Magic, Mystery and Mayhem at Belle Vue Primary School
Year 6 at Belle Vue Primary School have just started a brand new topic of ‘Magic, Mystery and Mayhem’ based around the computer game Myst 3. The ideas, originally spread by Tim, have really helped my year partner and I to plan and deliver an inspiring thematic topic . So far it has got our children hooked as well as helping to develop their literacy skills!
We started off with a mysterious chest that arrived in one of the classrooms – we had to solve a series of puzzles and problems to find the key. Once we opened the chest we discovered a strange book named ‘Tomahna’ (one of the lands in the game) and a revealing letter from a wizard named Atrus …
So far the children have:
*Recounted their experiences (every children has been happy to write at length)
*Used Atrus’ journals to refine their inference and deduction skills
*Written letters to Atrus – full of questions!
*Developed and performed their own theme music to accompany the games intro video
* Used the opening scene of the game to inspire their descriptive writing
* Designed and made magical door based around the one on Atrus’ balcony
* Used what they have experienced so far to create powerpoint presentations and art work
And that’s from just over two weeks!
Children and staff are all looking forward to seeing where the mystery takes us next…
Tom Holder – Belle Vue Primary School
(Thank you for this Tom ~ We love the fact that you, and your class, have done SO much without moving too far in the game ~ infact, most of it BEFORE YOU EVEN WENT THROUGH THE DOOR 
Nice one! Your approach is so imaginative, it is no wonder that it has engaged your pupils so fully. Well done indeed for everything. Tim)
Here are Adam and Grace’s thoughts, so far:
Today was not a normal day…As we came back from assembly,which seemed to go on forever, we came back to find an intriguing box. At first, we curiously scurried into Mrs Hopkin’s room to see what all the fuss was about. Then we stumbled across an old, ancient treasure chest. Whose was it?! (Drrr-drr-drrrrrrrrr!)
There was a strange, tatty note attached to this wondrous sight that read: ‘find me and I’m yours to keep, fish me out from the murky deep.’After a while, after we all stopped staring, we finally decided to read the note. As swift as an arrow, Elliot darted out of Mrs H’s classroom & sprinted across the playground, leading us on a wild goose chase.
Whilst Elliot was looking for it, we all decided to split up and look individually but the teachers called us over to say “don’t rush and think carefully!” We finally thought it over and realised we needed to search around the pond. Eventually we found a key in a box floating in the dirty pond water …
When we got back to the classroom and unlocked the chest we found a big book called ‘Tomahna’ (we felt excited to read it but it was locked too!) Also, we found another note and not only that, we found a secret code to solve and clues to help us. Afterwards we had to search for different codes to crack the code to find the key.It was quite a challenge and we had to have a lot of team work!
After we had all the cards to crack the codes and we cracked it! The sheets read…Hi children so I see you can work in a team!
Next came a letter saying that he was the wonder who had been doing all of these challenges was called Atrus and he was a powerful wizard… It was he who was setting us all the challenges and wanted to see if we were worthy enough and if Atrus could trust us. We read that Atrus wanted us to go on a quest to go in to TOMAHNA his mythical world.
Grace: I thought it has been a very interesting day and I have really enjoyed it!
Adam:I also enjoyed it just as much as every pupil in year 6 it was great fun!
Here is Corben’s reflective piece of decriptive narrative based on his experiences:
Surprised and shocked, perplexed and mystified, I arrived in Tohmana…
Above my head as swift as an arrow, an Eagle circled around the serrated mountains. As I cautiously stepped forward to get a better view my hand touched the ice cold handrail furthermore I could hear the tune of the wind forcing the wind chimes to sing and the leaves to dance. The wind was trying to cool down the dessert but the blazing sun was too over powering. I thought to myself “is anybody here?”
When I stepped back to catch my breath, the great green leaves caught my eye. Managing to survive the pain caused by the sun they kept hanging there. In the corner of my eye I could see the bench lying sweating because of the great ball of fire hanging in the sky. The pane of glass made a kaleidoscope of colours as a streak of light warmed up the cobbled pavement.
Around the corner was Catherine acting as springy trampoline for baby Yeesha. Unnoticeably the sand and dust filled my nose blocking out the aroma of the beautiful flowers. In the background mountains were daggers sticking out of the ground. Also it was as if the leaves were water trickling down a fountain.
Cautiously I turned my head to see a mysterious door engraved with magnificent patterns standing there waiting to be opened. Trees like guards were protecting the magic door. I decided to put the door out of its misery and opened it …
By Corben Shaw – 6T Belle Vue Primary School
Category: 2) Useful n Interesting, 4) Well Done!
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As well as our events, we like to share interesting, and more often than not, FREE tools, resources and ideas, some old, some new, and we hope you might find something useful. We'd love your thoughts. Tim & Sarah
Again thank you for your ideas and for posting this onto your blog. Hopefully my children will be able to post a comment each as well.
Well, Tom, a huuuuuuge “well done” to your pupils (and to you too of course) for what they’ve achieved.
Keep it coming
Best for now
Tim
Thank you for putting our very enjoyable topic on your website.Hopefully people are enjoying our piece of writing and topic MAGIC,MYSTERY AND MAYHEM every step of the way.please leave some comments so we know if you are enjoying our topic and again we are very greatfull for putting our work on your website.
Thankyou for putting a wonderful piece of writing on there. Im enjoying thistopic, magic, mystery and mayhem, what a name! And Mr Holder is the right teacher to do it with, he’s amazing!
so far in our school topic it has been very exiting. When we found the treasure box we wondered what was going on and what we had to do once everyone had carmed down we started our new topic and our adventure MAGIC,MYSTERY AND MAYHEM.
Hello thankyou so much for putting my work on your blog! My mom and dad were so proud of me. I am realy enjoying our Magic Mystery and Mayhem topic and finding out about Atrus.It is probably one of the best topics yet! (Apart from the space topic in year 5.)
I have enjoyed this topic so far, especially when we were making our covers of our books and writing our poems. It has been a lot of fun and exciting. Thank you for putting our work on your site.
First of all it`s so great for you to blog us.The topic we are doing is so fun because we right storys about it,and my most favourite bit is when we explore the place were he lives in Tomahna.Thanks for reading this!
Thank you for putting our topic picture on your website. I really like doing this topic so i am loking forward to seeing what we do next in uor topic. But there is one thing that i’m not lookidg forward to and that is that we haven’t yet looked at the tonahna book that we found in the treasure chest.
I am very happy that I have got this sort of topic (magic,mystery and mayhem)because knowing about fantasy and magical storys is very interesting and good for a healthy brain of Knowlegdge for the future and aslo if you want a job like this e.g story writer,it can help you for amazing ideas for a magical story . Thanks for your chat and bye!!!
I think my topic is very exciting and interesting.I really enjoyed when we found the chest and had to find clues all around the school furthermore I love the magical website where you go to Tomanha and see the books.Once again thank you for putting our blog on the internet.
Thankyou for putting our topic on your website!I have enjoyed this topic so far,the part that i liked was finding the chest in our classroom and reading the letter that was sent to us.My favorite part was when the stranger canme in and stole the book!Also when the stranger had vanished we went after him!
I like what we are doing so far
Also thanks for putting some of our work on your website I am looking foward to what we are going to do next.We are learnt so far about a man called Atrus and where he lives also what he does for a living.It’s been the best topic i’ve ever done.I’m looking foward to what we are going to next.
hello,
I am a pupil from Belle Vue Primary School and so far i really love this topic.So far we have found out what our wizads name is and why he wrote us a letter.His name is Atrus and he is wondering if we will go into a magical world inside a book that he has made.In most of our subjects we are doing something to do with the topic and we have even read his journal in guided reading.In literacy today we were planning a peice of writng for when we venture deeper into the magical world.I really cant wait to discover more and hope we can do so soon!
bye
Hi and thankyou for putting us on your website I am grateful hope you text back soon!
We are all exited that we are on the web . We all love the topic ( we do something on it everyday ) . We have done ICT ,english and drama all to do with the topic and Mr Holder and Mr’s Hopkins are doing a great job especially that it is Mr Holders first time in year six.
Hello and thank you for posting our work on the blog and i hope you have enjoyed reading it. It has been a very good topic and all the work we have done,it has been very intresting leaning about Atrus and the stranger! I would recomend this topic to all the other people on this blog becuase its so great!
As well as that im loving the exitment in the game/video and also our very good teacher teaching us.(Mr Holder)Ive very enjoyed trying to find out the clues to unlock the code of atrus’s mission!
p.s i hope u write back to us soon
first of all thank you for the blog that is now on your website.I am enjoying every bit of our topic which is magic ,mystery and mayhem.I am most enjoying myst elite 111=3.at the momment we are chasing a theif.Thank you for putting our topic on your website.
many thanks,
Callum Ashton-Morris,
Oliver Guest
Hello,
this is Ben here a pupil of Belle vue primary school. Thankyou for putting our work on the blog we are very grateful. I have loved doing our amazing topic it has been very interesting and I think I am lucky to go to such a great school. I will tell you a bit about brilliant topic,ontuesday the 25th of september I came into my classroom to find a strange chest lying there. Then we completed some very tricky clues and then recieved a letter from a powerful wizard,I was very curious. And recently we have finding more about our topic.
I hope that you will find my comment useful and hoped you liked reading it and it gave you more information.
From Ben a year 6 pupil at Belle Vue Primary.
thank you for putting our magic mystery mayhem on the web site and i
enjoy the topic what we are doing.
it is very intresting and all my freinds like it to
thak you
Thank you for posting my friends work on your blog.I have been enjoying magic, mystery and mayhem[our topic].
It has een the best topic, yet!
[oh, by the way I want to be a teacher like you]!
i really want to capture the thief of releeshan in tomhana!
Hello,I am ejoying Magic Mystery and Mayhem very much,I especially liked it when we first went into Tomohna.I wanted to thank you for putting our work onto your website.I hope you enjoy reading our work and I hope every one else does as well.
Thanks, all, for your superb writing, inventive ideas, AND for taking the time to write a comment on the blog
I hope that you will continue to send things you have done, as you move through the land.
Again, well done and keeeeeeeeeeeeeeep writing
Tim
i think the topic is amazing i cant wait until we go further in our quest from atrus thank you for putting my work on the blog my parents are proud.
this is probaly my favourite topic that i have ever done at belle vue primary school.
So proud of my son corben s for having his work put on the Internet he is so talented.hope he continues to work hard and enjoy his topic.thank you mr holder and Tim.
Thank you for this Donna
Corben should feel very proud of his writing – it is very stylish
Let me know when his first book is out
I am so impressed with my children’s fantastic work on this topic-it is obvious from coming into your classes how engrossed you all are!!!
Your learning journey’s are lovely to read (I sometimes read them in school over a weekend).
Keep up the good work Y6, Mr Holder and Mrs Hopkins.
Thank you Dave
Some great stuff eh?
AND… there’s more to follow
Half term and I am going to find out more about your theme so I can keep up with your exciting activities next week.
Now how do I go about getting more information? That’s the question.
Hi Dave
There WILL be more from The Bellevue Bunch, and it’s coming next week…
“Watch this space” or pop down and ask them for “More”
They should be very proud of their creative inventiveness eh?
Thanks for the comment
I am really enjoying our topic, thank you. My favourite part so far is a take home task we’ve all been set. Because Atrus is a very powerful wizard and has the ability to make magical, distant lands the teachers decided it would great fun to make a 3D model of our own lands. Mine is a planet with lots of imaginative models on it and one has been done and bought into school in 6H already which is brilliant! I can’t wait to see whats coming next in the game.
Thank you Zoe
We would love to see your world – sounds great
Tim and Sarah
This topic that we have done here is probably one of the most exciting one in quite a wile.The best thing is being able to create a whole new world.They have to be 3D but they can be as imaginative as you want it to be.thanks Tim for getting Myst into schools and i cant wait until you to do that course with the teachers and us.
Hi tim my friend Zoe is right and i love this topic and my heax teacher’Dave Porter’ said that you might come to the west midlans and share so technolagey to us and i would love to see you and my teachers in year 6 are also looking foward to it aswell
georgina xxxxxxx:)
Hi,
I was really looking forward to coming back to school, and finding out what topic we would have! Then when we had found out, i thought it would be quite boring but it turns out it isn’t. MAGIC MYSTERY AND MAYHEM is now my favourite topic (apart from space in yr 5) but i am certainly looking forward to doing more surprising things in school! My favourite so far in this topic is probably the game and the 3D island.
Thank you for reading.
hello there Tim I am loving this topic so far and i was that first person who brought in there distan imaganary land from home in to school and I spent my hole half term (which was last week ) and my mom and dad also helped me + my littel brother which conwinsedently has already done this topic in year 3 whith his old teacher (Tom Holder ) and he is next door to my class room . Also I have heared that you are coming to our school in the west midlands to see our FABULOUS work which i think both classes have done very well i hop you like this coment and i am ,lookinbg foward to seeing you at our school fingers crossed ( x )
Wow Tim -I came back to school after half term to see Georgina struggling to bring in her take home task which is a 3d image of her own imaginary world and then to see Rachel’s fantastic t shirt . They both look fab!
I hope we can put pictures on here of the children’s take home tasks.
I am busy trying to get other schools teachers to ask for training with you- will let you know by the end of the week- fingers crossed
Looks like there will be no stopping you all
Will be putting more of your great ideas up soon
Well done folks
lol mr porter you really dont stop blogging after one xx
I have just been into Mrs Hopkins class and i have seen some fantastic take home tasks – well done and keep up the good work!
Year 6 have now entered Edanna. We have focused closely on all the vegetation there and have recently wrote some brilliant work about it.We were able to bring our science into the game now as we are alredy diving in deep learning about plants in science.