The Magpie Tree Level 17-18

In The Magpie Tree, Maddy and her friends face an unusual problem: a magpie keeps stealing their shiny belongings! Through clever thinking and empathy, Maddy devises a way to protect their possessions while keeping the magpie happy too. This engaging narrative promotes problem-solving and cooperation, using dialogue and suspense to build reader engagement. The text showcases rich language features such as colourful verbs, time indicators, compound words, and visual imagery. It provides multiple opportunities for developing narrative comprehension, discussing cause and effect, and forming personal opinions about character actions. With vibrant illustrations and a satisfying ending, this story is ideal for exploring conflict resolution and the value of thinking of others.

Educational Benefits:

• Builds comprehension through cause-and-effect reasoning
• Supports personal response and opinion formation
• Enhances language knowledge through varied verb forms and word endings
• Reinforces narrative structure with a clear beginning, complication, and resolution

Classroom Ideas:

• Have students brainstorm peaceful solutions to playground problems
• Create a shared class story about another animal causing mischief
• Use the story as a prompt for writing persuasive texts about animals and habitats
• Conduct a vocabulary hunt for compound words and lively verbs

Safety & Information:

• Recommended for readers aged 7+
• Dimensions: 210mm x 180mm
• Produced with non-toxic, eco-friendly materials
• Designed for everyday classroom use