This term in English, our Year 4 pupils have been studying Michael Morpurgo’s The Butterfly Lion. It is a heart-warming tale of friendship, loyalty, overcoming adversities and perseverance. The story is based on the friendship between a boy called Bertie and his rescued orphan white lion cub from the African veld. Despite Bertie being sent to a boarding school in England, and the lion sold to a French circus, this friendship is one that will never be forgotten.

Studying the text opened up the discussion of whether the children felt animals should be kept in captivity, or not, and why. They discussed the difference between a persuasive piece of writing and a balanced argument and chose which style of writing they wanted to present. They explored reasons such as: looking after endangered animals, protecting them from poachers, letting them live free in the wild, and not interfering with nature. The children studied persuasive vocabulary to help them encourage the reader to come to the same conclusion as them. That might be useful for them when they are trying to convince their parents to allow them to stay up beyond their bedtime!