Y6 London 2018
Welcome to the 2018-19 Reading Gladiators challenges. Let the reading begin!
There are schools in this group:
- Just Imagine
- Beam County Primary School
- Southwood Primary School
- St Matthias School
- Archbishop Sumner C of E Primary School
- Avonmore Primary School
- Scott Wilkie Primary School
- Carlton Primary School
- Cubitt Town Junior School
- Keir Hardie Primary School
- Rosetta Primary School
- St Paul with St Luke C of E Primary School
- Lathom Junior School
- Brampton Primary School
- Cherry Lane Primary School
- Whitchurch Primary School & Nursery, Stanmore
- Elmhurst Primary, Upton Park
- La Fontaine Academy
- Hallsville Primary School
- Essex Primary School
- St Helen’s Catholic Primary, Newham
Updates
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Submission by St Matthias School
St Matthias Outdoor Reading Area
Yr6 RG@St Matthias decided to create an outdoor reading area in the playground. They have organised sponsored read at school, wrote to local businesses, created an online 'gofundme' page and sold ice-lollies during lunch time to raise money. They have worked extremely hard to motivate children throughout this project. They have exceeded their target amount and they are still getting more donations towards the project. Next week, they will order the summer house that they chosen. They will also be ordering the furniture and books. They have thoroughly enjoyed the project and can't wait to decorate it before they leave.
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Submission by Lathom Junior School
Lathom’s Reading Newsletter
We chose this with the hope that next year's Reading Gladiators are able to carry on with it. We had great fun writing, editing and formatting it!
Comments
16th Jul 2019, 1:41pm
Well done Lathom - this makes fascinating reading and we think your school is really lucky to have such a great resource! It's great that you enjoyed putting it together and we hope you continue with your journalistic skills at secondary school. -
Submission by Lathom Junior School
The Journey of Odysseus
We decided to print off a map showing Odysseus's journey, then created 3D elements to represent some of his adventures. We began pre-Odyssey, with the Trojan Horse, then added a siren (the detail hasn't really come out on camera), one of the cattle of Helios, some lotus fruits and a ship representing Odysseus and his men. Unfortunately, we ran out of time to add the cyclops and quotes as originally planned. However, we really enjoyed the task and didn't want to stop when it was time to go home!
Comments
6th May 2019, 9:18pm It's great that you enjoyed the task - creating a map of a character's journey is a great way to reflect on a story. The artistic details you have added look great. -
Submission by Rosetta Primary School
Odysseus’ journey home
Our Reading Gladiators have worked extremely hard to demonstrate the difficulties and route taken by Odysseus’ journey home. We hope that you like our map.
Comments
6th May 2019, 9:13pm You have clearly put a great deal of effort into your map and it is a beautiful piece of work. It really shows the challenges faced by Odysseus to reach home. Well done. -
Submission by La Fontaine Academy
La Fontaine Academy Tamburlaine’s Elephants
As a precursor to a discussion on identity, La Fontaine Academy Reading Gladiators present their depiction of Rusti's changing sense of identity. Looking forward to some interesting ideas coming up next week!
Comments
4th Mar 2019, 11:03am
Some useful stimuli here for your discussions. We'd love to here your thoughts. Well done! -
Submission by Essex Primary School
Rusti – Essex Primary School
The changes of Rusti's life.
Comments
4th Mar 2019, 10:59am A striking portrayal here including some interesting elements. I'm sure it provoked an indepth discussion. -
Submission by Lathom Junior School
Portrait of Rusti
We decided to create a portrait of Rusti, so we started by thinking of different images we could use to represent him. We included a spear and a sword to represent him being a warrior, and a map to show where he was from. The elephants represent his growing interest in the animals and the shackles show the fact that he took Kavi as a slave.
We have only just started this book but are enjoying it so far. We look forward to lots of discussion about Rusti's identity as it continues to change!
Comments
4th Mar 2019, 10:58am A great start here. I'm sure you will think of further images to add to your collage as you progress through the story. You might also like to look at some of the other entries. Do let us know your thoughts on Rusti and Kavi's perilous journey. -
Submission by Scott Wilkie Primary School
Changing Sense of Identity
The children have worked very hard to show how much the character of Kavi/Kavita has changed throughout the story. They used different mediums to depict the life of the character during each phase.
Comments
4th Mar 2019, 10:44am They certainly have worked hard! What a wonderful display and superb book selections too - I hope you have inspired the rest of the class! -
Submission by Carlton Primary School
Carlton Primary School – Tamburlaine’s Elephants
We decided to do a portrait of Rusti. When I asked the children what they would like to focus on, our discussion kept coming back to the dichotomies in Rusti's story, and so - inspired by a photography project that has been in our school reception area for a long time - we settled on a split frame: Rusti the warrior, hungry for glory and the adventure of battle, and Rusti the mahout, after he uncovers the painful truth about his past and develops a deeper sense of self-awareness. Along the way, the children generated lots of ideas for the detail, including a vision of what he sees (in his mind's eye as well as literally in his eyes): a dagger in one eye and a tower in the other (visible if you zoom in). There is also helmet vs a turban, a bow and arrow, a gold bracelet - and of course an elephant! The children selected some lines from the text that they felt captured the essence of each of the two sides of his personality. We had a lot of fun putting it together!
Comments
4th Mar 2019, 10:31am A very good composition here Carlton and it sounds like you had some very worthwhile discussions about symbolism and identity too. Well done! -
St Matthias yr6 RG – winners of the poetry mini-challenge
Yr6 love the prize that they have won. Each book is signed with an individual message from the author. They are such an enthusiastic group and can’t wait for our RG session each week.
Comments
26th Jan 2019, 1:03am
You can see Karl Nova performing some of his poems here https://clpe.org.uk/poetryline/poets/nova-karl -
Submission by St Matthias School
‘The Listeners’ by Yr6 RG@St Matthias
Our term started 8th January and so we didn't have long to prepare our performance as we had a trip as well. However, we really enjoyed putting this together. All the poems in the book were interesting in their own ways. We liked this poem the best as we enjoyed the lively discussions and some of us had some creepy stories for what may have happened to 'the traveller'.
Yr6 St Matthias RG from Just Imagine on Vimeo.
Comments
10th Jan 2019, 9:06pm St Matthias, thank you for entertaining us with another of your signature performances. Great to see you enjoying poetry and sharing with your classmates. -
St Matthias Reading Gladiators party!
At our Christmas RG party, Year 6 entertained their guests with their favourite poem, Tyger, Tyger.
Comments
20th Dec 2018, 9:13pm Fantastic St Matthius. I bet that was a performance to remember! -
Francesca Stine Diamond Nines
Now that we’ve finished reading the book, we worked in pairs and threes to rank different adjectives that could describe Francesca Stine. As you can see, we all agreed that she was monstrous and heartless, but were in some disagreement about whether she could be described as innovative, sinister or clever.
Comments
13th Dec 2018, 5:33pm It's so interesting to see these. I always think that great discussion can come from the things we disagree on. -
Submission by La Fontaine Academy
La Fontaine Academy Strange Star Reading Theatre
La Fontaine Reading Gladiators performing the reading theatre from week 3. We had a great discussion about the characters' personalities and motives and how they would talk to each other. They loved performing!
Comments
9th Dec 2018, 9:54pm Your enjoyment of completing this mini challenge was clear for all to hear! I think you have done an excellent job of using expression really thoughtfully to capture the personalities of the different characters. You have good fluency and great confidence. A thoroughly enjoyable listen.10th Dec 2018, 5:13pm Fantastic job, La Fontaine Reading Gladiators. -
Submission by Lathom Junior School
Reading Theatre Lathom Junior
Here is our attempt at Reading Theatre! Apologies for the video of the floor - we wanted to focus on our voices so we decided not to show our faces. Due to school life being busy recently, we didn't have much time to prepare for this mini-challenge, but we were determined to enter it anyway! Enjoy!
https://videocentralhd.lgfl.org.uk/Play.aspx?id=n7Q4Iqb14gchk3Comments
9th Dec 2018, 9:49pm This is a great effort Lathom Gladiators. I'm glad you focused on your voices - that is the most important part of Reader's Theatre and anything else can be distracting. Your enthusiasm really shone through in your submission and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it. Thank you for being so determined to take part.10th Dec 2018, 5:15pm Hello Lathom Gladiators. It's always really busy at this end of term, so we are delighted that you took the time to enter this challenge. It was a pleasure to listen to your submission. -
Submission by St Matthias School
St Matthias Readers
St Matthias Yr6 gladiators mini-challenge for Strange Star
Comments
9th Dec 2018, 9:33pm A very accomplished Reader's Theatre St Matthius. You had good expression and fluency and sounded very confident. Well done.10th Dec 2018, 5:16pm Hello St Matthias Gladiators. You always impress us with your expressive reading and you have done so again with this Readers Theatre submission. Well done everyone.13th Dec 2018, 3:44pmThank you for the kind comments. We are impressed by all the entries from the other schools. -
Submission by Hallsville Primary School
Reader’s Theatre at Hallsville
We had a brilliant time getting to grips with this chapter of Strange Star for our Reader's Theatre entry. We started by doing some drama and used the thought tracking technique so that we could get to grips with how the characters were feeling at certain points. This really helped us to think about how each character might be speaking. We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed creating it.
Comments
9th Dec 2018, 9:29pm This is a brilliant example of Reader's Theatre in action Hallsville. Your expression, fluency and confidence were so good that I felt I could be listening to a radio drama. Well done.10th Dec 2018, 5:17pm Wow! Hallsville Gladiators what a fantastic submission. It sounded very professional and accomplished. -
St Matthias RG ‘lost in deep thoughts’
We are loving this book so much! We are always taken by surprise by the unexpected events that are unfolding before us… At the moment we are discussing our thoughts on Francesca… We think she is very ambitious and extremely clever. But we think that because she is so clever she feels that she needs to prove herself in a ‘man’s world’. We predict that Francesca will be experimenting on Lizzie and use lightening! We think that there may be a chance that she is trying to find a way to bring Lizzie’s mum back from the dead.
Comments
30th Nov 2018, 11:06am What interesting comments St Matthius - deep thinking indeed! -
Documenting the Reading Journey
We are racing through Strange Star at Hallsville this month and are captivated by the gripping characters and plot. Our reading journals have been fundamental in developing our understanding and many of us have been adding to them after the sessions at home. It has been fascinating to track certain characters and has generated a lot of discussion about how some of them develop as the story goes on. We can’t wait to find out how it ends and are currently very concerned for Lizzie after reading chapter 23!
Comments
28th Nov 2018, 9:53am What insightful observations about the characters! Your reading journals are very impressive and it's great to hear how they have been supporting your understanding. Strange Star is certainly an unputtdownable read. -
Submission by Lathom Junior School
A Bittersweet Story
We all worked together to create this picture called A Bittersweet Story. You can see the Black Horse and lots of dark colours, showing despair and Emmaline running towards Foxfire (who's surrounded by rainbow colours), representing hope. You can also see Emmaline's red ticket and Anna ill in bed amongst the skulls around the Black Horse's feet, as those contribute to the feeling of despair in the book. There isn't much detail in the background, because we noticed that a lot of the illustrations in the book used shading to create the background rather than detailed pictures.
Comments
6th Nov 2018, 1:37pm Just Imagine comment: thank you for sharing your artwork and explaining how you created it. We appreciated the thought that had gone into the composition. Did you use pencil? We wondered if you have ever experimented with smudgy charcoal and pastels? They are a bit messy!!6th Nov 2018, 5:08pmWow! Good job! Lathom Junior School have some really talented artists! Lydia Trapnell (Reading Recovery Teacher, Filton Avenue, Bristol) -
Submission by Scott Wilkie Primary School
Bittersweet
Scott Wilkie Primary School entry
Comments
6th Nov 2018, 2:37pm Just Imagine comment: This is a really striking image and we were fascinated by your description of the process. Thank you for sharing this moving depiction of the bittersweet theme with us.6th Nov 2018, 5:11pmA very poignant display that is very topical for Remembrance Sunday! It's wonderful you were all able to contribute with your beautiful poppies and you thought to include some artifacts from World War 2. Lydia Trapnell (Reading Recovery Teacher, Filton Avenue Primary School, Bristol) -
Submission by St Paul with St Luke C of E Primary School
Artwork and Book Reviews – The Secret Horses of Briar Hill
Saint Paul with Saint Luke's students all said they enjoyed the book and were incredibly surprised with Thomas being The Horse Lord ("That was a massive plot twist!"). We discussed how we could mix art with a book review and the students decided to draw the horse and leave their reviews the items used to make a protective rainbow shield for Foxfire (the horse). One student stated as she was sketching her item, "That way, we know Foxfire is protected in our world." We're looking forward to the next book!
Comments
6th Nov 2018, 5:25pm Just Imagine comment: Thank you st Luke and St Paul for sharing your thoughts about the book. Combining your artwork with the book review is a good idea because it attracts attention. and then you want to stop to read what has been written. We hope this has encouraged other chidren in your class to pick up the book and read it. -
Year 6 illustration by Yemi
An image unpicking the themes and ideas at the story ‘The Secret Horses of Briar Hill’.
Comments
5th Nov 2018, 6:57pm Hello, Yemi. Thank you for sharing your beautiful illustration wth us. I think you are convying a lot of emotion through body language, especialy with the way the girl is hugging her knees.You have picked out a lot of the sad themes. What did you think about the ending of the story?6th Nov 2018, 5:05pmHi Yemi! Really like how your fantastic artwork incorporates themes from the whole story! I'm going to show my Gladiators in their session tomorrow. Thank you. Lydia Trapnell (Reading Recovery Teacher, Filton Avenue, Bristol) -
Year 6 illustration by Hamida Choudhury
A brilliant illustration of the ‘bittersweet’ story of ‘The Secret Horse of Briar Hill’.
Comments
5th Nov 2018, 6:47pm Hello to Rosetta Gladiators and congratulations to Hamida on producing this superb response to the themes of Hope and Despair. I can see lots of details from the story.6th Nov 2018, 5:15pmHi Hamida! Thanks for your beautiful illustration! I will share it with my Reading Gladiators in their session tomorrow. Lydia Trapnell (Reading Recovery Teacher, Filton Avenue Primary School, Bristol) -
Symbolism and allegory
Year 6 Gladiators at La Fontaine Academy had a great discussion today about symbolism and allegory – lots of ideas!
Comments
1st Nov 2018, 4:43pm Hello La Fontaine Gladiators. It sounds as though you had a fascinating discussion. I hope you enjoyed the book too. -
Mini-Challenge
At Lathom, we’ve been working on our artwork for the mini challenge. We’ve loved reading The Secret Horses of Briar Hill, and we’re looking forward to the next book!
Comments
18th Oct 2018, 5:24pm We are eagerly anticipating the submission of you mini-challenge. Lovely to se you working so well together as a group. We hope you enjoy Strange Star. -
Emmaline’s Secret
Hallsville’s Gladiators spent some of the first session yesterday trying to work out what type of character we think Emmaline is from the very first illustration of her. We can’t wait to read on at home to find out more about her secret…
Comments
4th Oct 2018, 7:23pm This is so beautiful. Thank you for sharing. I am sure other schools will be inspired to do similar. -
Let the challenge begin!
Hello to all Year 6 Reading Gladiators in London We are looking forward to hearing what you think about this year’s books. Be sure to post an update and tell us how you are getting on.
Comments