The themes tackled in the book are very relevant and link into the pressures that many current Year 6s may come up against in the future.
Ameena Gamiet, English Teacher, Stoke Poges Primary School
Teaching
Resources
Unstoppable is fast becoming a story which teachers, coaches and parents are using as a platform to facilitate key conversations with young people.
Unstoppable teaching Resource
Here are some cross-curricular teaching resources, which all teachers may find helpful.
(Microsoft PowerPoint File)
University of Oxford’s Exploration of key themes in Unstoppable
Sibling relationships, rivalries and resilience are all big topics in Unstoppable.
Expert psychologist Professor Lucy Bowes, from the University of Oxford, shares her insights with us.
Resources to develop students’ critical essay writing skills
Using Unstoppable as a tool to develop students’ critical essay writing skills, understanding the central concerns of a novel, interpretation skills and empathy. These terrific resources have been created Claire McVittie, Teacher of English at St Kentigern’s Academy in West Lothian, Scotland.
(Microsoft PowerPoint File)
Walkabout-Bingo
How My Thinking Has Changed
Curriculum Vitae
Factual and Reflective Questions
And here are some factual and reflective questions about the story and the characters which could prompt some insightful and important discussions.
(PDF File)
Parental Pressure in Sport
This is one of the key themes explored in Unstoppable and might make for some very interesting classroom discussions. Jo De Guia of Forest School has put together these fantastic resources which provide a great platform to discuss this subject with your students. Feel free to use and develop as best fits your school and students.
With thanks to Jo for this very thoughtful collection of articles, extracts, songs and ideas.
(Link to Wakelet website)
Medium Term Learning Plan
Here is a scheme of work designed for English teachers to use with Year 7 students over a period of weeks.
(Microsoft Word File)
Case study
The Blackpool Football Club Community Trust have created an outstanding programme for Year 6 pupils that uses Unstoppable to tackle sensitive, relevant issues faced by adolescents. The programme has been delivered to several primary schools for 1 hour a week over a 6-week period. The children read the book to a certain point in order to access the lessons.
Here is an article from Teach Primary on the incredible impact the project is having, helping pupils understand themselves better, leading to enhanced behavior.
TES review
How Unstoppable opened up an important conversation between one English Teacher and her Year 10 students
(Link to TES website)