Languages and literacy
Pip changes plans: notice, help and check
For Early Years children aged 3 to 5 with adult support, retell what Pip planned first and how Pip responds after noticing Sam needs help.
Read the material
For Early Years children aged 3 to 5 with adult support, retell what Pip planned first and how Pip responds after noticing Sam needs help.
Pupil worksheet. Use the preview for diagrams and layout.
Page 1
Pip changes plans: notice, help and check Pupil activity Audience: Early Years children aged 3 to 5 with adult support Retell what Pip planned first and how Pip responds after noticing Sam needs help. Story: The picture on the floor Pip is building a tall tower of blocks. Sam's paper picture slips from the wall. Pip stops building and looks at Sam. Pip holds the picture while Sam brings a piece of tape. Together they put it back. Pip checks that the picture is secure, then returns to the blocks. First, then and why 1. What was Pip doing before the picture fell? 2. What did Pip notice about Sam? 3. What did Pip choose to do next? 4. What did Pip check after the picture was fixed? 5. Finish: “At first Pip __. Then Pip __ because __.” Pupil activity Page 1 of 1
A teaching sequence
Retell two story moments and use the character’s actions to describe how a choice changes after a problem appears.
Retell Pip's first plan
Retell what Pip was doing before the picture fell.
What was Pip building before the picture fell?
Notice the change in the story
Point to the moment Pip notices Sam looking at the picture.
What does Pip notice after Sam's picture slips from the wall?
Describe the help and final check
Describe what Pip chooses to do, then what Pip checks afterwards.
What does Pip hold, and what is checked before returning to the blocks?
Explain first, then and because
Complete: “At first Pip __. Then Pip __ because __.”
Does your reason fit what happens in the story?
Before you teach
Look for the thinking behind an answer, choose the support your class needs and leave room for an independent response.
What to look for
A supported response names Pip building first, then holding the picture while Sam fetches tape, followed by checking that it is secure. Ask, “What changed in Pip’s plan?”
Give a little support
Offer two picture cards labelled first and then. Accept pointing, gesture, a home-language response or an adult-scribed sentence.
Take the idea further
Ask what might have happened if Pip had kept building, without implying that one imagined ending is part of the story.
Things to keep in mind
This original story supports a simple change-of-choice discussion. It does not reproduce the older Macbeth analysis, quotations or dramatic-performance task.
Keep the idea. Make it yours.
Bring your topic, learning goal and class context to PLAI™, then review what you create.
Ideas to try with your class
Sample teaching perspectives on what to try, what to adapt and what to watch for.
Meet The Creators
Meet a creator whose teaching interests connect with this template.
Calm Table
The one-page story gives a clear sequence: Pip builds a tower, Sam’s picture falls, Pip helps hold it, then checks it before returning to the blocks. Five questions follow those events and end with a “first, then, because” sentence.
Five More Minutes
For children aged 3 to 5 with adult support, the sheet uses a simple problem and response to discuss how a plan changes. It asks what Pip noticed and checked, not only what Pip did after the picture fell.
Pencil Case Pal
An adult can retell the short story with the child and invite pointing to the relevant moment before attempting the sentence frame. The questions support oral sequencing without requiring the child to write a full narrative independently.
Tea Break Notes
Pip stops building the block tower when Sam's picture falls, helps hold it while Sam gets tape, then checks it before returning to the blocks. Discuss that story sequence without treating it as a measure of a child's empathy or a rule for every situation.