Power of Reading Yr 5/6
Year 5/6 have been learning about Shackleton’s journey to the South Pole. They have been writing inspirational speeches for Shackleton to say to his men at the point that they get stuck in the ice. They studied speech writing before they started.
‘Shackleton travels to the South Pole with volunteers he advertised for in the newspaper. The advert made it clear that it would be very dangerous but that if you survived you would be making history. 5000 people applied and he and his 2nd in command, Frank Wilde picked 27 out of the 5000. We have reached the point where they got stuck in the ice only a few hundred yards away from the open sea.’ Joseph
‘To write a good speech of this sort we studied speeches by other people like Joe Biden and films like ‘The Secret Life of Pets.’ We identified certain things speech writers do like repetition, complementing the audience, starting with the bad then go to the good then bad again but always end on the good. I am pleased with the result.’ Joseph
‘The speech writing was fun as well as tricky. I’m the kind of person who wants every word to be perfect but I also had to write quickly and passionately so i couldn’t be too fussy. It was probably good for me and I found I liked this kind of writing- maybe not quite as much as writing stories or poems but it was a really good challenge. Certainly I am pleased with the finished product…I think my speech is inspiring.’ Dolly
Power of Reading uses a range of high quality fiction, non-fiction and poetry and teachers immerse the pupils in experiences that help deepen their understanding of what it is to be a reader and a writer. Before any word is put to the page, the pupils are given a variety of opportunities to talk, draw and explore the text. This ensures that the pupils are fully engrossed in the text and therefore able to write ‘in role’ later on in the sequence. There is an element of surprise to each lesson; keeping the pupils and staff on their toes.
Writing with a purpose is at the heart of every unit. Whether that be a diary or a graphic novel, pupils have the freedom to choose their mode of expression. The Power of Reading approach is immediate and emotive. We’ve yet to find a child who hasn’t enjoyed this approach to the teaching of reading and writing.
Please see here Joseph speech and under it Dolly’s. We think they have produced some stirring stuff here- some very accomplished speech writing.
Please see here Dolly’s speech:-
‘We are tired, we are more than tired, we are drained. We have worked for days, toiling through nights. We are ravenous like beasts and cannot dine on a feast to settle it. The days are long and horridly tiresome- we have so little sleep. I know because I feel it too; I feel the bitter cold, the sleepless nights. These are our worst days, we have lost our hope, our morale is low, every day feels like our last. “It is not fair”, we say. We are stuck and there are 400 yards of endless work to go; 400 yards of bitter tears until final freedom.
So far lads, the journey has been a pleasant one so far. It seemed years ago now when we were in Plymouth with fish and chips and a wonderful old girl called ‘Endurance.’ The Atlantic Ocean was certainly the big blue! A wonderful place, though we lost a few ‘naughty’ ones to the beers! Oh and the delightful lands of Buenos Aires- green fields, blue skies and divine sunsets. South Georgia was… alright, just the weather was depressing like the AWFUL Sandwich Islands. The sea was like dishwater and the sand looked like dandruff. Weddle Sea was hard on poor Endurance, but we’ve come so far, we worked so hard. We can’t just stop! That’s a waste of a journey!
Men, this is your moment! NOW is your time! When I look out at you, I see ingenious scientists, noble warriors; I see heroes. Hurley, you are valuable to our crew, you are, your photos are beautiful and should be cherished. Hudson, you are so modest, yet so brilliant. You have quick, nimble fingers and a comical sense of humour that boosts morale any time of the day. Where would we be without you? (Probably somewhere off of the Spanish Coast!) But how could we forget our wonderful surgeon Alexander Maklin, you work so hard, we all rely on you. That’s only 3 of our amazing crew.
We have lots of time on our hands. Why not use it? We could train the dogs to pull a sledge to make penguin catching easier. While on the topic of dogs, why not dog races? I’m thinking: Wild V Hurley – who will win? But not all fun and games men – we need to defrost the boat, maybe repair it? We need to include everyone, why not some experiments? I’m so happy there is so much to do, though I’m hearbroken we have to set up our winter base here.
Now I can’t say I’m happy but if we say, ‘We can’t do, we won’t be able to.’ We must say, ‘We will go on, it is possible. Make it possible. Giving up is not an option.’ I believe in you. I believe in US. We will go on- it is possible. Say it loud. Make me proud.
Click the media player to hear Oli’s
Click the media player below to hear Esme’s speech: