Every two years a ‘Children’s Laureate’ is appointed in the UK. The position is awarded to an author or a writer of children’s books in recognition of their outstanding work. In June 2015 the laureateship was awarded to illustrator Chris Riddell.
This lesson uses Chris Riddell’s wonderful idea of turning children into illustrators. Learners will listen to a story and imagine each scene. Then they will work in groups, making colourful illustrations of key points from the story. When they finish they will put their pictures together to form a picture book version of the story. Finally they will use the picture book to retell the story in groups.
This activity works with most stories and can be adapted to use with other ages and levels. If you have a mobile device, you could also film the groups retelling the story, then send the recording to parents – but make sure you have parental permission to do this first.
Aims
To encourage learners to use English in a creative way
To develop learners’ listening skills and visual skills
To enjoy listening to a story
To create a picture book
To retell a story using visual prompts
Age group
Primary
Level
CEFR level A1 and above
Time
50–60 minutes
Materials
The lesson plan can be downloaded in PDF format below. In addition, you will need:
Story – either access the online story in class or download the transcript beforehand from here:
https://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/short-stories/ali-and-the-magic-carpet
Paper, pencils and coloured crayons, hole punch, coloured string or ribbon