Where The Poppies Now Grow

Where The Poppies Now Grow

The carefree and innocent childhood for Ben and his best friend Ray becomes a distant memory when they join the army to serve their country, as the Great War rages around them.

Set during WWI, in simple rhyme, Where The Poppies Now Grow takes readers on a journey through powerful words and illustrations, paying tribute to honour all those who sacrificed so much for peace.

Main Focus: Story Overview

It may be useful to allow your KS1 / KS2 class to listen to this brief overview of the story and the context in which this book has been written before starting.

Main Focus: PowerPoint with Discussion Notes and Teaching Points

This is our PowerPoint of the book Where The Poppies Now Grow. You will still need to purchase the book as this isn’t a PDF of the book itself.

We have taken a range of pages and created discussions to have with your class. The PowerPoint explores in great depth the images from the story.

We have also included slides that cover wider knowledge of elements of the book. E.g. Poppy Appeal and Louis Bleriot.

Main Focus: Jethro Tull - Inventor - Comprehension

If you look at the page we first meet the characters Ray and Ben, you will see Ben riding on a horse drawn hoe. We have designed a comprehension and non fiction resource based on this.

This was first invented by Jethro Tull in 1700s as well as other farming equipment.

Your class will read the information and answer the questions. We have also included a multiple choice resource for this activity to cater for KS2 classes.

Main Focus: Vocabulary Extension

This resource focuses on some of the useful vocabulary used in the story for your class to explore further.

Your Ks1 / Ks2 class will first research the definitions of the words or use the definitions page we have created. Your class will then place the words into the context of the story.

Main Focus: Adjectives

In this activity, your Year 2 / Year 3 / Year 4 class will read the passage from Where The Poppies Now Grow and identify adjectives used by the author.

We have created a few resources whereby your class can highlight the adjectives, colour code the adjectives or answer questions linked to the adjectives.

Main Focus: Labelling a Uniform

In this activity, your KS1 and KS2 class will look at the word bank and label the diagram of the WWI soldier.

Main Focus: Uniform Comprehension

In this activity your class will read the information and answer the questions from the comprehension.

We have also included a multiple choice question sheet for your Year 2, Year 3 or Year 4 class.

Video Resource: Uniform Explored

This is a useful resource for your Ks1 or KS2 class to watch.

The ‘soldier’ in the video clip explores the uniform of a World War I soldier and gives a brief explanation of their function.

Video Resource: Variations in Uniform and Weapons

This is another fantastic resource that shows a full range of clothing for soldiers as well as exploring the weapons used.

Main Focus: Characters - Contrast

In this resource linked to the book Where The Poppies Now Grow, your Year 2 / Year 3 / Year 4 kids will look at the characters Ben and Ray as kids and at the start of the Great War.

Your KS1 / Ks2 class will write a caption for each picture and then use adjectives to describe the pictures. The two images are totally contrasting.

We have created an example for your class to compare and contrast once they’ve completed theirs.

Did they include anything  that was the same as the example? Any synonyms? Did they get the general tone of each image?

Main Focus: Louis Bleriot - Newspaper Report 1909

As we see the boys Ray and Ben ‘flying’ into the barn nearly half way through the book, we see that there are newspaper cuttings of Louis Bleriot nailed to the walls.

In this resource, we have taken the original newspaper article from 1909 and designed it to make it a usable resource for your KS1 / Ks2 class.

We have also created a comprehension resource to go alongside this activity.

This is a historical activity for your class to complete, gaining insight to what was going on at the time in which the story was set.

Landscape over 100 Years Later

This is a fantastic bank of pictures to show what the trenches, craters, fortifications, bunkers and a few others objects look like over 100 year after WW1 ended.