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Book One teacher guide

Teach this chapter.

Pick Chapter 1 or 2. Choose the time you have. Answers sit beside the questions, and there is only one pupil page to print.

Choose a format

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Chapter 1

A Late Arrival

Arrival, inference, belonging and the last-wand hook

Use with
Year 4 supported; Year 5 core; Year 6 deepen
Source check
68 paragraphs · 1,431 words

Teach towards

  1. Infer how Eliza's feelings change and justify an idea with relevant evidence.
  2. Make and revise a prediction from details that are stated and implied.

Before the lesson

  • Open Chapter 1 in the book or the free online sample.
  • Choose the 15, 30 or 45-60 minute route below.
  • Print the one-page pupil sheet only if pupils will record.

Choose one

How much time have you got?

15 minutesExtract route

Read P1-P10, ask the arrival question, then predict what the school will do next.

30 minutesCore route

Read the chapter aloud, discuss Eliza and Tilda, then complete one evidence chain and an ending prediction.

45-60 minutesFull route

Add vocabulary, compare Eliza's feelings across the chapter and write the late-arrival record or the setting response.

Full route

Teach it in five moves

  1. Set the purposeTell pupils they are collecting clues, not guessing. Model: I notice... This might mean...
  2. Read and noticeRead aloud. Pause after P10, P29, P50 and P65. Keep the pace; explain only words that block meaning.
  3. Model an evidence chainUse P4: damp hands and knocking knees suggest that Eliza feels anxious before she lands.
  4. Pupils respondChoose one: trace Eliza's feelings, write Bramble's late-arrival record or describe the school that will not sit still.
  5. Check and finishAsk pupils to revise a prediction after the last-wand hook. Collect one evidence-linked exit sentence.

Use what helps

Vocabulary

loomed
appeared very large or threatening (P2)
peculiar
unusual or strange (P2)
hovered
stayed in one place in the air (P4)
coax
gently persuade or encourage (P8)
sputter
make short, uneven bursting sounds (P10)
staggered
moved unsteadily as if likely to fall (P12)

No separate answer booklet

Questions and answer guidance

Why is Eliza two and a half hours late?P4-P10 and P39

Windwhistler crashed in the Cackling Woods, where the trees held the broom. Eliza spent more than two hours getting free, then Windwhistler lost height and hit the Weather Tower.

How does the crowd make Eliza feel? Which detail is strongest?P12-P21

Embarrassed, exposed or anxious are well supported. Strong evidence includes her ears burning, her failed attempt to speak and her sharp awareness of her socks, hat and broken broom piece.

What does Tilda do that begins to change Eliza's experience?P23-P29, P40 and P52-P65

Tilda catches and returns the hat, offers directions, waves, waits in the dormitory, shuts the door on the giggling pupils and shares the joke. These small choices help Eliza feel less alone.

Why is the Wand Room moment an effective chapter hook?P45-P50 and P63-P64

It promises a new beginning but warns that only one wand remains. The reader is left wondering what the last wand is like and whether it will suit Eliza.

What does the final 'Perfect' mean?P62-P68

It is dry irony, not simple misery. Eliza's arrival has been disastrous, but she has laughed with Tilda, feels the knot loosen and knows she will not face tomorrow alone. A strong answer keeps both sides of that turn.

One pupil page

Chapter 1: evidence and prediction

  • At first Eliza may feel... I noticed... This suggests...
  • Tilda changes the moment when... This matters because...
  • My prediction about the last wand is... I used the clue...
Download pupil page
Support and access
  • Read aloud and chunk the chapter into arrival, welcome, Wand Room and dormitory.
  • Offer the stems: I notice... This suggests... Eliza may feel...
  • Accept an oral, drawn, sequenced or scribed response before extended writing.
  • Reduce copying and give one instruction at a time where this removes a barrier.
Stretch
  • Compare two possible feelings at the same moment and decide which evidence is stronger.
  • Explain how the narration creates sympathy while keeping the arrival funny.
  • Evaluate how the last-wand warning changes the meaning of 'beginning'.
Quick assessment

Eliza feels less alone by the end because... The strongest evidence is...

One exit sentence or an oral check is enough. The pack does not require lengthy written marking.

Optional class reward

Three codes. Three teacher-exclusive cards. Then the library opens.

Create reward codes in The Staff Room and give one to a star pupil, reading group or whole class when you choose. A pupil redeems a code in The Witches' Cavern. No class list is uploaded and no purchase is required.

  1. Codes 1-3: the pupil receives one new teacher-exclusive limited-edition Whimkin card per valid unique code. There are three in total and no duplicates in this stage.
  2. Code 4 onwards: each valid unique code awards one random standard Whimkin card from released books available in the issuing teacher's and pupil's libraries.
  3. Later random rewards avoid repeats while an eligible unseen card remains. When every eligible card has been collected, a repeat may be awarded.
Create a free Staff Room account
Curriculum, school check and source links

Years 3-4

  • Discuss words and phrases that capture interest and imagination.
  • Draw inferences such as characters' feelings, thoughts and motives, then justify them with evidence.
  • Predict what might happen from details stated and implied.
  • Discuss and record ideas, rehearse sentences orally and write for a clear purpose.

Years 5-6

  • Identify how language, structure and presentation contribute to meaning.
  • Discuss and evaluate language, including its effect on the reader.
  • Explain and discuss understanding through reasoned answers that use evidence.
  • Select vocabulary and formality for audience and purpose, then evaluate and edit.

School check at a glance

  • The Staff Room stores teacher account details, class labels, selected book numbers and aggregate code totals. It does not ask staff to upload pupil rosters, pupil contact details, attainment, SEND or behaviour records.
  • Automatic teacher codes are random tokens. Custom codes do not need to contain school, teacher or pupil information.
  • Teachers cannot see a child's identity, family account or collection through the Staff Room.
  • The child area uses parent-held accounts, high-privacy defaults and no child-to-child messaging, public profiles, streaks or public leaderboards.
  • Schools should still complete their own supplier, data-protection, accessibility and safeguarding checks. This summary is not a completed DPIA or legal advice.

These independent curriculum links show how the activities can support teaching in England. This resource is not approved or endorsed by DfE, Ofsted or EEF. Schools in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland should map activities to their own curricula.