"I've just finished 12 weeks of teaching lessons from this book and what a wonderful experience it has been. I sort of knew the Odyssey before starting out on what felt like a bit of an Odyssey of my own, however I didn't know the stories very well. Although at first the task of learning the stories seemed like a truly grueling feat, it slowly became one of my favourite parts. Of course you don't have to learn the stories you can read them, but being able to act them out dramatically whilst telling the children was a lot of fun and the kids were utterly mesmerised. I couldn't believe how they remembered week to week every one of those impossible to pronounce ancient Greek names along with everything they had done and said.

The philosophical enquiries gave them (and me) a brilliant way of engaging with the story on a host of different levels. They were able to explore problems with the story and characters, face the dilemmas being faced by Odysseus and his men and decide what should happen next. We covered geography (some of them excitedly discovering they came from, or had been to, somewhere very close to where Odysseus had been), poetry, history, drama and so many fascinating philosophical issues such as happiness, free will, identity and even politics." Learn More

Publication Date: 15 Sep 2009 | ISBN-10: 1408110865 | ISBN-13: 978-1408110867
"I a not a drama specialist but bought this book because I have another Molly Potter book and like her imaginative approach to the curriculum. This book did not disappoint.

The book is split into two sections - quick warm ups and longer activities. My class have throughly enjoyed the quick warn ups I have done with them and frequently request we revisit them as 'games' at the end of the day. The two longer activities I did, An extraordinary village and, Mystery on Bafbury High Street surprised me because my class became completely involved and remained lost in role." Learn More

Paperback: 96 pages
Publisher: Scholastic; 1 edition (19 Jun 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0439965705
"I bought this resource to work with my year 6 maths class on one day a week when they are not in ability groups. I have found so far that the activities have stimulated a great deal of discussion between the children who love the challenges. There is also differentiation within the tasks, so if they manage to solve the given problem, it is simple to move them on to an additional level for the more able in the class. Comments from the children have included "I didn't think that I was any good at problem solving, but now I think I am" and "I didn't think that problem solving could be fun". I would recommend this to anyone who wants to get their class thinking, enjoying and talking about maths!" Learn More

"If you would like to have class discussions that run for a whole lesson and get children developing their critical thinking, there is no better guidebook than this. The best thing about it is that it is packed with practical activities to use in lessons, together with advice on how to exploit them. One particular highlight is the sequence of 'Ceebie' stories, which provide very rich material for stimulating enquiries. The children are first gripped by the story and then by the conflicts and issues that it throws up. The philosophy behind philosophical enquiry is dealt with here as well, but always in the context of real situations." Learn More

"If, like me, you have just taken your Year 6 class through the gruelling experience of SATs and you are looking for something worthwhile but enjoyable to do with them, then this book is what you are looking for. Some of the tasks in this book could be stetched to make a whole project if you do the suggested extension activities as well - wonderful for Year 6s about to leave primary school and in need of doing something a bit different and as a reward for getting through SATs. I have to add - that this book has made me smile a fair few times as some of the ideas are wonderfully quirky (just the sort my class will love). However, for less adventurous lessons, there are also some more 'straightforward' problem solving and investigative tasks - which I am sure my class will enjoy too as the creatve opportunities are still there -by outcome." Year 6 teacher. Learn More