writing as a reader, perseverance and being prepared to revise and restructure over time: o https://dulemba.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/joe-todd-stantons-arthur-and-golden- rope.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter o https://www.kirkusreviews.com/features/modern-mythology-joe-todd-stanton/  Having reflected on the whole text, children might progress to making their own book trailer. Start by considering which moments in the story might be considered the most persuasive in hooking a potential reader in to picking up the book.  Together, study film trailers for movies with which most children are familiar. For example, you could look at the trailer for the 2012 Pixar film, Brave: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEHWDA_6e3M – how does the trailer reflect the tone of the movie? How does it build tension? How does it depict the humour and excitement? How does it introduce the main character? How does it make the viewer want to see the whole film?  Children may also benefit from seeing specific book trailers: o How To Train Your Dragon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dO6MqSIvNw o The Uncommoners: https://youtu.be/5yJfMhve5Sw o Kid Normal: https://youtu.be/Om6J_zNGeRI o I Want My Hat Back: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYYQW_uCdzM  Children can work in small groups to write and record their own narration, decide what text they would like to have appear on the screen and then use editing software, such as iMovie or Moviemaker, to combine cropped and animated images from the text, with music, text and their own narration.

Session 24-25: Book Making

 Provide the children with an opportunity to devise, plan, write and draw their own comic book adventure. Allow them choice over what to write about, depending on what inspires them – Todd-Stanton was inspired by a particular aspect of Viking mythology which he then built the story around. The children might use their knowledge of the existing characters or the Norse gods to plot a new story, or they might create a story inspired by the objects in the opening illustration of the Brownstone vault. They might decide they want to expand on the stories of Eleanor and Eric Brownstone, alluded to on page 9 or they might want to write another adventure for Arthur himself.  Before starting their Arthur-inspired stories, children might benefit from an additional session in which they engage in a ‘comic jam’. This would provide them with an opportunity to experiment collaboratively with comic book storytelling, character and layout within a simple and playful

structure. Teachers could partner with other adults in the class or with one of the children to ensure that everyone is participating in the ‘jam’. The author and illustrator Sarah McIntyre has created a wide variety of resources and videos to support children and teachers in organising ‘Comic Jams’. You can find them by following this link: http://jabberworks.livejournal.com/742643.html

 Allow children time to develop their new stories, giving them the support of a simple quest structure if needed. Some children will benefit from being given a narrower set of possibilities to choose from or from a clearer story structure, others will enjoy the freedom of being able to take their story in any direction they choose. You might also allow children to develop their stories using small world role play – if, as part of a wider study of Iceland or the Vikings, three- dimensional landscapes have been constructed, then playing with character models and mythical creatures within these environments could influence appropriate dilemmas and resolutions.  After children have an idea for their story, provide them with opportunities to develop their story structure and language. They could draw story maps (as they did for session 6) and then work with a partner to tell their story. They might annotate their maps with key phrases that they want to include in their writing, influenced by the work undertaken exploring Todd-Stanton’s own structures and style.  When children move on to drawing their comic panels to create their books, spend some time revisiting the different techniques that Joe Todd-Stanton used throughout Arthur and the Golden Rope and that you have discussed throughout the study of the book. How and why might we need an establishing shot, allowing the reader to understand the environment and geography of their setting, drawing the character from below to make them seem large and powerful or from above to make them seem smaller, when to use the character’s point of view and how to use a series of related images to show cause and effect. Unlike many graphic novels, Arthur and the Golden Rope uses speech and thought bubbles quite rarely, using direct speech within the narration instead – children might reflect on when, why and how they might incorporate speech.  Encourage children to roughly draft their comic before producing final drawings so that they are able to experiment with layout and the structure of their shots. The interview with the author on Elizabeth Dulemba’s blog (link provided in the previous session) includes sketches that demonstrate how Joe Todd-Stanton experimented with the layout of the pages, including where the speech and narration would be placed, prior to finalising his artwork.  When children are ready to produce their finished comic books, decide how they might be published. Children could make their own small books (origami books, zig-zag books, or simply folded and stapled paper) to draw in directly, or they could draw on separate paper which is bound into book format later (perhaps collating all of the children’s stories into a class anthology) or children’s drawings could be scanned and saved on the computer so that children can add text digitally.

Use and Application of Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation from the National Curriculum Year 3 and 4 programme of study:

There are opportunities to teach grammar, punctuation and spelling through this text, some specific ideas are mentioned during the sessions listed above, in particular the author’s use of specific grammatical structures to communicate changes in time and place to the reader and the subtle changes third to second person to occasionally communicate directly to the reader (“As you can imagine, it was not too hard to find.” p30; or the manner in which the story is book ended with the professor directly addressing the reader).

Other areas you may wish to consider when studying the text, depending on the needs of the class, are:  Expanded noun phrases and verb choices: how does the author use language and for what purpose? o “She would tell him wondrous and frightening tales about distant lands and ancient magic” o “A moment later he was plunged into darkness, as a huge black shape bounded over him and disappeared.”  The role of punctuation to clarify meaning and support reading aloud, for example the use of ellipsis, exclamation marks, full stops and commas in Atrix’s speech on page 19. Children might be given unpunctuated speeches to speak aloud and then punctuate, before comparing them with the original choices of punctuation. This could then lead to a discussion or debate about the differences between choices made for punctuation specifically to support oral readings versus punctuation choices made for a text to be read silently.  The text contains a mixture of direct speech using standard punctuation and direct speech presented within speech bubbles. How does the punctuation differ? What is the impact of the different formats?  Storytelling language and vocabulary: use a word wall or class dictionary to collect memorable or unfamiliar vocabulary. Investigate spelling patterns (e.g. past tense or compound words) and the etymology of unusual words which interest the class.  Fronted adverbials are used throughout to support the author in communicating time and place and in setting the scene, e.g. “After a long journey…” p27, “Just as Arthur thought he was the greatest peril…” p40, “In that moment…” p47, “After defeating Fenrir’s minions,…” p49  A combination of questions and statements are used to set up dilemmas and establish links between the reader and the main character. Could children use a similar device in their own stories? Examples on page 22, 23, 34.