📋 Classroom
Lesson Plan: Courage & Kindness
A ready-to-teach KS1 lesson using Enchanted Adventures of Poppy, free to read in the Dream Machine: objectives, timings, activity, differentiation and assessment.
Sparkle TreePRESS
Lesson PlanCourage & Kindness with Poppy
Using Enchanted Adventures of Poppy, free to read on screen in the Dream Machine. Poppy isn't the fastest flyer, but when a baby star falls, she knows how to help it home.
Learning objectives
- To recognise how characters feel and why.
- To understand that kindness and helping others can take courage.
- To value our own strengths, even when they're not "being the best".
Curriculum links
- PSHE / Relationships Education: caring friendships; respecting differences.
- English, spoken language: listening and responding; giving reasons.
- English, reading: discussing the significance of events; predicting.
You will need
- A screen to show the story: sparkletreepress.com/dream-machine.html (choose Play for narration, or read it aloud yourself)
- Paper stars (one per child) and pencils or crayons
- Optional: the Poppy colouring page "Count the stars" from the colouring pack
Lesson outline
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| Starter 5 min | Show the cover. Ask: "Poppy is wishing for something. What do you think it is?" Take a few predictions. |
| Story 10 min | Read or play the story. Pause on page 4 (the crying baby star): "How is the star feeling? How do you know?" Pause on page 5: "Poppy says she isn't the fastest, but she knows the way. What does she mean?" |
| Talk partners 10 min | In pairs: "Poppy helped even though she was small and slow. Why was that brave?" Then: "Tell your partner about a time someone helped you." |
| Activity 15 min | My helping star. Each child writes or draws one way they can be kind or help someone this week on a paper star, and one thing they are good at on the back. |
| Plenary 10 min | Build a class "night sky" display with the stars. Read some aloud. Finish with the story's last line: Poppy still wasn't the fastest dragon in the sky, and she didn't mind at all. Ask: "Why didn't she mind?" |
Poppy the Dragon · sparkletreepress.comFree to print and share · Page 1 of 2
Sparkle TreePRESS
Lesson PlanDifferentiation
Support
- Offer sentence starters: "I can help by…", "I am good at…"
- Children can draw instead of writing.
- Use the feelings faces below during the story pauses.
Challenge
- Write a short diary entry as the baby star.
- Explain why the star "stopped crying somewhere near the top" using evidence from the story.
Assessment
| Look for | Working towards | Expected | Greater depth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Identifies how a character feels | Names a feeling with support | Names a feeling and points to a clue | Explains how and why the feeling changes |
| Links kindness and courage | Says Poppy helped | Says why helping was brave for Poppy | Connects it to their own experience |
| Values own strengths | Names a strength with help | Names a strength on their star | Explains why it matters, like Poppy knowing the way |
Feelings faces
Hold up during the story pauses: "Which face is the baby star? Which is Poppy?"
😢
sad / scared
sad / scared
🙂
calm / safe
calm / safe
🤩
happy / proud
happy / proud
Extend it: read The Brave Little Pixel (also free in the Dream Machine) and compare: both Poppy and Pip help when it would be easier not to. How are they alike?
Poppy the Dragon · sparkletreepress.comFree to print and share · Page 2 of 2