Beatrice’s Window

Reading together

Reading age 8–9 describes the audience for this adult-led Shared Reading book, not an independent reading-level assessment. This is a read-aloud story for Year 4 children aged 8–9, 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: frame, background, blurred, lens, compare. Invite a prediction about what might happen.

During reading

Use Talk Together for a prompt on each page. Talk about the marks, colours, sounds, space, movement and materials the characters explore. Notice their choices and how the artwork or performance changes. Compare what the characters expected with what they noticed. Invite children to join in with repeated words or gestures.

After reading

Use an adult-supported camera or a paper viewfinder to explore a familiar place. Compare viewpoints, ask permission before photographing people, and explain a choice. 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

Arts idea

Photograph a familiar courtyard in a new way

Beginning

Beatrice is making a photograph for the school entrance. She wants visitors to notice the little courtyard, where flowers grow beside an old bench. Oscar lends her a simple camera. The first photograph includes everything, even the overflowing paper bin beside the door.

Problem or question

The bin attracts more attention than the flowers

Exploration

She steadies the camera and chooses a closer view

Review and response

She compares three photographs and explains her preference

Try together

Use an adult-supported camera or a paper viewfinder to explore a familiar place. Compare viewpoints, ask permission before photographing people, and explain a choice.

Adult support

Prepare suitable materials and a comfortable space. Invite observations, comparisons and different interpretations. Children may talk, sign, gesture, draw, move or observe. Participation is optional.

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.