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A game to share, a class to inspire

Who, where and what?

EnglishYear 1LiteracyFree

Listen as your teacher reads each story. Find the detail that answers the question.

What it is about

Retrieve characters, setting and explicit events from a supplied short text.

Year 1 · 5–6 years · 30 challenges

Before you begin

  • Oral vocabulary, listening to stories and early sound awareness.

What the class will do

  1. Choose and explain · 30 challenges

    Who, where and what?

    Retrieve characters, setting and explicit events from a supplied short text.

Using it in class

Teacher reads every short text, question and choice aloud; reread on request. Give quiet thinking time, then partner talk. Ask pupils to point out the words that support their answer. Use short rounds. These original texts support listening comprehension, not independent decoding assessment.

Give everyone time to think and discuss before one pupil acts at the board. The class explains and confirms together; hints and explanations stay until you move on.

Use an up-to-date browser on a computer connected to a whiteboard or shared display. Touch, mouse and keyboard; optional audio and reduced motion. No pupil accounts or personal devices.

Choose from 5 challenges up to the full activity. Discussion determines the duration: you set the pace.

A look inside the activities

Choose and explain

Asha makes tickets for a pretend bus. Ben counts the tickets and Jo drives. Who counts the tickets?

  • Asha
  • Jo
  • Ben
Explanation and discussion

Ben counts the tickets. Asha makes them, while Jo has the pretend driving job.

What job does each person have in the game?

Choose and explain

Amir turns the pages of a big book while Nell reads the words. The class joins in with a repeated line. Who turns the pages?

  • Nell
  • Amir
  • The whole class
Explanation and discussion

Amir turns the pages. Nell reads, and the class joins in with part of the story.

Which part does the class say together?

Choose and explain

For a class display, children draw houses on a long sheet. The teacher adds a road beneath them. What does the teacher add?

  • More houses
  • A road
  • A river
Explanation and discussion

The teacher adds the road. The children have already drawn the houses on the sheet.

Where does the road go in relation to the houses?

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