journey aaron becker ks1 planning

Writing Root Back to List

Resource written by

Pippa mcgeoch.

Senior Consultant

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A writing root for journey.

KS: Lower KS2, R & KS1, Upper KS2

Year Group: Reception, Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, Year 5, Year 6

Literary Theme: Coming together & community

Author(s): Aaron Becker

"The most fantastic way to launch the year: our whole primary school is excited to write."

Anna Chidzey, whole school, British International School Riyadh

• Description

Main Outcome(s):

Predictions, retellings in role, maps, posters, a travel diary, instructions and a story sequel.

10+ sessions, 2+ weeks

Overview and Outcomes:

This is a two-week Whole School Writing Root for Journey by Aaron Becker. The resource has been designed to be used by an entire school to foster a shared learning experience around one text and to engender written outcomes – some with the same audiences and purposes, some not – that are ‘at pitch’ for each phase/stage but that will also aid revision, catch-up and extension where (and in whichever form) needed. We have planned for activities at 3 stages: Reception with Year 1; Year 2 with Year 3 and then Year 4 to Year 6. The resource is intended to form the basis upon which schools and teachers can create and shape a sequence of learning that will work within their context.  The sessions could be added to with art activities and through further learning in PSHE, Science, Geography and History.

Synopsis of Text:

The winner of the prestigious Caldecott Honor, and described by the New York Times as 'a masterwork', Aaron Becker's stunning, wordless picture book debut about self-determination and unexpected friendship follows a little girl who draws a magic door on her bedroom wall. Through it she escapes into a world where wonder, adventure and danger abound. Red marker pen in hand, she creates a boat, a balloon and a flying carpet which carry her on a spectacular journey ... who knows where? When she is captured by a sinister emperor, only an act of tremendous courage and kindness can set her free. Can it also guide her home and to happiness? In this exquisitely illustrated book, an ordinary child is launched on an extraordinary, magical journey towards her greatest and most rewarding adventure of all...

Wordless, fantasy worlds, loneliness, companionship

A Writing Root for The Last Wild

KS: Upper KS2

Year Group: Year 6

A Writing Root for Send for a Superhero

KS: R & KS1

Year Group: Year 1

A Spelling Seed for Cinnamon

KS: Lower KS2

Year Group: Year 4

TEACHING RESOURCES

Journey by aaron becker 7 - 9.

A beautiful wordless picture filled with adventure and wonder.  Our protagonist feels alone in the grey city that surrounds her and traps her.  She wishes to travel and to see the world and for this to happen she will have to do it for herself.  With just a swipe of chalk and a lot of imagination she travels to far away lands filled with wonder and mystery; beauty and danger.

Writing Outcomes

• Setting description
• narrative sequel

Topic Links

• Quest by Aaron Becker
• Return by Aaron Becker
• Little Boat on Literacy Shed
• Loteria De Navidad Literacy Shed

Buy This Book

Lesson Planning

Teacher resources.

• ORIGINAL ART
• Parents & Educators

Teachers, Librarians & Parents Teacher Resources

One of the joys of writing children’s books is the feedback I get from teachers, librarians, and parents who have found interesting and creative ways of using my stories with their children. Wordless picture books offer lots of room for interpretation, not just in their retelling, but in the worlds and ideas they inspire.

The simplest and most direct activity is to read the book as a group. Downloading the Journey Trilogy Activity Kit  is a good place to start. You can also  download my guide to reading a wordless picture book to help give you ideas for how to encourage your students to engage with the story.

Many teachers also choose to use the books as a starting point for writing prompts and exercises. Students can write their own manuscripts to the story, inventing names of characters and places and practicing how to structure a narrative. Simple art projects, involving a cut-out door and background landscape can provide another avenue for creative expression. If you had a magic door, where might it take you?

I also have two Q&A’s that might get your students wondering about being authors themselves one day(!): JOURNEY Q&A QUEST Q&A

There’s also a fun paper lantern project that I put together for the good folks at All the Wonders that your students might enjoy.

However you choose to expand upon the books in your classroom remember that the very fact that you’re even reading this is a good sign that your students will pick up on your enthusiasm for storytelling and creativity. Thank you all for helping me do my job by sharing it with your kids!

• FILM DESIGN
• FILM DESIGN: animatics
• holding pen
• ILLUSTRATION
• Teachers, Librarians & Parents

© 2013-2024 Aaron Becker All Rights Reserved.

Looking for more in Learning resources ?

Using Journey for a cross-curricular book project

This resource will support you to use the wordless picture book Journey by Aaron Becker as part of a whole school project.

The resource contains differentiated cross-curricular activities for Early, First and Second levels, adaptable to use as part of a whole school core book project, and includes ideas to support:

• Creative writing
• Expressive arts: art, drama and music
• Health and wellbeing
• Critical thinking and problem solving
• Digital technology
• Skills for learning: visual literacy

Wordless picture books are a great starting point for a whole school project, as they are accessible to all learners. If you are new to using wordless picture books, you can find more ideas and support in our using wordless picture books resource .

• Journey learning resource (DOC) (this link will open in a new window) 1192.5 kb
• Journey learning resource (PDF) (this link will open in a new window) 787.6 kb

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This 7-lesson narrative scheme is based on the wonderful wordless picture book, 'Journey' by Aaron Becker. Children will be inspired by the beautiful pictures and engaging storyline to write their own tales of adventure involving the characters in the book!

#TheCompleteSeries7lessons

In the first two lessons, children will become familiar with the story, and will ask and answer questions about the events and characters. The focus is then placed on different aspects that will make their writing more engaging for the reader, including the 'show, don't tell' technique, descriptive language, and direct speech. Using this knowledge and understanding, children then plan and write their own adventure story inspired by the events in 'Journey'.

Please be aware that, for copyright purposes, we are unable to provide any of the images from the book for this scheme of work.

#Lesson1BecomingFamiliarwiththeStory

After predicting what the book might be about from the title and front cover, as a class you will look at the book together, discussing how the story is told in pictures only.

In their independent activities, children use the provided story strips to order the story. Alternatively, they are encouraged to retell the story orally in groups or as a class, using as much detail as they can.

This Journey by Aaron Becker lesson plan pack includes an engaging slide show, differentiated activity ideas and printable resources.

What's included:

• Lesson Plan
• Activity ideas
• Story Strips

#Lesson2ShowingUnderstandingofEvents

As a class, children explore the book again, and this time are encouraged to think about the characters, the setting and how the story develops.

In groups or pairs, children discuss a range of given comprehension questions, justifying their answers and explaining their opinions. In the alternative activity provided, children devise their own questions to ask each other about a particular page from the book.

A detailed plan, a set of slides for the teaching input, and differentiated, printable resources are all included in this Journey by Aaron Becker lesson plan pack.

• Discussion Sheets
• Challenge Cards

#Lesson3TheShowdontTellTechnique

In this lesson, children are introduced to and explore the 'show, don't tell' technique for conveying characters' emotions.

Children first explore and discuss the different facial expressions and body language for a range of different emotions, then use this knowledge and understanding to write their own 'show, don't tell' sentences for different scenarios and emotions in 'Journey'.

This lesson pack comes with a detailed plan, differentiated activity ideas, PDF lesson slides as well as all the printable resources to support your class as they work independently.

• Differentiated worksheets
• Emotions to Actions Help Sheet
• Emotion Cards

#Lesson4DescriptiveLanguage

In this lesson, children first recap on their knowledge of descriptive language, and the types of words can can be used to add small details to descriptions that help the reader to visualise events more clearly.

After working as a class to improve the descriptive detail of some simple given sentences, children are then tasked with writing an audio description for one of the double-page spreads in the book, aimed at someone who cannot see the pictures.

#Lesson5PunctuatingDirectSpeech

As a class, children recap on the correct use of inverted commas when using direct speech, as well as where to position closing punctuation and reporting clauses.

In their independent activities, children will apply this knowledge by adding the correct punctuation to given direct speech sentences, as well as writing their own based on imagined conversations between the characters in 'Journey'.

A detailed plan, a set of informative slides and differentiated, printable resources are all included in this Journey by Aaron Becker lesson plan pack.

• Direct Speech Help Sheet
• Conversation Challenge Sheet

#Lesson6PlanningaStory

In this lesson, children revisit 'Journey' and focus on what they know about the character of the boy, and the purple bird. Children use their skills of deduction and inference to imagine what might have happened to the boy between the first double-page spread of the book, and the last.

Children are then challenged to plan a narrative for the boy's story. In the Fancy Something Different? option, children are tasked with planning a sequel to 'Journey', with the boy and girl having an adventure together using their magic crayons.

Everything you need is included in this Journey by Aaron Becker lesson plan pack - engaging and informative slides, differentiated activity ideas, printable resources, and of course, a detailed plan!

• Planning Sheets
• Challenge Sheet

#Lesson7WritingaStory

In this final lesson, children first look at the useful technique of composing and orally rehearsing their sentences before they write them.

After looking at examples of this technique, and exploring how it works as a class, children are challenged to put it into practice when writing their story inspired by events in 'Journey'.

• Oral Rehearsal Help Sheet
• Writing Templates

Free Overview (Medium-Term Plan)

Download a free overview to support your teaching of this scheme of work.

Free Assessment Grid

Download a free, editable assessment grid to support your teaching of this scheme of work.

Curriculum Objectives covered

Reading - comprehension objectives:.

• increasing their familiarity with a wide range of books, including fairy stories, myths and legends, and retelling some of these orally
• drawing inferences such as inferring characters’ feelings, thoughts and motives from their actions, and justifying inferences with evidence

Writing - Composition Objectives:

• discussing and recording ideas
• composing and rehearsing sentences orally (including dialogue), progressively building a varied and rich vocabulary and an increasing range of sentence structures (English Appendix 2)
• in narratives, creating settings, characters and plot
• assessing the effectiveness of their own and others’ writing and suggesting improvements
• read aloud their own writing, to a group or the whole class, using appropriate intonation and controlling the tone and volume so that the meaning is clear

Writing - Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar Objectives:

• using conjunctions, adverbs and prepositions to express time and cause
• using and punctuating direct speech

Spoken Language Objectives:

• listen and respond appropriately to adults and their peers
• ask relevant questions to extend their understanding and knowledge
• articulate and justify answers, arguments and opinions
• give well-structured descriptions, explanations and narratives for different purposes, including for expressing feelings
• use spoken language to develop understanding through speculating, hypothesising, imagining and exploring ideas

English Appendix Objectives:

• Use of inverted commas and other punctuation to indicate direct speech [for example, a comma after the reporting clause; end punctuation within inverted commas: The conductor shouted, “Sit down!”]

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Great resource as usual. Has everything I need and saved me precious time x

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Great visual resource. Would be good to have on PowerPoint to edit to meet all of my schools objectives.

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Buy This Book * More books by Aaron Becker

In the city park, two friends are startled by the sudden appearance of a king, who thrusts into their hands a map and some strange objects. But before he can explain, the king is captured by enemy forces and whisked back into his enchanted world. Just like that, the girl and boy are caught up in a wild dash to rescue the mysterious monarch.

Teaching Ideas and Resources:

• This is the second book in a trilogy. Can you write a summary of the first book for somebody who hasn’t read it before?
• Think of some captions and speech / thought bubbles for every illustration in the book.
• Write a narrative (or playscript) version of the book.
• Retell the story from the point of view of the girl, the boy or the king.
• The girl has a red pen, the boy has a purple pen, and the king has an orange pen. Could you write an alternative version of this story with a character who has a different coloured pen?
• Create a set of ‘Wanted’ posters about the girl and boy. Why do the city’s soldiers want to capture them?
• Imagine that you could draw something, and it would come to life immediately. What adventures would you have?
• Think of words that describe different colours and shades of the same colour.
• Write some conversations between the boy and the girl at different stages of the book.
• Write a report for the city’s newspaper that describes how the boy and the girl helped to rescue the king.
• The final book in this series is called ‘Return’. Without reading it, could you imagine what might happen?
• Record a TV-style interview with the girl who answers questions about her adventure.
• Create a persuasive advert (in the form of a poster, a radio advert or a TV advert) to promote the magical sets of pens.
• Could you design a game based on this book? Could the characters go on a journey to collect the coloured pens?
• Can you plan, record and edit your own ‘movie’ version of this story?
• Watch this trailer for the book. Could you make one of your own?

Design Technology

• Create a model of the city using different materials.
• Could you create your own wordless book (or trilogy!)?
• Create your own puzzle map based on your school or local area. Could you think of clues to describe / represent different places?
• Find out the names of different colours in other languages.

Class Three All At Sea

Draw a roman chariot, you may also like, giraffes can’t dance, the day the crayons quit, the gruffalo, room on the broom, whatever next, charlie and the chocolate factory, leave a comment cancel reply.

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Journey - Aaron Becker

Subject: English

Age range: 7-11

Resource type: Unit of work

Last updated

29 July 2020

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