Cover Lessons
Cover lesson ideas that practise literacy and numeracy, linked to the Literacy and Numeracy Framework (LNF), for a range of subjects.
Checking a Concert Poster Is Easy to Read
Literacy: Planning and organising for different purposes, audiences and context
Pupils judge three pretend digital posters for an invented school summer concert against one success criterion, can you read it from the back of the hall, then a second, does it say what, when and where. They circle the problem on the hardest poster and write a comment that gives a reason. Then they plan their own poster on a pretend screen for the families who will come, writing the title, day, time and place, check it against both criteria and say one thing they would make better. Unplugged; no computers needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Checking a Concert Poster Is Easy to Read
- Stimulus: three concert posters on pretend tablet screens, with the concert facts
- Worked example and answer key: judged posters, a model comment, a model poster and what to look for
Tools required
- Pen and paper
- Coloured pencils
Software / weblinks
Planning the Times for a Class Concert
Numeracy: Measurement
Numeracy in Expressive Arts: telling the time. An invented Year 2 class is planning an afternoon concert that runs from 1 o'clock to half past 2. Pupils read o'clock, half past, quarter past and quarter to on the clocks for 6 acts, put the acts in order, answer before and after questions, draw hands on blank clocks and match them to digital times, choose sensible lengths for a song and for the whole concert, and add an act of their own with its clock.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Planning the Times for a Class Concert
- Worked example and answer key: times, running order, drawn clocks and what to look for
Tools required
- Pen and paper
- Coloured pencils
Software / weblinks
Retelling the Legend of the Two Dragons
Literacy: Understanding, response and analysis
Literacy in Expressive Arts: responding to a story. The cover teacher reads a child-friendly retelling of the Welsh legend of the red and white dragons under Dinas Emrys, near Beddgelert. In small groups pupils make 4 freeze frames of the story and speak in role when tapped on the shoulder. On the activity pages they put the pictures in order, answer questions about the story, choose a word for how the king felt, give their favourite part with a reason, and draw and write what the red dragon did next.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Retelling the Legend of the Two Dragons
- Stimulus: the legend of the two dragons of Dinas Emrys, to read aloud, with 4 pictures
- Worked example and answer key: story order, answers, model sentences and what to look for
Tools required
- Pen and paper
- Coloured pencils
Software / weblinks
Sorting Instruments into a Pictogram
Numeracy: Representing data
Pupils sort 15 picture cards from an invented class music box by one rule, how each instrument is played: hit, shake, blow or pluck. They act out each way of playing, sort the cards into sorting circles, record the groups in a tally chart, then build a pictogram where one picture stands for one instrument. They answer questions read aloud (which group has the most, how many more, how many altogether), decide why a pictogram is easier to read than a pile of cards, and learn that computers sort data by a rule in the same way. Unplugged; no computers needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Sorting Instruments into a Pictogram
- Stimulus: 15 instrument picture cards to cut out
- Worked example and answer key: sorted groups, tally chart, pictogram, answers and what to look for
Tools required
- Pen and paper
- Coloured pencils
- Scissors and glue
Software / weblinks
Storyboarding a Dragon Animation
Literacy: Punctuation
Pupils learn that an animation is made of many still frames, each a tiny bit different, shown very fast. On a pretend animation app screen they put 6 jumbled frames of a dragon egg hatching in order and spot the frame that jumps too far. They draw a 4-frame storyboard of a dragon flying over a castle, write a caption sentence under each frame with a capital letter and a full stop, including one exclamation mark or question mark, and correct the punctuation in 3 captions. Unplugged; no computers needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Storyboarding a Dragon Animation
- Worked example and answer key: the frame order, the jumpy frame, a model storyboard with captions and what to look for
Tools required
- Pen and paper
- Coloured pencils
Software / weblinks
Reading a Chart of Screen Time and Active Play
Numeracy: Interpreting data
A teacher-led Year 2 lesson on screens and well-being with real chart reading. Pupils circle the digital devices among everyday objects and say what they use one for. They then read an invented block chart of Seren's screen time and active play after school, Monday to Friday, where each square is 10 minutes: they count in 10s, find the most and least, compare the two columns each day, and link the chart to the feelings faces Seren drew each evening (she was grumpy on the 2 days with more screen time than play). Finally they sort good and not so good sides of screen time and draw an active alternative. Paper-based; no computers needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Reading a Chart of Screen Time and Active Play
- Worked example: a finished activity sheet with the answers and what to look for
Tools required
- Pen and paper
- Coloured pencils
Software / weblinks
Sending Kind Messages Online
Literacy: Vocabulary, spelling, grammar
A teacher-led Year 2 lesson on being kind online. The cover teacher reads 6 comments left on Alys's dragon drawing on a pretend class drawing wall (invented), and pupils circle a happy or sad face to sort each one as kind or unkind, including one that leaves Alys out. They draw how Alys feels after two of the messages and copy a feelings word, tick the 3 good things to do about an unkind message (do not reply, tell a trusted grown-up, show the teacher), then trace and write kind words and write their own kind message to Alys, with a challenge to turn an unkind comment into a kind one. Paper-based; no computers needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Sending Kind Messages Online
- Stimulus: Alys's pretend tablet screen with 6 invented comments on her drawing
- Worked example: a finished activity sheet with the answers and what to look for
Tools required
- Pen and paper
- Coloured pencils
Software / weblinks
Spotting Safe Choices in an Online Story
Literacy: Understanding, response and analysis
A teacher-led Year 2 lesson on staying safe online through a short picture story. The cover teacher reads 'Tomos and the tablet' (invented): Tomos is playing a farm game when Sam, someone he has never met, asks for his name and school, and later a flashing box offers a free pony. Tomos tells Mam and asks Dad before clicking. Pupils sort the characters into people Tomos knows and someone he has never met, answer story questions by circling, ticking and writing (including why Tomos did not click), sort choices into safe and not safe, and draw and write their own safe rule. Paper-based; no computers needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Spotting Safe Choices in an Online Story
- Stimulus: Tomos and the tablet, an invented 6-part picture story
- Worked example: a finished activity sheet with the answers and what to look for
Tools required
- Pen and paper
- Coloured pencils
Software / weblinks
Telling the Time Through a Healthy Day
Numeracy: Measurement
A teacher-led Year 2 lesson on telling the time through an invented child's healthy day. After acting out clock hands with their arms, pupils read 8 clocks in Gwen's day in Aberystwyth (wake up, porridge, walking to school, playing outside, swimming, tea, bath and bed) and write each time as o'clock, half past, quarter past or quarter to, then draw the hands on empty clocks. They answer before and after questions, work out how long swimming, the walk to school and bath time take, and count on along a number line to find that Gwen sleeps 11 and a half hours, inside the 9 to 12 hours advised for her age. Finally they tick the parts of her day when she is moving. Paper-based; no computers needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Telling the Time Through a Healthy Day
- Worked example: a finished activity sheet with the answers and what to look for
- A classroom clock with hands for the demonstration (optional)
Tools required
- Pen and paper
Software / weblinks
Writing Instructions for Brushing Teeth
Literacy: Planning and organising for different purposes, audiences and context
A teacher-led Year 2 writing lesson that turns a healthy habit into instructions for a younger child. Pupils act out brushing their teeth with the cover teacher, following NHS advice (a pea-sized blob of fluoride toothpaste, about 2 minutes, twice a day, spit and do not rinse), number 5 mixed-up picture cards in order, and find the bossy verbs and ordering words in model instructions for washing hands. They then write their own instructions for a Reception child, with a title, a 'you will need' list and 5 numbered steps starting First, Next, Then, After that and Finally, complete a top tip, and read their work to a partner to check it against a checklist. Paper-based; no computers needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Writing Instructions for Brushing Teeth
- Worked example: a finished activity sheet with model instructions and what to look for
Tools required
- Pen and paper
Software / weblinks
Asking Taid Questions about School Long Ago
Literacy: Questioning
Pupils study a drawing of a 1950s Welsh village classroom and spot what has changed. They learn question words, write their own questions for Taid Gwyn, an invented grandfather, hear his answers and say whether they would like school long ago, giving a reason. No computers are needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Asking Taid Questions about School Long Ago
- Stimulus: Taid Gwyn's 1958 class photo and answer cards
- Worked example: finished activity page and what to look for
- Taid's answer cards cut up, one set between two, plus one for the teacher
Tools required
- Pencil
Software / weblinks
Buying and Selling at Machynlleth Market
Numeracy: Financial literacy
Pupils visit an invented stall at Machynlleth's Wednesday market and learn what buyers and sellers do. They pay exact prices in different ways, add the cost of 2 items, count on to find the change from 50p and £1 and role play buying and selling with paper coins. No computers are needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Buying and Selling at Machynlleth Market
- Stimulus: Machynlleth market price cards and paper coins
- Worked example: finished activity page and what to look for
- Paper coins cut out, one set between two, or real or plastic coins
Tools required
- Pencil
- Scissors
Software / weblinks
Labelling a Welsh Landscape Picture
Literacy: Vocabulary, spelling, grammar
Pupils label 8 features of a valley in Eryri below Yr Wyddfa, copying and spelling geography words such as mountain, river and bridge. They sort the features into natural and made by people, clap syllables to help them spell and write their own sentences with describing words. No computers are needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Labelling a Welsh Landscape Picture
- Worked example: finished activity page and what to look for
Tools required
- Pencil
Software / weblinks
Sending an Email to a Partner School in Lesotho
Literacy: Planning and organising for different purposes, audiences and context
Pupils compare ways to send a message, from a letter to a video call, and choose the best one for different jobs. They read a pretend email from an invented partner class in Lesotho, plan what to tell them about Wales and write a safe reply on a pretend email screen. No computers are needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Sending an Email to a Partner School in Lesotho
- Stimulus: a pretend email from an invented partner class in Maseru, Lesotho
- Worked example: finished activity page and what to look for
Tools required
- Pencil
- Coloured pencils
Software / weblinks
Spotting Devices in a Living Room Then and Now
Numeracy: Collecting data
Pupils spot and count the devices in a Welsh living room in 1975 and the same room today, and match old devices to the new ones that do the same job. They run a class vote on the device they use most, record it with tally marks and totals, and choose healthy screen habits. No computers are needed.
Resources required
- Teacher script and activity sheet: Spotting Devices in a Living Room Then and Now
- Stimulus: a living room in 1975 and today, with invented backup votes
- Worked example: finished activity page and what to look for
Tools required
- Pencil
- Coloured pencils