Riley's Rainbows
Our Riley’s Rainbows Series is here to help children understand the coronavirus pandemic.
Here at LbQ, we understand the stresses that the current climate can have on your learners. Our authors are all experienced teachers who care about the lives of young children. With that in mind, they have been creating content that will help them through this tumultuous time.
Our Riley’s Rainbows Series is a trilogy of PSHE Guided Reads written to help pupils understand the emotions and issues they may have during the coronavirus pandemic.
The three sets deal with different stages of the coronavirus situation: the first deals with lockdown life following the initial closure of schools; the second deals with the uncertain and staggered return to schools following the impact of the pandemic; and the third deals with the difficult transition to high school for many Year 6 pupils who have missed out on half of their final year of primary school.
The first in the series is its namesake...
Riley's Rainbows (Years 2/3/4)
Riley’s Rainbows follows Riley as she comes to terms with her normal routine being disrupted. The story focuses on how the positive relationship between Riley and her Grandma helps her deal with this lifestyle change. Riley decides to hide rocks with rainbows painted on them to spread an uplifting message around her local area. Her endeavour shines a light on the positive power of community spirit during the pandemic.
This Question Set was written to help children understand the confusion and emotion surrounding lockdown life. Its main intent is to identify the worries that this uncertain situation can produce in their lives, and then encourage them to think about what they can do to manage these worries.
The author of this set wrote it in response to a friend asking her for an inspirational and uplifting story to help children get through lockdown. The character of Riley was also inspired by one of her nieces, who has been struggling to sleep during lockdown. Riley’s grandma was based on the author’s own mum, who she says is a “wise grandma”!
School Feels Strange for Riley (Years 2/3/4)
School Feels Strange for Riley follows Riley on her return to a socially distanced classroom. The story deals with how Riley adapts to her scary and strange new environment. In her new class group, she strikes up a friendship with Jonno, who is a classmate she has not spent much time with before. Jonno has had a particularly tough time during lockdown, and Riley cheers him up with the same kindness she showed to her local community in Riley’s Rainbows.
This Question Set was written to help children understand the different school experience during the pandemic. It highlights issues like handwashing and social distancing as these issues may be focussed on when children go back to school. With the storyline of Riley and Jonno’s friendship, the text deals with themes of empathy, friendship and helping others with their emotions. The combination of real-life situations and emotive themes is designed to help children adapt to their new routine at school.
The author based the characters in this story on pupils that she taught in the past. She says that she hopes this Question Set will help children prepare for some of the differences awaiting them when they get back to school. Hopefully, if the children know some of the ways in which school might be different, the return to school might not be as scary for them.
No Show for Ruben concentrates on Riley’s cousin, Ruben, as he comes to terms with missing out on his Year 6 summer term. Ruben was looking forward to performing in his Class Six play. As well as this, he is scared and anxious about going to high school because he does not feel prepared for this big change in his life. Ruben puts on a performance for his family to express himself and deal with his emotions. It is a roaring success!
This Question Set was written to validate and address the likely emotions of anger and disappointment that pupils may feel at missing out on their final year of primary school. Ruben’s journey may mirror pupils who feel a lack of purpose without school, helping them to rebuild some confidence in their abilities and try to feel more positive about the future. The text was also written to help children deal with their transition to high school, which is often worrying for many Year 6 pupils, but has been made much more complicated by the lockdown and school closures.
High school is a scary enough step, but without the support of your family and teachers, it could be a very big worry for some pupils. No Show for Ruben highlights how the support of family, friends and teachers can help children deal with the emotions that the tricky transition to high school can instil in a child, especially in the current coronavirus climate.
Our Riley’s Rainbows series is here to help your children deal with their transitions back to school (whatever the picture may look like). Like Ruben and Riley, we hope to inspire children to find some positive ways to express themselves in this cloud of uncertainty!
You can access our Reading Question Sets here. If you have any questions, or you would like your very own online demo, contact us and one of our team will be in touch to help you.