This resource offers a highly engaging Year 1 English MTP (Medium Term Plan) based on the beloved children’s classic “Funnybones” by Janet and Allan Ahlberg. This 2-week plan is designed to immerse students in the silly world of the skeletons, guiding them to confidently retell the story and write sentences describing its beginning, middle, and end.

What’s Included?
The plan features a variety of suggested activities for reading and writing, with a strong focus on sequencing narratives, visualizing settings, and applying foundational phonics. Students will have the opportunity to:

Immerse and Analyze: Share a range of Funnybones books, listen to rhymes, and create the characters using art straws to develop fine motor skills.

Develop Reading Skills: Explore key events through role-play, engage with interactive displays like matching characters to their shadows, and build background knowledge about the places the skeletons visit, such as the dark park, street, and zoo.

Write and Sequence: Sequence the story using story maps and drama, write labels and captions to match characters, and ultimately create their own Funnybones retell for the reading area.

Focus on Grammar & Phonics: Practice essential early writing skills through explicit teaching and games focused on using capital letters for names and at the start of sentences, consistently leaving spaces between words, and checking that their writing makes sense. Pupils will also practice saying their ideas out loud to plan their writing.

The resource includes a detailed Marking Ladder to assess early writing foundations, specific Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary lists, and suggestions for additional reading texts from Janet and Allan Ahlberg. This plan is a fantastic tool for teachers looking to inspire young writers through a fun, nostalgic, and wonderfully visual text.