Florence’s Stone Bowl

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: clay, rim, base, pattern, firing. 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

Shape a small bowl with suitable modelling material and adult support. Compare thickness by touch. Let an experienced adult handle any kiln firing. 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 comfortable clay bowl for stones

Beginning

Florence wants to make a bowl for the smooth stones she keeps by her window. Grandad gives her soft clay and a wooden board. Alice rolls a small piece beside her. They agree to make bowls that feel comfortable in their hands.

Problem or question

A thin part of the bowl begins to crack

Exploration

She turns the bowl and feels the walls as she pinches

Review and response

She tests decoration on spare clay before choosing a simple line

Try together

Shape a small bowl with suitable modelling material and adult support. Compare thickness by touch. Let an experienced adult handle any kiln firing.

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.