Thursday 5th October 2017

We it's a sad day in Year 4.  We reached the end of `The Legend of Podkin One-Ear'.  Wow!  What a great book -and amazing ending.  We really didn't see that one coming. 

The worthy winner of the Podkin book in our prize draw was..._____!  Well done ______ -and all those who collected 12 signatures.  She will be presented with the book in tomorrow's assembly.

All that's left to do is to post our thoughts.  So tomorrow the children will add their opinions of the book.  Also, to say that tomorrow we are starting a new class reader called `The Firework Maker's Daughter'.  So tomorrow, we start a new blog...hooray!  We also start to collect new signatures.

Thank you so much for following our blog.  We'll see you on our new blog.

Wednesday 4th October 2017

Whoa...we're really close to completing The Legend of Podkin One-Ear.  Which means of course, that our Podkin Blog will end.  The good news though is that we will start The Firework Maker's Daughter by Phillip Pullman. 😎 

Tommorw, we will do our prize draw.  We have been collecting signatures from adults every time we read.  We needed 12 to be in the draw. Tomorrow our teachers will draw out a name, and that child will be presented with a copy of Podkin One-Ear in Friday's Achievement Assembly.

So...take a look at the work and videos that were missed from yesterday's blog.

A little more of the story? Of Course you do...

Note -SPOILER ALERT 

When Pod and Pook led Crom to the room where Paz was being held by Shape and Quince, Crom - the old, blind warrior - made light work knocking the 'bad guys' out.  Then when they were ready to escape, the Gorm showed up. Scramashank said he only wanted the youngsters who had Starclaw and a huge battle ensured.

Podkin, Paz and Pook, Crom, Mish and Mash somehow manage to escape and run  for the safety of Grimheart Forest.  Behind them, the whole of Boneroot collapses into a huge hole in the ground.

Eventually, the come to an abandoned warren that they find out is called Dark Hollow. (If you've been paying attention you will know that this is the title of the second book `The Gift of Dark Hollow'.  Dark Hollow we learn was abandoned when Crom refused to take over as chief when his father had died.)

After spending time at Dark Hollow recovering from their ordeal, the spot a wagon being drawn through the forest (spotted by Mish and Mash).  When they follow this, they come across a Gorm camp.  In the corner of which, are prisoners.  Podkin is convinced that his mother and auntie are being held there.  Crom and Paz agree that they should not attack as, against what they think is 20 Gorm, theyreally don't stand a chance.  As Podkin drifts off to sleep, he has stumbles upon a plan...

This is as far as we have got.  The next chapter is called `The Battle of Camp Gorm'.  We aren't able to share any more of the story.  This really would be a spoiler.  So if you really want to know how the story ends, maybe ask one of our Year 4 children.  Or, buy the book -it's great.

We'll be back tomorrow -with our final thoughts on the book -and Friday our last post on our Podkin blog will announce our winner.

As we come to the end of this blog though, we'll start a new one on our new class reader `The Firework Maker's Daughter'.  Bye for now...

Tuesday 3^rd October 2017

Did you guess from the video what our teachers had in store for us today?  Maybe we should have said that it would all become clear in the last few seconds of the video.  Yes?  We were doing inverted commas (speech marks).  Take a look at our work below.

Wow -did you read the news just in on yesterday’s post?  Kieran Larwood responded to our tweet saying `This is brilliant. Well done Year 4”.  How good is that?  We know it’s brilliant as our teachers keep telling us just how brilliant it is that we are enjoying our class read -Podkin One-Ear -so much.  But also that we are getting so much from it.

Okay…a little more of the story.

Note -SPOILER ALERT

So Podkin and Pook went to the market place (still in Boneroot).  They wandered around a little -Podkin wondering how he could possibly bring himself to steal, and baby Pook -well he was hungry and just wanted `soop’.  Luckily, Podkin found a copper coin on the floor, and asked Pook to help find more.  Unfortunately, they didn’t find any.  Suddenly, they became aware of some older rabbits playing a game.  A game of Foxpaw (which is what the chapter was called), and Pook became desperate to play, as rolling the dice, seemed to baby Pook to be a lot like rolling Brigid’s runes.  Now, Podkin remembered his mother’s warning about gambling, but he was desperate to turn his 1 copper coin into more.  He also remembered Brigid saying that Pook had a gift.  So there had to be a slim chance of making more coins, didn’t there?

Well, Pook played really well, and made 5 copper coins from 1.  When the old rabbits tried to coax him to roll again, Pook knew to stop and sat with his arms folded.

Podkin thought carefully about what to do with the money.  He decided to hire a sellsword, who would hopefully help rescue Paz from Shape and Quince.  He could only manage to hire the blind warrior -Crom.

More tomorrow.

So, do you want to know how to play Foxpaw?  Have a look.

In English, here’s what our teachers gave us.

Take a look at our writing below.

More tomorrow…Bye for now.

News just in -Kieran Larwood liked our tweet -

Monday 2^nd October 2017

Did you have a nice weekend?  Did you say `white rabbits’?  Of course you did.

So where were we?  Ah, let’s bring you up to date (or certainly a little more up to date with the story).

Note -SPOILER

Pod, Paz and Pook had travelled to Boneroot.  There they tried to hire soldiers -though all the `sellswords’ looked like they had seen many battles and better days.  There was even a blind rabbit warrior sat in the corner.  As they stood contemplating, Podkin felt a shape knife press into his ribs, and he, Paz and Pook were led away from the market into a deserted part of Boneroot.  They found themselves locked in a wooden cage, with two other rabbits in a cage next to them, by their captures -Shape and Quince.

The next day Podkin and Pook, and Mish (a rabbit from the other cage, were sent out to steal or beg things for Shape and Quince.  The tyrants kept Paz and Mash (Mish’s brother) locked up to make sure the others came back.

More tomorrow.

Our English activities today were based around Podkin’s character.  As the story progresses, Podkin begins to change.  To begin with, we get the impression that he is lazy and takes things for granted.  However, he does become more of the hero that you might expect.

We chose all of the words that we thought would best describe him.  Then we justified our choices using conjunctions.  Clever eh?

Finally, we have a little video here.  This gives a big clue to our work tomorrow in English.  What do you think it might be?

Bye for now.

Sunday 1st October 2017

"White Rabbits!"...seems appropriate doesn't it?

We had to post today...take a look at what we found...

An interview with Kieran Larwood, David Long and Kerry Hyndman on Newsround.  For the link, click here

Back tomorrow with more Podkin...we all know, you just can't get enough of The Legend that is Podkin One-Ear.

Friday 29^th September 2017

Welcome back.  Wow -this daily blog for reading moves so quickly doesn’t it?In English, we looked at the map in the front cover of the book.  We tried to follow Podkin’s journey.  Take a look.

Then, we looked at the places mentioned in the story -where each part was set.  We talked about these and then recorded our ideas.  So...

Thornwood -this is where the bard travels to on Bramblemas Eve, and begins to tell the tale of Podkin One-Ear to the young rabbits

The Razorback Downs -these are the hills that are covered with snow that the bard must cross -leaving a `spidery track'

Munbury -this is where Podkin, Paz and Pook live, and need to escape from when the Gorm attack

Redwater -is where Lady Russet betrays them

Brigid -this is where they meet the witch that looks after them

Boneroot -is where they go to escape from the Gorm and try to seek protection

We also found Dark Hollow -which we now know (because we read it today) that this is the place where Crom (the blind warrior) used to live.

Please check back over the weekend as we may still be posting.  If not though, definitely on Monday -come back and check out where we are up to.

Have a lovely weekend -and remember read, read, read!

Thursday 28^th September 2017

Well, a big thank you for visiting.  We hope you are finding this as exciting as we are.  So today in English, we had a look at Boneroot.  Maybe we should bring you up to speed with the story first -that way you’ll know where Boneroot is.

NOTE -SPOILER ALERT

Brigid cared for the 3 young rabbits.  She nursed Podkin back to health, showed Paz which herbs could be used to heal, and taught her how to forage for food.  Pook played with her runes -she used them to tell the future.  Brigid said he that Pook had a real knack for throwing them -he had a gift.  Eventually though, the 3 youngsters needed to move on.  She drew them a map and told them to head to Boneroot.  Boneroot was a warren where all those that had fled from the Gorm hid from them.  There, they would find safety and maybe soldiers who might protect them.  Podkin, Paz and Pook set off and arrived a little later.  When they got there they were amazed.

When we saw the picture of Boneroot -we were amazed too.  Take a look.

In English, we wrote a description of Boneroot.  We used prepositions to explain how the things in the picture related to each other. (Clever huh? Clever because it was only yesterday (Wednesday) that our teachers had us practicing using prepositions.)

Take a look at some of our work.

We have had even more children drop us a line.  Take a look at our comments below.

Say, why not leave us a comment too?  Just type your message in the comment box below.  You will need an email address -but you can make this up something like -Podkin@Podkin.co.uk will do it.

Tell us what you think of the book so far, or, which part has been you favourite, or what you think will happen next, or...

Wow, the list is endless.

More tomorrow -bye for now.

Wednesday 27^th September 2017

How did you get on with the wordsearch? Did you find them all? A couple of tricky ones there we think.

Okay, let’s bring you a little more up to date with the story.

Note -SPOILER ALERT

Podkin went to stand but…

Couldn’t move. Suddenly, he felt a searing pain in his ear. Yes, you guessed it -the portcullis had pinned him by his ear! In desperation, Paz used Starclaw to cut him free. This meant cutting his ear off. They ran off into the woods. In the letter from their mother told them that Starclaw was one of 12 gifts given to the 12 tribes -it had special powers. It could cut through anything except iron. Iron was what the Gorm had developed into armour and weapons.

The 3 youngsters wandered on, and after a run in with some Gorm riders, met a witch in the woods. The witch, Brigid, had been expecting them, and though the Gorm were just behind them, when they entered her home, there was spells that would help keep them hidden.

(More tomorrow)

In English, we looked at prepositions. We started by looking at Where’s Wally. We described where some of the characters were in relation to others in the picture. Then we used prepositions to help build some sentences. Why not give them ago below.

See you tomorrow.

Tuesday 26^th September

So, where were we?  Ah, maybe a little more detail on where we are up to in the story.

Note -SPOILER ALERT

So, Podkin, Paz and Pook had escaped.  They were told, in a letter from their mother, to make their way to Redwater as they would be safe there.  The three young rabbits did just that.  However, when they arrived -there was something strange about the place.  There were no children there -which was strange on Bramblemas morning as they should have been playing with gifts left by the Midwinter Rabbit.  Lady Russet, the chief’s wife also seemed very different.  She wasn’t the happy, welcoming host they remembered.  After having a meagre meal, they realised that the Lady Russet had sent a crow (the Gorm’s messenger) to tell them that they were there.  Podkin, Paz and Pook (being carried by his sister) fled into the maze of tunnels.  They could see a way out, but an iron portcullis was closing fast.  Paz made it through and Podkin slid along the floor legs first.  His legs were through when suddenly the portcullis slammed shut.  Podkin went to stand but…

We’ll bring you up to date even more tomorrow.

Today in English, we looked at Kieran Larwood’s description of the bard.  Take a look.

We wrote sentences of our own to describe him then we had a go at drawing the bard from the description.  Take a look at some of our work.

Just for fun -can you find the character’s that we have met so far in Podkin One-Ear in the wordsearch below.  Oh, and don’t forget to leave a comment.

Monday 25th September 2017

Wow -a new Year Four Blog! Amazing huh?

Because our children have really been fired up with our latest class novel -

we thought we would develop a Reading Blog through which we could share our journey through the book.

So first, a little about the book? (That's if your child hasn't already told you.)

According to the goodreads.com website -

Podkin One-Ear is a legend: a fearsome warrior rabbit whose reputation for cunning and triumph in battle has travelled the ages. But how did he become such a mighty fighter? The answer may surprise you... When a travelling bard arrives at Thornwood Warren on Midwinter night, he is warmly welcomed. In return for food and lodging, he settles down to tell of how Podkin One-Ear - and soon the rabbits are enthralled to hear the story of how one lost little rabbit overcame the cruellest enemy imaginable, and became the greatest warrior their land has ever know.

We are already a good way into the book -about half way -and so a quick summary of the story so far would probably help.

It starts with `the bard' going to Thornwood Warren on Bramblemas Eve.  The bard is a travelling storyteller.  He begins to tell the young rabbits the `true story' of Podkin One-Ear.  It was Bramblemas Eve when the Gorm (the baddies) came to Munbury Warren.  The wanted to take Starclaw ( a dagger which was a gift from the Goddess).  Podkin's father, Lopkin, defended the warren against Scramashank (leader of the Gorm).  Podkin, his sister Paz and younger brother Pook, all escaped with the help of their Aunt.  They guessed that their father had died, though weren't sure what would have happened to their mother.  They could only hope that she had been taken prisoner and not not killed also.

As they escape, Paz and Pod realise that their Aunt had helped them escape with Starclaw (the dagger).  However, the Gorm know this and give chase.

Now over to you.  What do you think of the story so far?  What has been your favourite part?  Is Podkin a `brave', `fearless' hero?  Leave a comment below, and we will post these tomorrow.