Daniel’s Night Garden

Reading together

Reading age 5–6 describes the audience for this adult-led Shared Reading book, not an independent reading-level assessment. This is a read-aloud story for Year 1 children aged 5–6, 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: wax, pale, damp, strokes, puddle. 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

With an adult, draw broad marks with white wax crayon and add a thin washable watercolour wash. Explore what appears. Keep water shallow and use age-appropriate materials. 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

Make a picture of the garden at night

Story structure

A child begins with an idea, notices something unexpected, explores choices with another person and shares an outcome of their own.

Notice together

Talk about marks, materials, colours, space, sounds or movements. Look for the choices the characters make. Art can have different outcomes.

Try together

With an adult, draw broad marks with white wax crayon and add a thin washable watercolour wash. Explore what appears. Keep water shallow and use age-appropriate materials.

Adult support

An adult prepares age-appropriate materials, supports safe movement and keeps the sound level comfortable. Children may watch, talk, gesture, sign or join in. 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.