Beatrice’s Picnic Thirds

Reading together

Reading age 7–8 describes the audience for this adult-led Shared Reading book, not an independent reading-level assessment. This is a read-aloud story for Year 3 children aged 7–8, not an independent reading-level text. Read at the child’s pace. Children can listen, point, gesture, sign or join in with familiar words. Joining in is optional.

Before reading

Look at the title and cover. Introduce the characters and setting. Explore these five words with pictures, actions and familiar examples: third, centre, whole, separate, adjusted. Invite a prediction about what might happen.

During reading

Use Talk Together for a prompt on each page. Talk about this book’s numeracy focus: Recognise one third and two thirds of a whole and explain why thirds must be equal parts. Ask children how they know and invite another way to check. Compare what the characters expected with what they noticed. Invite children to join in with repeated words or gestures.

After reading

Retell the story in order. Explain the problem, what the characters tried and how they checked. Use a pre-marked paper circle with three equal sectors. Separate one third, join two thirds and rebuild the whole. Compare with an unequal three-part drawing. Describe what the characters noticed and how their ideas changed. Invite different experiences and respect a child’s choice not to share.

Explore and play

Numeracy idea

Recognise one third and two thirds of a whole and explain why thirds must be equal parts.

Notice together

Use the pictures and story to explain the idea. Ask how the characters checked. The story gives exact quantities; use practical materials to model them.

Try together

Use a pre-marked paper circle with three equal sectors. Separate one third, join two thirds and rebuild the whole. Compare with an unequal three-part drawing.

Adult support

Read aloud at the children’s pace. Offer objects, drawings, gestures and time to talk. Accept different ways of explaining an answer.

Activities with an adult

The eleven separate question cards include recall, word meaning, observation, “why”, inference and evidence questions and discussion. Read the questions and choices aloud and offer picture support. Explore five vocabulary words, build them from movable letters and order three story pictures. Model a vocabulary word for the child to copy; letter recognition and independent decoding are not required. Mouse dragging, finger dragging, tap controls and keyboard controls are available. Use the light green and red feedback as a chance to look at the story again.

Choose a few activities that suit the child’s interest. Offer pictures, drawings, gestures or spoken answers, and model word building when useful. Activities are optional.