I Want a Unicorn
Book Band Purple B
RR Level 20
Genre Fantasy fiction
Length 24pp (590 words)
Letters and Sounds Phase 6
NC Level 2C
APP Level 2, Low
Phonics Bug Up to Unit 30
Interest words peculiar, unicorn,
forehead, curtsy, princess, castle
Plot Summary
The wilful princess wants a unicorn, so her father, the king, asks
Pete to find one. Pete advertises but is not fooled by a trickster who
tries to sell him a donkey. Sally takes her unicorn to the princess.
The unicorn is not impressed with the princess’s tantrums, so Sally
teaches her how to look after it and how to become a real friend.
Curr. Ref.
Objectives
APP Assessment Focus
8:3 (PNS)
LIT 1-11a (CfE)
RS8 (W)
R11 (NI)
Reading
Explain their reactions
to texts, commenting on
important aspects
AF6: some awareness that
writers have viewpoints and
purposes (L2/bullet 1); some
simple comments about
preferences mostly linked to
own experience (L1)
2:2 (PNS)
LIT 1-07a (CfE)
OS6 (W)
T&L 1 (NI)
Speaking and Listening
Listen to talk by an
adult, remember some
specific points and
identify what they have
learned
AF4: show awareness of
ways in which speakers
vary talk, and why, through
exploring different ways of
speaking (L2); notice simple
differences in speakers’ use
of language and try out
new words and ways of
expressing meaning (L1)
10:2 (PNS)
LIT 1-22a (CfE)
WS9 (W)
W8 (NI)
Writing
Use appropriate
language to make
sections hang together
AF5: some variation in
sentence openings (L2/
bullet 1); reliance on simple
phrases and clauses
(L1/bullet 1)
Key
AF = Assessment Focuses for APP in Reading, Speaking & Listening
and Writing
APP = Assessing Pupils’ Progress, QCA (2009)
CfE = The Curriculum for Excellence (2009)
NI = Northern Ireland Primary Curriculum Foundation Stage (2007)
PNS = Strand objectives from the Primary National Strategies (2006)
W = Foundation Phase Framework for children’s learning for 3 to
7-year-olds in Wales (2008)
PCM
Session 1 Reading
Before Reading
Phonics for Reading
Turn to page 20 and ask the children to read the sentence, Sally
showed her how to whistle. If the children get stuck on the word
‘whistle’, talk about strategies they could use to read it – for
example, looking for letter patterns they know from other words
(e.g. ‘wh’ as in ‘when’, and ‘stle’ as in ‘castle’). If the children read
the word without help, ask them how they worked it out, and
discuss the strategies they suggest. Check that the children can
read whistled in the next sentence.
Walkthrough
Talk about the front and back covers. Encourage predictions.
• Read the word unicorn together. Do the children know what this
means?
• Tell the children that ‘uni-‘ means one. Can they think of other
words with ‘uni-‘ in them? (unicycle, uniform, unit)
• Who do they think wants the unicorn?
During Reading
While the children read, ask them to think about the main question.
Main questions: How do you think the author feels about the
princess? How do you feel about her yourself? (AF6)
Additional prompts to help you sample the children’s reading:
Throughout the book, look for examples of words in capital letters,
italics and bold. What effect do they have on how you read the
sentences? Have a go as a group at using these words to read the
sentences in different ways. (AF4)
Page 2:
Do you think that the princess seems like a nice
person? (AF6)
Page 5:
What kind of person do you think the king is? Why?
(AF3)
Pages 14-17: How does the author describe the princess’s
behaviour? What verbs does the author use? (AF6)
What do you think the author thinks about the
princess’s behaviour at this point in the story?
Do you agree? (AF6)
Page 24:
How does the author show us that the princess is
changing during the story? Have you changed your
mind about the princess at all? (AF6)
After Reading (collecting evidence for AF6)
Discuss the main question as a group. Use the illustrations to
explore how the princess’s parents and servants look fed up
with the princess’s spoiled behaviour. Do the children think the
princess is likeable at the beginning of the book? Have their
opinions changed by the end of the book? How do the author and
illustrator show how unpleasant the princess is? (Her huge mouth
shouting, the parents looking fed up, the use of the word ‘want’
rather than ‘like’ or ‘Please can I have ...’)
Quick Finishers
Look at page 15. What might the unicorn be
thinking? Write a thought bubble for the unicorn
on a sticky note.
What does Sally do to help the princess change
her ways? Do you think the princess will behave
differently in future?
Session 2 Speaking and Listening & Writing
Phonics for Writing
Look at page 2 and find all the verbs ending in ‘-ed’ (shouted,
added, stamped). Write these on the board and underline the
root words (shout, add, stamp). Turn to page 18 and find more
‘ed’ words (looked, repeated, stopped). Underline the root words
(look, repeat, stop). What do the children notice about stopped?
(An extra ‘p’ is added before the ‘ed’). Explain that for most verbs
ending in a single consonant you need to double the consonant
before adding ‘ed’. (There are exceptions, including ‘look’ and
other words ending in ‘k’.) Turn to page 24 and find another word
that follows this rule (grinned).
Speaking and Listening
Ask the children for their help to write an explanation about ‘How
to Keep Unicorns’, looking back through the book for ideas. Model
turning the ideas into a speech, getting the children to help you
improve your sentences. (AF4)
Writing
Use the PCM to write an information sheet explaining how to
look after a unicorn. Remind the children of the language of
explanation texts and model using causal connectives/openings
to help their writing have variation (e.g. ‘Some unicorns may need
…’; ‘This is because …’; ‘… so that they are warm’) (AF5)
Making Links
In circle time talk about what
it feels like to be left out or
disappointed. How can we help
other people when they feel like
that? Make a class list of what
makes a good friend.