The Puddle Boat Race

Reading together

This story is designed for shared reading in Year 1. It is not a formally assessed independent reading level. An adult can model fluent reading, revisit sentences and invite children to join in. 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: puddle, sail, raft, leaf, route. Invite a prediction about what might happen.

During reading

Use Talk Together for a prompt on each page. Pause at the problem and the first attempt. Wonder aloud about another plan. Encourage children to point to what changed in the illustration and join in with repeated phrases.

After reading

Use the three pictures to retell the beginning, problem and ending. Explain what changed and how the characters helped. You can talk, point, sign or draw. Discuss who helped and how the characters might feel. Accept different personal responses.

Narrative map

Character

Alice and Sam, with Mum supervising.

Setting

An enclosed garden with a very shallow rain puddle.

Problem

Alice’s toy boat tips, and then a leaf blocks both boats.

First attempt

Alice blows harder, which tips her tall-sailed boat.

New action

Mum helps shorten the sail; the children clear the leaf and blow gently.

Resolution and ending

Both boats reach the finish together, and the children take them inside to dry.

Activities with an adult

The eleven separate question cards include recall, word meaning, feelings, simple “why” 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. Invite children to say the word, notice its letters and build it; offer letter and sound support where needed. 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 at a time, according to the child’s interest. Use large play blocks, drawings or gestures to act out the story together.