In English, Year 6 have begun the term by diving into the world of William Shakespeare. Before reading any pages, they were shown an image from a scene from Macbeth. Who was the mysterious man, wearing a crown? Was it Macbeth or was it a king? Who was the anguished lady standing next to him? We shall only find out when we continue reading!

When presented with a new text, it is really important to discuss predictions of the storylines; to get the children really thinking about what might happen, before they actually know. Additionally, we often talk about using our inference skills which is ‘reading between the lines’, based on what we know so far. Why is the lady by his side looking so worried?

As well as studying a text, it is also just as important to understand the author. For homework, Harry H has created this amazing puppet theatre, full of interesting facts and images; including, words that are and are not still used today. Did you know that ‘swagger’, ‘dwindle’ and ‘uncomfortable’ are 400-year-old words, created by Shakespeare, which are still used today?

Dominic P has also made this amazing representation of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, complete with quotations running through the beams.

Now, I ask you one thing – if you know the story of Macbeth, please do not tell our Year 6 children what happened – the element of surprise and intrigue is paramount here!

Mrs Dallamore