This half term, we’ve started reading Nothing by Mick Inkpen. We’re already thoroughly enjoying the story and are very eager to find out what happens to Nothing next.
We began by making predictions about what — or who — Nothing might be:
I think it’s because they’ve left nothing behind.
I think it’s the teddy bear’s name.
We also explored how Nothing might be feeling after being trapped in the attic for many years. The children suggested a wide range of emotions, including frightened, scared, lonely and apprehensive.
Today, we brought the story to life through role play, using a strategy called “thought tracking.” The children imagined they were Nothing’s inner thoughts and described how they would feel after finally escaping the attic. They used the sentence stem:
“I would feel… because…”
It was wonderful to see such thoughtful and imaginative responses as the children deepened their understanding of the character’s emotions.
