Over the past few weeks, our children have thoroughly enjoyed exploring the wonderful story Troll Swap by Leigh Hodgkinson. Through reading, discussion, art and writing, the children have immersed themselves in the adventures of Timothy and Tabitha, developing their creativity, imagination and communication skills along the way.
The children began by designing and labelling their own unique trolls. Their colourful creations were full of personality, with carefully chosen features and thoughtful descriptions that showed fantastic imagination. We loved meeting one child’s troll who was described as “happy and calm” and enjoyed reading books in a cosy cave!
As the story developed, the children worked hard to sequence the main events, demonstrating their growing understanding of story structure and key characters. They used pictures and simple sentences to retell the plot, recalling important details and showing increasing confidence in their writing.
The learning then inspired some superb independent writing. The children stepped into the shoes of Tabitha to write diary entries, describing life as a troll and explaining the excitement of being free to be muddy, messy and adventurous. They also explored how Tabitha’s parents felt about her behaviour and wrote persuasive letters asking her to return home. These pieces showed great empathy, creativity and an understanding of different viewpoints.
💬 Child Voice
“I liked writing as Tabitha because she got to be messy and jump in muddy puddles!”
💬 Mrs Patefield, Class Teacher
“The children have thoroughly enjoyed exploring Troll Swap. I have been so impressed with the imagination they have shown in their writing and artwork, as well as the thoughtful discussions they have had about being yourself and accepting differences.”
We are incredibly proud of how the children have embraced each activity, producing thoughtful writing, detailed illustrations and enthusiastic responses to the story. Throughout this learning journey, they have demonstrated our school vision to Love, Learn, Shine by enjoying books, developing new skills and sharing their wonderful ideas with confidence.
Well done to all our children for their fantastic effort, creativity and brilliant storytelling. 🌟🧌📚
