Leon and the Place Between

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Look at the front cover of the book and discuss what it might be about. Who is Leon? Where is ‘The Place Between’. Are there any clues in the illustrations? What does ‘Let the magic begin…’ mean? Pause the story at the point when Leon is about to enter the box. Should he go in? Make a list of ‘for’ and ‘against’ arguments.

Landing (If time allows): Invite real-life circus acts into school to perform to the children or chn to create their own talent show. Spelling Seeds have been designed to complement Writing Roots by providing weekly, contextualised sequences of sessions for the teaching of spelling that include open-ended investigations and opportunities to practise and apply within meaningful and purposeful contexts, linked (where relevant) to other areas of the curriculum and a suggestion of how to extend the investigation into home learning. A lovely read for your KS1 class, this magical adventure is a wonderful opportunity for some great learning, including lots of fun maths and literacy activities around magic and superheroes. Leon and the Place Between Literacy Activities Leon attends a circus show with his friends who are all hoping to lose themselves to the magic and mystery of the event. Leon though is sceptical until the magic begins and he is instantaneously bewitched. Like Alice in Wonderland, he is soon transported to another realm and place where the 'magic takes you' and never lets go.Watch this video showing how the illustrator created the images for the book. Could you use similar techniques to create images for your own story (or for a popular children’s book)? If you are about to start this wonderful book in your literacy lessons, this bundle could save you so much time! Everything is saved in a format so that you can edit as much or as little as you like. Armistice Day: A Collection of Remembrance - Spark Interest and Educate Children about Historical Moments Use a ‘place between’ in a story of your own. Where could your story’s ‘place between’ be? Where is it between? What is it like? What happens there? We've got a range of lovely activities perfect for use alongside this book. Why not challenge your class to add a hidden chapter to the story, or write an alternate ending? Your class could write up their ideas on these Wizard Writing Frames to create a magical classroom display of writing. Or for a fun starter task, why not try our Magic Word Search , featuring related words such as magic, potions and wand.

This is athree-session spelling seed for the book Leon and the Place Between by Angela McAllister. Below is the coverage from Appendix 1 of the National Curriculum 2014. Leon goes to the place between, an almost liminal space between the magical and the real world. I think that this is a great point of creativity for children to explore, particularly in a sense of what is inside the place between and the morality behind being sent there. An equally interesting topic of debate is the magician, who seems so mysterious yet almost ominous, creating a feeling of awe and unease. It would definitely be valuable to talk about how an author creates such conflicting feelings. How do the illustrations in this book compare with those in other picture books? Which do you prefer? Why? Look at the use of different fonts and font sizes in the story. Could you use a similar effect to publish a story of your own using a word processor or publishing software?Look at the illustrations of the show tent before and after the show. How do they compare? Can you create two pictures of a place before and after an event takes place?

This book about a boy and his siblings who go to the circus and come across the great magician called Abdul Kazam is just thrilling. It captures the real tension and excitement of the circus and live performance in the best way. The facial expressions of the characters and the way the text is presented gives the readers a magical experience as they move through the narrative. Imagine that Leon went through one of the ‘doorways to Somewhere Else’. Write a story that describes what happened to him next.

Although the illustrations are a bit creepy and questionable at times, it really draws the children in and makes the story unique. The vintage traditional circus feel is really nostalgic too and lends itself to a fun historical context of circus through the ages. There is a Spelling Seed session for every week of the associated Writing Root. Coverage: Word List Words