Table Of ContentWeaving Wellbeing into the Literacy
Curriculum for Ages 8–11
Combining literacy lessons with wellbeing, this accessible guide, full of practical lesson plans
and photocopiable activities is the ideal resource for the busy primary school teacher.
The book is divided into five chapters, each one focused on an area that creates positive
foundations for mental health and wellbeing: relationships, emotional literacy, sense of self,
skills for learning and understanding how our brain influences our learning and behaviour.
Popular children’s books are used to develop a series of lesson plans that link to the literacy
curriculum and include activities that focus on wellbeing to complement the literacy work being
undertaken.
Using a range of teaching techniques that develop the key areas that impact mental health and
wellbeing, this is the perfect resource for KS2 teachers looking to incorporate wellbeing into the
literacy curriculum.
Alison Waterhouse has worked in mainstream, special education and the independent sector
for the past 30 years. She now works as an Educational Psychotherapist and Educational
Consultant for SEN and Wellbeing. She is involved in staff training, acts as an Adviser for a
renowned Wellbeing Award and supervises Wellbeing Leads and Therapists working in schools.
Melanie Smith has over 25 years’ experience in a variety of school settings. She currently
works in Children’s Services with a Local Authority supporting children, young people and
parents.
Weaving
Wellbeing into
the Literacy
Curriculum
for Ages 8–11
A Practical Resource for
Busy Teachers
Alison Waterhouse and Melanie Smith
Cover image: © Getty Images
First published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 Alison Waterhouse and Melanie Smith
The right of Alison Waterhouse and Melanie Smith to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted in
accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. The purchase of this copyright material confers the right on the purchasing institution to
photocopy pages which bear the photocopy icon and copyright line at the bottom of the page. No other parts of
this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other
means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only
for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Waterhouse, Alison, 1963- author. | Smith, Melanie K., author.
Title: Weaving wellbeing into the literacy curriculum for ages 8-11 : a practical resource for busy teachers /
Alison Waterhouse and Melanie Smith.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2023. | Series: Weaving wellbeing into the curriculum
Identifiers: LCCN 2022037639 (print) | LCCN 2022037640 (ebook) | ISBN 9781032345628 (hardback) |
ISBN 9781032345611 (paperback) | ISBN 9781003322801 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Language arts (Elementary)--Psychological aspects. | Language arts (Elementary)--Activity
programs. | School children--Mental health.
Classification: LCC LB1576 .W264 2023 (print) | LCC LB1576 (ebook) | DDC 372.6--dc23/eng/20220922
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022037639
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022037640
ISBN: 978-1-032-34562-8 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-34561-1 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-32280-1 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003322801
Typeset in Avant Garde
by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India
Contents
Weaving Wellbeing into Literacy 1
Chapter 1: Relationships: KS2 9
Key Stage 2
One by Kathryn Otoshi
Dandylion by Lizzie Finlay
TrooFriend by Kirsty Applebaum
Assembly
Phileas’s Fortune by Agnes de Lestrade and Valeria Docampo
Chapter 2: Emotional Literacy: KS2 61
Key Stage 2
It’s All about Bodd by Linda Wheeler and Tom Lawley
What Do You Do with a Problem? by Kobi Yamada and Mae Besom
The Worry Tree by Marianne Musgrove
Assembly
The Invisible by Tom Percival
Chapter 3: Understanding Self: KS2 119
Key Stage 2
Can I Build Another Me? by Shinsuke Yoshitake
The Map of Good Memories by Fran Nuño and Zuzanna Celej
Maybe by Kobi Yamada and Gabriella Barouch
Assembly
Your Thoughts Matter by Esther Pia Cordova and Mariya Elizarova
Chapter 4: The Brain, Behaviour and Learning: KS2 181
Key Stage 2
A Tale of Two Beasts by Fiona Roberton
The Thinking Traps by Jessica Cortez
Silly Limbic by Naomi Harvey
Assembly
A Little Spot of Anxiety by Diane Alber
v
Contents
Chapter 5: Skills for Learning: KS2 255
Key Stage 2
Inside My Imagination by Marta Arteaga and Zuzanna Celej
The Tale of Two Fishes by Juliette Ttofa and Julia Gallego
Going Places by Peter and Paul Reynolds
Assembly
What Do You Do with a Chance? by Kobi Yamada and Mae Besom
vi
10.4324/9781003322801-1
Weaving Wellbeing
into Literacy
DOI: 10.4324/9781003322801-1
Weaving Wellbeing into Literacy
2
Introduction
IN THE BEGINNING…
The idea for this book came into being when Melanie and I were having coffee. Melanie is a
brilliant teacher, possibly one of the best I have ever had the pleasure to work with. We would
often joke about how wonderful it would be to own a bookshop together. We both love children’s
books but look at them from completely different angles. She is passionate about teaching
literacy, and I am passionate about wellbeing. While catching up over a coffee one day we
decided it would be brilliant fun to work together and write a resource for teachers, the sort of
resource we wanted, but could never find, one that combined good teaching with wellbeing
interwoven into the lesson – the Golden Thread series of books came into being and the idea
started to grow.
So why do I love books? Good question. One of my first memories is of my mum reading after
she had done the household jobs in the afternoon, I would sit down next to her on the settee
and read as well. I have no memory of learning to read but just remember I could. Our house
only had one bookcase and it was filled with a strange variety of books from Agatha Christie to
Edgar Rice Burroughs – he wrote the Tarzan books. Victoria Holt, Lewis Carroll and Shakespeare.
My dad didn’t read – later it became obvious that he was very dyslexic as was I, but I didn’t find
that out for many years. By the age of 12, I had read every single one of the books and anything
else I could get my hands on. I had been transported to wonderful places, met extraordinary
characters and learnt how to escape from the world. My love of reading was ignited.
Melanie’s memories about reading are linked to being told that she had finished her reading
scheme at school. Up until that point she had had no idea she was following any scheme! It
was the fact that now she had completed it and was a ‘free reader’, which had a profound
effect on her as it opened doors that enabled her to discover a greater variety of genres and
authors.
It was years later when I was working with very traumatised children in a special school in Kent
that I started to understand the power of books and stories in helping children grow and heal.
When children arrived at the school, they had experienced the very worst life and school could
throw at them. They didn’t like school, were stuck with learning and didn’t trust anyone. Each
child came to school for an hour a day for the first week to help them get used to the building,
meet staff and start to settle. During this time, I worked with them on a 1:1 basis. As I got to
know them, I went in search of ‘their book’. Sometimes I would know exactly which book I
wanted, but most of the time I needed to wander around the bookshops or second-hand shops.
As I did, ‘their book’ would reveal itself.
3
