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The Suitcase Kid

The Suitcase Kid by Jacqueline Wilson 

(111-slide editable PowerPoint-based teaching unit with 12 worksheets)

This unit of work for The Suitcase Kid contains a range of activities and lessons for Year 5/6 children of all abilities. Contents include:

- Predicting what might happen from details stated and implied

- Empathetic writing as different characters

- Exploring characterisation

- Jacqueline Wilson’s use of vocabulary

- Exploring key themes - loneliness, loss, coping with a ‘blended’ family, childhood

- Discussion of events, characters and themes - using decision alley, role play and drama techniques

- Writing in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd person

- Opportunities for a range of writing: letter writing; descriptive writing; explanations; diary writing; instructions; Haiku poetry; recounts; persuasive writing.

- Specific teaching of Grammar and Punctuation in line with the Primary English Curriculum: verbs; vocabulary development; use of bullet points; relative clauses in complex sentences; sentence types: statement, command, exclamation; question tags; hyphens to avoid ambiguity. Teachers will identify further opportunities which should be tailored to pupil’s needs.

- Cross curricular - science (Space; Healthy eating), D.T. (origami and model boats) PSHE (Home life; Healthy eating (Change4Life); Fiends and siblings; Stepfamilies; Career choices; Childline)

- 111-slide PowerPoint

- 12 pages of worksheets

- And a lot more!

The range of activities in this unit of work are intended to suggest opportunities around the novel The Suitcase Kid by Jacqueline Wilson. At least one copy of the novel will need to be used.  There are weblinks to extend and enrich pupil's learning and teachers will identify further PSHE opportunities arising from these activities.

The whole unit of work could be completed in about 2 weeks, or extended to half a term’s work using the suggested links.

It is not intended to be a prescriptive unit of work where all activities are worked through slavishly, although it is structured chronologically. Teachers should select from, and adapt, these resources to meet the needs of the pupils 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.

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