Last Friday, 'World Book Day’ was celebrated with a sprinkling of fairytale magic and an excellent day was had by all - as is usual tradition at Abbey! The theme was ‘Go All In!' and all children and staff were invited to come to school in their pyjamas for a day of snuggling up with teddy bears and books!

The morning began with an assembly, where the true meaning of ‘World Book Day’ was shared – the joy of reading and all things books! World Book Day at Abbey is just one way that reading is celebrated – during assembly, the children talked about all the other ways that reading is promoted... treasure chest books, the book fair, the library and reading books were mentioned – to name just a few!

During the assembly, this year’s exciting World Book Day competition was launched… ‘The Masked Reader’. Staff across school chose an emoji to represent themselves, then recorded a mystery voice clip of them reading part of a story. The children’s job was to guess whose voice was behind each emoji! If you would like to join in with the fun, the clips can be found below. 

From there, it was non-stop action as classes embarked upon a whirlwind of thrilling activities. Each year group was allocated a traditional tale that the day's activities focused upon...

In Foundation, the children acted out the story of 'Jack and the Beanstalk', planted some beans, then worked together to make a giant beanstalk - we hope there isn't a giant at the top of theirs though! 

In Year One, the children used their imaginations to add a FOURTH house to the story of 'The Three Little Pigs', then completed a science lesson linked to materials. The children thought carefully about which material was the best and why!

Year Two explored the story of 'The Three Billy Goats Gruff', then wrote a letter of apology from the troll to the goats – he was really just a lonely troll in need of a friend! They then used different construction materials to make bridges and tested out whether or not they could hold the goats. During DT this week, they have then gone on to make their own troll hand puppet to help them to retell the story. Who’s that trip trapping over my bridge?

'The Princess and the Pea' was Year Three's story of choice. They innovated the story to create their own plots, then focused on kindness in a PSHE lesson. The children shared compliments and discussed how being a kind friend leads to positivity everywhere!

In Year Four, the children innovated the traditional tale of ‘The Ugly Duckling’. The children started by creating their own book cover for their story before moving on to writing amazing innovations of the story, creating their own characters and settings in the style of ‘The Ugly Duckling’. The children then finished the day by being fully immersed into the story through exploring life cycles of ducklings and swans.

Year Five explored the story of 'Rumpelstiltskin' by retelling the story in their own words and writing a character description of Rumpelstiltskin himself. After this, focusing on proprotion and shading, they practised their sketching skills and sketched the matching half of alternative versions of this character.

In Year Six, the children reacquainted themselves with the story of 'Hansel and Gretel'. They explored the features of the 'old lady' who invited the children in for food, before realising that she was a 'baddy' and writing a wanted poster for her! In the afternoon, they created a piece of digital artwork - a collage of their own house made from sweet treats! 

But that is not all! Throughout the day, each class paired up with another and spent half an hour sharing some of their favourite stories together. This moment was particularly magical as our oldest children became reading role models for our youngest children – it was truly heartwarming to see. 

A fantastic day was had by all!