Oxford Level 8

Twelve Dancing Princesses

Written by Geraldine McCaughrean and illustrated by Bee Willey
Teaching notes written by Pam Dowson
Information about assessment and curriculum links can be found at the end of these Teaching Notes.

Background to the story

• Traditional tales have been told for many years. They help to keep alive the richness of storytelling
language and traditions from different cultures. These tales, many of which will be familiar to the
children, are rich in patterned language and provide a springboard for their own storytelling and writing.
• This story is based on a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm about two hundred years ago.
In this rags-to-riches story the hero must use his intelligence to gain his reward. It is a sequential tale, as
each night the twelve princesses take the secret passage to a magical castle to dance the night away.

Group/Guided reading
Introducing the story
• Ask the children if they know the story. Ask: Do you know any other stories about princesses? Are they
usually good or bad characters?
• Ask: What other characters might you expect to find in a story about princesses? For example, kings,
queens, knights, princes, witches.
• Look at the cover of the book and read the title together. Ask: What do you think might happen in this story?
• Read pages 2 to 3 together. Ask: Does the old lady remind you of any characters you have met in other
traditional tales? What do you think she might do in this story?
• All the words in this story are decodable. However, we’ve listed some of the more challenging words
on the inside front cover of the book, to help build familiarity with these before children read the story
for themselves.

Reading the story

• Ask the children to read the story. Remember to give them lots of encouragement and praise as they read.
• Check that the children understand the meaning of the word determined on page 9. Ask: Have you ever
been determined to do something?
• On page 18, ask the children to read aloud the phrase He gobbled down the turkey. Ask: Why has the
author chosen the word gobble here? Help them to see the two meanings, i.e. the sound a turkey makes
and a way of eating quickly.

Returning to the story

• Ask the children to explain how the magic cloak helped Tramper. Ask: How do you think Tramper felt
when he found out why the princesses wore holes in their slippers? Why do you think Tramper waited
until the third night to tell the King the answer to the mystery?
• Tell the children that there are several different spellings of the /oa/ phoneme in this book. Ask them to
find examples, such as road, holes (page 2), cold (page 3), followed (page 20).
• Ask the children to think of interesting words to describe the characters, e.g. Tramper might be confident,
clever or poor; the princesses might be kind or beautiful; the elves might be sneaky or mischievous.

© Oxford University Press 2014

 Storytelling and Drama
• Ask the children to think about the main events of the story and how Tramper solved the mystery of
the princesses’ slippers. You may want to give the children copies of the storymap available on
www.oxfordprimary.co.uk/tradtales to refer to.
• Ask the children to work in pairs taking the roles of the Tramper and the King. Show the children pages
28 to 31 of the book and ask them to imagine that they are having the conversation that is shown.
Tramper must tell the King what has happened, what he has discovered about how the princesses
wear holes in their slippers and how he managed to solve the mystery. The King does not believe
Tramper at first. Tell the children they need to think about what Tramper would say, how the King
might react and how Tramper could convince him he is telling the truth.
• Ask the children to work in their pairs to role-play the situation.
Writing
• Look again at Chapter 4 ‘The magical wardrobe’. Ask the children to imagine what might have
happened next in the story if Tramper had not been able to find his way back through the wardrobe
into the castle. Briefly list the children’s ideas.
• Model writing an alternative, such as ‘Tramper ran ahead of the princesses back to the castle, but to
his alarm he could not find the path.’ As a whole-class activity work together to write the next two or
three sentences for the alternative part of the story.
• Ask the children to choose their own alternative to what might have happened and write the new
episode in the story independently. Encourage them to think of how Tramper would feel and react,
as well as what events might happen.
• If appropriate, ask the children to read their new sections of the story to the class.

Links to the wider curriculum

Science ICT
• Investigate properties of shoes. Test for • Make a poster for the palace notice about
stability on various surfaces or how waterproof solving the mystery of the worn slippers.
shoes are. Make a graph of the results. Music
• Find out about different types of shoes made • Compose some dancing music and create a
for different purposes, e.g. football boots, dance to go with it.
ballet shoes. In what ways do they differ?
For more ideas on how to use this book in the
History
classroom use the Traditional Tales Handbook.
• Find out about some real princesses, using
books or the internet.
Art and design
• Design some silk slippers for the princesses.
Choose one design to create as a collage.
For teachers
Helping you with free eBooks, inspirational
resources, advice and support
For parents
Helping your child’s learning
with free eBooks, essential
tips and fun activities

www.oxfordowl.co.uk
© Oxford University Press 2014
Twelve Dancing Princesses (Oxford Level 8) curriculum coverage chart
Links to Oxford Reading Criterion Scale:
• Can read aloud, taking into account . ? ! (READ) [ORCS Standard 3, 2]
• Can apply phonic skills and knowledge to recognize an increasing number of complex words. (READ) [ORCS Standard 3, 3]
• Can locate some specific information e.g. key events, characters’ names or key information in a non-fiction text. (R) [ORCS Standard 3,
6]
• Can make predictions about a text using a range of clues. (D) [ORCS Standard 3, 7]

ENGLAND The National Curriculum in England: Year 2

Spoken language Pupils should be taught to listen and respond appropriately to adults and their peers (SpokLang.1)
Pupils should be taught to participate in discussions, presentations, performances and debates
(SpokLang.9)
Pupils should be taught to select and use appropriate registers for effective communication
(SpokLang.12)

Reading: Pupils should be taught to read accurately by blending the sounds in words that contain the graphemes
Word reading taught so far, especially recognising alternative sounds for graphemes (Y2 ReadWord.2)
Pupils should be taught to read aloud books closely matched to their improving phonic knowledge,
sounding out unfamiliar words accurately, automatically and without undue hesitation (Y2 ReadWord.7)

Reading: Pupils should be taught to develop pleasure in reading, motivation to read, vocabulary and understanding
Comprehension by becoming increasingly familiar with and retelling a wider range of stories, fairy stories and traditional
tales (Y2 ReadComp.1iii)
Pupils should be taught to develop pleasure in reading, motivation to read, vocabulary and understanding
by discussing and clarifying the meanings of words, linking new meanings to known vocabulary (Y2
ReadComp.1vi)
Pupils should be taught to understand both the books that they can already read accurately and fluently
and those that they listen to by making inferences on the basis of what is being said and done (Y2
ReadComp.2iii)

Writing: Pupils should be taught to develop positive attitudes towards and stamina for writing by writing
Composition narratives about personal experiences and those of others (real and fictional) (Y2 WritComp.1i)
Pupils should be taught to consider what they are going to write before beginning by: planning or saying
out loud what they are going to write about; encapsulating what they want to say, sentence by sentence
(Y2 WritComp.2i/2iii)
Pupils should be taught to read aloud what they have written with appropriate intonation to make the
meaning clear (Y2 WritComp.4)

SCOTLAND Curriculum for Excellence: Literacy and English experiences and outcomes – First Level
Listening and I am exploring how pace, gesture, expression, emphasis and choice of words are used to engage others,
talking and I can use what I learn (ENG 1-03a)
When I engage with others, I know when and how to listen, when to talk, how much to say, when to ask
questions and how to respond with respect (LIT 1-02a)

Reading I can use my knowledge of sight vocabulary, phonics, context clues, punctuation and grammar to read
with understanding and expression (ENG 1-12a)
I can share my thoughts about structure, characters and/or setting, recognise the writer’s message
and relate it to my own experiences, and comment on the effective choice of words and other features
(ENG 1-19a)
I am learning to select and use strategies and resources before I read, and as I read, to help make the
meaning of texts clear (LIT 1-13a)

Writing I am learning to use my notes and other types of writing to help me understand information and ideas,
explore problems, generate ideas or create new text (LIT 1-25a)
By considering the type of text I am creating, I can select ideas and relevant information, organise these
in a logical sequence and use words which will be interesting and/or useful to others (LIT 1-26a)

© Oxford University Press 2014

WALES Foundation Phase Framework: Year 2
Oracy Learners are able to share activities and information to complete a task (Y2_OracColl.2)
Learners are able to retell narratives or information that they have heard, sequencing events correctly
(Y2_OracList.5)
Learners are able to express opinions, giving reasons, and provide appropriate answers to questions
(Y2_OracSpea.1)
Learners are able to speak clearly to a range of audiences (Y2_OracSpea.6)
Learners are able to adopt a specific role, using appropriate language in structured situations
(Y2_OracSpea.7)

Reading Learners are able to recall and retell narratives and information from texts with some details
(Y2_ReadComp.2)
Learners are able to draw upon relevant personal experience and prior knowledge to support
understanding of texts (Y2_ReadComp.4)
Learners are able to express views about information and details in a text (Y2_ReadResp.1)
Learners are able to apply the following reading strategies with increasing independence to a range of
familiar and unfamiliar texts: phonic strategies; recognition of HFW; context clues; graphic and syntactic
clues; self-correction, including re-reading and reading ahead (Y2_ReadStrat.4i–4v)

Writing Learners are able to understand and use language appropriate to writing (Y2_WritLang.1)
Learners are able to use simple subject-related words appropriately (Y2_WritLang.2)
Learners are able to write for different purposes (Y2_WritMean.2)
Learners are able follow and build upon a form modelled by the teacher (Y2_WritStru.2)

NORTHERN IRELAND Levels of Progression in Communication across the curriculum: Primary Levels 1 and 2
Talking and Pupils can listen for information (L1_com_talk.1i)
listening Pupils can follow discussions, make contributions and observe conventions of conversation (L2_com_talk.2i)

Reading Pupils can use a range of reading strategies (L2_com_read.2)

Pupils can express opinions and make predictions (L2_com_read.5ii)

Writing Pupils can write using a given form (L2_com_write.3)

© Oxford University Press 2014