Presentation: Sending an Email to a Partner School in Lesotho

Slide 1 of 7 · Settling starter: Wales and Lesotho · Geography · Year 2

6 minutes

Writing to children in Lesotho

Today we are going to write to children in a country far away. It is called Lesotho. Say it with me: leh-SOO-too.

While the register is called: write your name and the date on your activity page. Look at the maps on the stimulus sheet. Find Wales at the top and Lesotho at the bottom.

Starter question: Lesotho is a very long way from us. How could we send a message all that way?

DCF: Interacting and collaborating → Communication No computers needed · nothing is really sent

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Hand out: the activity page (Part 2 of the worksheet), one per pupil; stimulus page 1 (the email) one between two; pencils and coloured pencils. Show stimulus page 2 (the maps and “How fast?” cards) on the board or hold up one copy.

Say aloud: “Here is Wales, at the top of the map. Lesotho is way down here, in the south of Africa. It is a small country, and it has another country, South Africa, all the way around it. Lesotho has lots of high mountains. Even the lowest land in Lesotho is higher than the top of Yr Wyddfa, the highest mountain in Wales! The capital city is Maseru (ma-SEH-roo). People speak Sesotho (seh-SOO-too) and English. In Sesotho, hello is Lumela. It is written with an L, but we say doo-MEH-lah. Wales and Lesotho have been friends since 1985, and many schools in Wales have a partner school in Lesotho.”

Starter answer: take 3 or 4 ideas. Any of letter, phone call, email or video call is a good answer; they are the 4 ways on the next slide.

Slide 2 of 7 · Step 2: ways to send a message and key words · Geography · Year 2

8 minutes

4 ways to send a message

A letter goes in an envelope with a stamp. It can take more than a week to reach Lesotho. A phone call lets you talk and listen now, but you cannot send a picture.

Email

A message you type on a computer or tablet. It gets there in seconds, and you can add a photo.

Video call

You see each other’s faces and talk at the same time.

Attached

The paper clip on an email means something is attached, like a photo.

LNF: Literacy → Writing → Planning and organising for different purposes, audiences and context Task 1: join each word to its picture

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Say aloud: show the “How fast?” cards on stimulus page 2. “Here are 4 ways to send a message. A letter goes in an envelope with a stamp. A letter to Lesotho by post can take more than a week. A phone call lets you talk and listen straight away, but you cannot send a picture. An email is a message you type on a computer or tablet. It gets there in seconds, and you can add a photo. A video call lets you see each other’s faces and talk at the same time. In Task 1, draw a line from each word to its picture. Then draw a ring round the fastest way to send words and a photo.”

Quick check: letter, envelope with a stamp; phone call, telephone; email, laptop with an envelope; video call, tablet with a face. The ring goes round email. Ask: “Why not a letter?” (It takes more than a week.) “Why not a phone call?” (You cannot send a photo.)

Slide 3 of 7 · Step 3: which is best? · Geography · Year 2

7 minutes

Task 2: ring the best way

Listen to each sentence. Ring 1 picture: letter, email or video call.

You want to	Best way
1. See your friends’ faces and talk to them now.	video call
2. Send your class photo today, to look at later.	?
3. Send a paper card with glitter they can hold.	?

Task 2 · 7 minutes One ring in each row

Slide 4 of 7 · Step 4: read the email · Geography · Year 2

9 minutes

Task 3: an email from Class 2

From: Class 2, Mountain Star School. To: Year 2, Wales. Subject: Lumela from Lesotho!

“We are Class 2 at Mountain Star School in Maseru. There are 30 children in our class. We can see mountains from our classroom window. We have sent you a photo of our class. What is it like where you live?”

Ring the answers: What can Class 2 see from their window? What did they send?

Task 3 · 9 minutes Mountain Star School is made up; Lesotho and Maseru are real

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Say aloud: point to stimulus page 1. “Class 2 in Lesotho have sent us an email. This line says who it is From. This line says who it is To. The Subject tells us what the email is about. The paper clip means something is attached: a photo.” Then read the whole email aloud slowly from the stimulus sheet, from “Lumela, Year 2 in Wales!” to “From Class 2 and Mrs Mokoena.”

Say aloud: “Mountain Star School and Class 2 are made up for today’s lesson, but Lesotho and Maseru are real places. Now answer the 2 questions in Task 3 by ringing a picture.”

Quick check: 1 mountains (not the sea: Lesotho has no sea, it is surrounded by South Africa); 2 a photo. Ask: “What question did Class 2 ask us?” (What is it like where you live?) “So what should our reply tell them about?” (Wales, where we live.)

Slide 5 of 7 · Step 5: talk and plan · Geography · Year 2

10 minutes

Task 4: plan what to tell Class 2

Class 2 have never been to Wales. Tell your partner which 3 pictures you would write about: castles, sheep, the sea, rugby, Welsh cakes or our school. Say one sentence about each. Then tick your 3.

Sentence: There are lots of sheep on the hills near our school.

My question for Class 2: Do you have sheep in Lesotho?

Start your question with What, Do, How, Where or Can.

Task 4 · 10 minutes Talk first, then tick 3 and write 1 question

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Say aloud: “Class 2 have never been to Wales. What would they like to know? Look at the 6 pictures in Task 4. Tell your partner which 3 you would write about, and say one sentence about each. For example: There are lots of sheep on the hills near our school. Then tick your 3. Good emails ask a question too, so the other class can write back. Think of 1 question for Class 2. You can start with one of the words in the boxes, like What or Do. Write it on the line.” Model: “Do you have sheep in Lesotho?”

Walk the room: ask pairs “Who is going to read your email?” (Children in Lesotho.) “So what do you need to explain?” (Things they might not know, like what a Welsh cake is.) Look for exactly 3 ticks and a question Class 2 could answer. Any 3 pictures are fine.

Slide 6 of 7 · Step 6: write the reply and check it · Geography · Year 2

16 minutes

Task 5: write your reply email

To: class2@mountainstar.example (copy it exactly). Subject: Hello from Wales. Start with Lumela Class 2 or Hello Class 2.

To and Subject filled in.
3 sentences about Wales from your plan.
1 question with a ?
From and your first name only. No address, no surname.

Task 5 · 16 minutes In Wales we have … · Near our school there is … · I like … · A Welsh cake is …

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Say aloud: draw the email screen on the board and fill in the top lines together. “An email address must be copied exactly, or it will not arrive. On the To line, copy Class 2’s address from the email: class2@mountainstar.example. On the Subject line, write what your email is about, for example Hello from Wales. Start with a greeting: Lumela Class 2 or Hello Class 2. Then write 3 sentences about Wales from your plan, and your question with a question mark. At the end, write From and your first name only.”

Say aloud: “Here is an important safety rule. When you write to people you have not met, never put your surname, your address or the name of your street. Only your first name. And a grown-up at school always sends emails like this, not children on their own.”

Walk the room: check the address letter by letter (one wrong letter and it will not arrive), a Subject, a greeting, a question mark, and a first name only. Help early finishers add a fact about the weather or a game they play. Model from the example: “Lumela Class 2, There are lots of sheep on the hills near our school. We have a big old castle in our town. Welsh cakes are small flat cakes with currants in them. Do you have sheep in Lesotho? From Cerys”.

Slide 7 of 7 · Plenary: safety check and pretend send · Geography · Year 2

4 minutes

Check, then colour in Send

Tick every box in the checklist under your email. Only then colour in the Send button. Answer these together.

Question	Correct answer
Which is the fastest way to send words and a photo?	Email: there in seconds.
What can Class 2 see from their window?	Mountains.
What name do you put at the end of your email?	Your first name only. No surname, no address.

Check your name is on your activity page Nothing is sent today: Class 2 is made up