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The Boy in the Dress

The Boy in the Dress by David Walliams (Powerpoint and worksheets) - Year 5 / Year 6  

The range of activities in this brand new resource from Teacher of Primary is based on David Walliams’s first novel The Boy in the Dress. It is not an autobiography but it was written very much with his twelve year old self in mind. At least one copy of the novel will need to be used.  There are weblinks to extend and enrich children’s learning and teachers will identify PSHE opportunities arising from the activities.

There are plenty of reading, writing and speaking & listening opportunities occurring naturally throughout the unit. There are activities designed to support the statutory requirements of the English National Curriculum for the teaching of vocabulary, grammar and punctuation, and specific opportunities to explore the more challenging domains such as the use of the subjunctive and modal verbs. Teachers will identify further opportunities which should be tailored to the needs of the children in their classes.

The whole unit of work could be completed in about 2 weeks, or extended to half a term’s work using the suggested links.  Teachers should select from, and adapt, these resources to meet the needs of the children they teach. There are some potentially sensitive issues explored throughout the story and teachers should make their own decisions about which elements to include. All the links to external sites are valid at the date of publication but should be checked before use.

David Walliams’s novels for children tackle difficult issues such as divorce, bullying, a vulnerable parent, etc. and he always writes with the child’s viewpoint in mind. There are other novels by the same author which can be used to draw comparisons and make contrasts.

Reading objectives:

•    Draw inferences such as inferring characters’ feelings, thoughts and motives from their actions.
•    Predict what might happen from details stated and implied.
•    Retrieve, record and present information from non-fiction.
•    Distinguish between fact and opinion.
•    Discuss and evaluate how authors use language, including figurative language, considering the impact on the reader.
•    Recognise themes such as loss (non-statutory).
•    Pupils should have guidance about, and feedback on, the quality of their explanations and contributions to discussions (non statutory).

Writing objectives:

     Describe settings, characters and atmosphere and integrate dialogue to convey character.
     Draft and write by:
•    identifying the audience for, and purpose of the writing, selecting the appropriate form and using other similar writing as models for their own using further organisational and presentational devices to structure text and to guide the reader, e.g. headings, underlining).
•    Use a wide range of devices to build cohesion within and across paragraphs.
•    Plan writing by identifying the audience for and purpose of the writing, selecting the appropriate form and using other similar writing as models for their own.
•    In order to develop creative and imaginative writing, pupils can be encouraged to adopt, create and sustain a range of roles, responding appropriately to others in role (both verbally and non-verbally) (non-statutory)
•    Create own improvised and scripted drama for each other (non-statutory)

Vocabulary, grammar and punctuation:

Pupils should be taught to develop their understanding of vocabulary, grammar and punctuation concepts by:
•    recognising vocabulary and structures that are appropriate for formal writing, including subjunctive forms.
Use of:
•    Dialogue punctuation
•    Fronted adverbials
•    Modal verbs
•    Similes
•    Expanded noun phrases
•    Investigate how words are related by meaning as synonyms.

To preview The Boy in the Dress by David Walliams please click on the PowerPoint images.

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