Hugh’s Rain Music

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: instrument, score, rhythm, volume, silence. 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

Listen to weather from a safe place. Make a quiet sound piece with agreed cues, comfortable volume and room for silence. Compare listeners’ ideas. 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 music that changes like rain

Beginning

Rain taps the music room window while Hugh and Rose wait for their group. Hugh hears a few light drops, then a sudden rush. He wants to make a piece that changes like the weather, using a drum, shakers and wooden blocks.

Problem or question

Playing everything loudly hides the small sounds

Exploration

They agree a visible signal before changing sections

Review and response

They ask a listener which change suggested movement

Try together

Listen to weather from a safe place. Make a quiet sound piece with agreed cues, comfortable volume and room for silence. Compare listeners’ ideas.

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.