Key Stage 2 Literacy
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Michael Morpurgo

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Born: 5th October 1943 (St Albans, Hertfordshire)
Movie Adaptations: War Horse; Why the Whales Came
Family: Morpurgo's real father was actor Tony Van Bridge, however Morpurgo's mother met Jack Morpurgo whilst Van Bridge was fighting in World War II.
Education: Mount House Boarding School (Devon) until the age of 13; and then The King's School (Canterbury)
Military: trained in the British Army at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.
Occupation: having graduated from King's College, London with a degree in French and English, he became a primary school teacher in Kent. In his late 20's he began writing and was inspired by the works of Ted Hughes to become an author.

Key Themes in Morpurgo's Books

Simply put, the main areas covered continually in Morpurgo's stories for older children and young teens are:
- Tragedy, loss and grief
- Belief, trust and hope
- Early 20th Century World Wars and general military
- Rural village life
- Animals and wildlife
- Journey, travel and mystery
Kensuke's Kingdom
​Coming Soon...
Friend or Foe
​Coming Soon...

Meeting Morpurgo...

Click on the picture below for more!
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Click on the first nine titles in this list to see the blurb... find out what these books are about and see whether you can identify any of the common themes in Morpurgo's stories. The rest of the blurbs will come soon...

Kensuke's Kingdom

Note that many of Michael Morpurgo's works have been reproduced by different publishers and therefore have different front covers- one interesting lesson you could do with a class is to compare and contrast the covers. Beforehand, you may want to read the blurbs on the back of the book cover and having discussed the key themes of Morpurgo's work, ask the children to design their own front covers.
I would like to remind all visitors to this website that all pages on this site are copyright protected, unless stated. Where content has been used from other sources (namely the DSCF, DFES or DFE), I take no credit whatsoever. Most importantly, this site is for the use and enjoyment of all children, parents, guardians, carers and teachers who are involved in Key Stage 2 Literacy. Please use the resources/ideas as you need without replicating them for your own gains.
Chris Birch 2011-2020
  • Home
  • Distance Learning
    • DL- English
    • DL- Maths
    • DL- Science
    • DL- History
    • DL- Art and Music
    • DL- Health
  • Early Morning Activities
  • Indoor Break Times
  • SPAG Zone!
  • Must-Have Websites
  • Blog
  • *AREAS OF STUDY*
    • Features of Texts: What Makes Good
    • Narrative/Stories >
      • Myths, Legends and Fables >
        • Beowulf
        • Robin Hood
        • Greek Myths
        • Myths To Use
        • Pandora's Box/Jar
      • Film Narrative >
        • Piano Writing
        • Frankenweenie
      • Stories from Other Cultures >
        • Egyptian Cinderella
        • Egyptian Traditional Tale
        • Egypt: One Off Lessons
        • Africa
      • Rainbow Fish
      • More Story Openers
    • Instructions >
      • Instructions - Vikings
      • Recipe For Friendship
      • Bossy 'Imperative' Verbs
    • Descriptive Writing >
      • Description Using Art
      • Description Using Art 2
      • Twenty-One Tunnels
      • Oi Caveboy Farlands!
      • Escape from Pompeii
    • Persuasion >
      • School Uniform Debate
      • Graffiti Debate
      • Deforestation Debate
      • Advertisements
      • Finding Your Voice- Environment
      • Holiday Resort Persuasion >
        • Holiday Videos- Egypt
        • Holiday Videos- Pompeii
      • Product Advertising
    • Explanation Texts
    • Recounts & Reports >
      • Newspapers
      • TV News Reports
      • Chronological Reports
      • Non Chronological
    • Authors >
      • Michael Morpurgo >
        • Meeting Morpurgo...
        • Friend or Foe
        • Kensuke's Kingdom
      • Mary Shelley
      • Jill Murphy
      • John Burningham
    • Diaries >
      • Studying Diaries
    • Poetry >
      • World War Poetry >
        • WW Poem Videos
      • Our Favourite Poems
      • Inspirational Poems
      • Poetry Bank
      • The Highwayman
      • Back To School Poetry
    • Biographies
    • Older Literature >
      • Frankenstein
      • Macbeth
  • What is...?
  • Power of Music
  • Testimonials