Let’s find out about Beijing

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By Kay Clifford — Early Years Leader and adult tutor

This poster gives children a flavour of life in Beijing. It features some difficult vocabulary and is most suitable for Y2 readers. However, Y1 children will enjoy the text and will be able to read many of the words in a shared reading session.

Shared learning and teaching

Look at the poster together and ask the children what they think it might be about. Refer to the title, photographs and headings. What type of text is it?
Ask the children if they know anything about Beijing. Write the facts they know in the K section of a KWFL grid like the one in the activity sheet. This can be enlarged to A3 to be shared with the class or downloaded for the IWB from Primary Resource Bank. It doesn’t matter if some of the children’s facts are not quite right – they can check facts later when they have found out more information about Beijing.
Ask the children if there is anything they would like to find out about Beijing. * In pairs, compose questions. Remind them that questions begin with words such as: Where…? Who…? Why…? How…? What….? Share the questions, writing them on the class copy of the KWFL grid.
Choose one question and model finding the answer. Read that section of the text together. Remind the children to use previous reading strategies to decode the text. Do the same with another question.
During the next shared class session look at the F part of the KWFL grid (How did I find it out?). Ask how they have been finding out about Beijing. Add the ideas to the grid.
Read the poster through together. Tell the children you will be asking what they have learned about Beijing at the end of the session. Record ideas in the L section of the KWFL grid.
Compare what the children have learned (L) to what they knew (K) at the beginning.