James Clements, education writer and former primary teacher, shares ideas for celebrating the master storyteller this February… Inspire KS2 pupils to write their own story using a classic tale to raise awareness of an issue that matters to them, with advice from Sir Michael Morpurgo himself. Ideas include writing a persuasive letter from the main character’s perspective in boarding school, a survival guide for lions and a plot outline for the novel. Michael Morpurgo Month takes place every February. What’s the theme for Michael Morpurgo Month 2023? This is a beautifully constructed story-within-a-story. When a boy awakens after being stranded on a sandbank, he finds himself confronted by the legendary King Arthur himself. The King then proceeds to tell his story.

This BBC radio play of the story is free to listen to, which makes this a valuable text for comparing play scripts and prose, and how the same story can be told in different ways. Scandinavian robins migrate to Britain to escape the harsh winter. It is a long and exhausting journey; some of them survive, managing to find food, mild weather and a mate while others unfortunately don’t make it. Michael Morpurgo’s story describes a brave robin’s migration, an epic journey through dark woods, above high mountains, through blinding blizzard and across the raging sea. The little bird, energized by the dream of home, will keep his vigilance awake, persisting in remaining strong.Michael Morpurgo was born in 1943. He went to school in London, Sussex and Kent and later to the University of London where he studied English and French. He became a primary school teacher and it was during his time as a teacher that he realised he wanted to be a writer. Michael has described how his class were bored with a story he was sharing with them and how he decided to create something more exciting for them instead. Each of our Michael Morpurgo activities have been designed in collaboration with our team of experienced teachers, especially for children aged 7-11 years old. They’re ideal for developing your learners’ literacy skills in a fun and engaging way.

These KS1 activity ideas for The Butterfly Lion ask children to imagine what life would be like with a lion for a best friend. This story of adventure, survival and friendship is a staple of the KS2 classroom. As well as being a masterclass in evocative descriptive writing, it provides an excellent opportunity for teaching narrative point of view. Where My Wellies Take Me, by Michael and Clare Morpurgo, uses 40 evocative poems to celebrate the wonder of childhood, germinating a love of verse that will stay with pupils for many years to come.Helped by his new friends, Omar becomes Son of Gulliver – a role that requires him to develop peacemaking abilities.

This text can provide a great model for first-person writing. Children can invent new adventures for Pinocchio or retell another familiar story with themselves in the role of the protagonist. Times of war Friend or Foe Are you looking for ways to engage your learners in storytelling this term? Well, we’re here to help with our range of Michael Morpurgo activities and storytelling resources, created in partnership with Harper Collins. This resource shares an extract from the story, describing the flamingos that live on the salt flats of the Camargue. It also features suggested discussion activities considering the author’s craft. This includes looking at effective features of descriptive writing, specific vocabulary choices made by an author, and introducing unfamiliar vocabulary.

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Each worksheet features a variety of writing, comprehension and research activities for pupils to carry out. These include writing a timeline of Joan of Arc’s life and describing how you met your best friend. Read as a class and imagine what it would be like to be there. Next, look carefully at how the author describes the setting. This can support children’s own development as writers. Let there be half an hour of storytime at the end of the day in primary schools up and down the country. Make this the half hour they all long for, that they don’t want to be over. Let the children go home dreaming of the story, reliving it, wondering.”

Sir Michael Morpurgo is one of Britain’s most popular children’s authors. He has written over 100 books and been awarded a knighthood for his achievements. As well as being a successful author, Morpurgo is a dedicated charity worker, family man, and inspiration to both adults and children alike.

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In this free PDF there are loads of ideas and writing opportunities. These range from environmental information pamphlets and persuasive letters to news reports. A robin travels alone for many miles to reach his mate by Christmas. In beautifully poetic language, Morpurgo portrays the urgency of the bird’s longing to return home…A highly unusual picture book to satisfy the heart of anyone who enjoys making the natural world part of a Christmas celebration. This year, the theme is horses. This is to celebrate 40 years of the Morpurgo’s modern classic, War Horse. Use this month to introduce pupils to this beautiful tale. In my first year teaching, I adopted the same approach with Kensuke’s Kingdom, my class howling when we had to stop each day at home time.