The Final Year
See that tall, skinny kid with the ball in his handsayin see ya later to his mate? That’s me: Nathan Wilder Nate. A 10 years old and a week away from the end of Year 5. A Life can be tough in your last year of primary school.
Tests to take, preparing for the change to high school. Nate is ready for it all, knowing his best friend PS is at his side - they’ve been inseparable since Nursery. But when they are put in two different classes and PS finds a new friend in Turner, the school bully, Nate's world turns upside-down.
As he struggles to make sense of this and forge new friendships, he’s dealt another blow when his youngest brother, Dylan is rushed into hospital. His new teacher, Mr Joshua, sees a spark inside of Nate that’s lit by his love of reading and writing and shows him how to use this to process what’s going on. But with so much working against him, and anger rising inside him, will this be enough?
A powerful and lyrical story about finding your place in the world and the people that matter within it.
If you would like to be invoiced for this collection (or would like a different quantity), please email julia@chestnutbooks.co.uk with an order number and we’ll be happy to help.
See that tall, skinny kid with the ball in his handsayin see ya later to his mate? That’s me: Nathan Wilder Nate. A 10 years old and a week away from the end of Year 5. A Life can be tough in your last year of primary school.
Tests to take, preparing for the change to high school. Nate is ready for it all, knowing his best friend PS is at his side - they’ve been inseparable since Nursery. But when they are put in two different classes and PS finds a new friend in Turner, the school bully, Nate's world turns upside-down.
As he struggles to make sense of this and forge new friendships, he’s dealt another blow when his youngest brother, Dylan is rushed into hospital. His new teacher, Mr Joshua, sees a spark inside of Nate that’s lit by his love of reading and writing and shows him how to use this to process what’s going on. But with so much working against him, and anger rising inside him, will this be enough?
A powerful and lyrical story about finding your place in the world and the people that matter within it.
If you would like to be invoiced for this collection (or would like a different quantity), please email julia@chestnutbooks.co.uk with an order number and we’ll be happy to help.
See that tall, skinny kid with the ball in his handsayin see ya later to his mate? That’s me: Nathan Wilder Nate. A 10 years old and a week away from the end of Year 5. A Life can be tough in your last year of primary school.
Tests to take, preparing for the change to high school. Nate is ready for it all, knowing his best friend PS is at his side - they’ve been inseparable since Nursery. But when they are put in two different classes and PS finds a new friend in Turner, the school bully, Nate's world turns upside-down.
As he struggles to make sense of this and forge new friendships, he’s dealt another blow when his youngest brother, Dylan is rushed into hospital. His new teacher, Mr Joshua, sees a spark inside of Nate that’s lit by his love of reading and writing and shows him how to use this to process what’s going on. But with so much working against him, and anger rising inside him, will this be enough?
A powerful and lyrical story about finding your place in the world and the people that matter within it.
If you would like to be invoiced for this collection (or would like a different quantity), please email julia@chestnutbooks.co.uk with an order number and we’ll be happy to help.
We love this verse novel because it is:
a beautiful heart-warming & heart-wrenching verse novel
inspires children to write their own stories and poems
a powerful story about finding your place and your friends
about changing relationships
about the importance of family & safe adults
Learning opportunities:
Reading ~ use of metaphors, similes, onomatopoeia, repetition, rhythm and rhyme
Writing ~ write a diary entry as Nate when he discovers he is in a different class to PS / write a diary entry of the same moment from PS’s pov
S&L ~ pg 111 The SATs Talk - how do you feel about SATs? Are you excited, nervous… Tell your partner about how you feel.
Reading ~ On The Last Day of School (pg 276). Compare this poem with On The Last Day of Year 5. What has changed? How important is Mr Joshua to Nate? Who are Nate’s People and how have they help him through?
Writing ~ find out about Bob Marley and write a biography
Geography ~ the story is set in Manchester. Study the city and find out about the areas where Nate might live.
Music ~ Bob Marley
PSHE: poverty
PSHE: dealing with anxiety
PSHE: seriously ill family members
PSHE: absent fathers
PSHE: changing friendships
Reading ~ read Skellig alongside The Final Year. Can you draw any comparisons?
Head over to Matt’s Website to view videos and book an author visit: Matt Goodfellow
