The+amazing+chocolate+spread+lesson

BEST: I was beginning to think it impossible to convert my Year 2s from the present tense "Instructions" to past tense "Recounts". The best gave me about three simple sentences. It was dire, so, as any self-respecting grown-up would do, I reached for inspiration (well... biscuits).

I began in complete silence. From my bag, I drew biscuits, chocolate spread, milky buttons, strawberry sauce and a knife. The children watched in silence as I coated a biscuit with lashings of chocolate spread. Not a word had passed our lips.

I smiled and grinned around the room before whispering the first question:

"What did I do?" Magically, the response came in the past tense. I carefully arranged two milky buttons for eyes. "What did I do?" elicited more past tense responses. The strawberry sauce "mouth" was very gooey... I spoke as I squeezed, "Carefully... care-fully... gently... gently" (a staged aside). Strangely, their responses were more elaborate, actually incor-porating my adverbs.

Then I grinned, mis-chievously, widened my eyes and bit a big chunk greedily. They squealed, I munched. Then to their utter delight, I licked all the chocolate off the remainder, getting it all over my hands and chin.

The recount was fabulous. They all detailed wonderfully how greedy and disgusting my performance was, and the punctuation included elipses and exclamation marks in abundance!

Purely as a means of saving face, I let them all make one afterwards. And I have to say, they too have very bad manners BRILLIANT! I have to try this!!! :-) - Shetland-Kat This is such an original and inspiring idea - I have to try it with my class even if they are KS2! choccie 