When the Lights Went Out

Reading together

This story is designed for shared reading in Year 2. 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: puppet, shadow, stable, overlapped, stage. 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 why the first idea did not work and how the characters changed their plan. You can talk, point, sign or draw. Discuss who helped and how the characters might feel. Accept different personal responses.

Narrative map

Character

Arlo and Poppy, with Dad.

Setting

The living room on an evening with a power cut.

Problem

The power goes off before the puppet show.

First attempt

Trying by the window leaves the puppet hidden behind the stage.

New action

They use a safely placed battery torch and practise puppet shadows on the wall.

Resolution and ending

Their shadow show succeeds, and they want to perform it again.

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.