Ready Steady Read Together
Little People, Big Dreams: Non-Fiction Lesson 1
What do you think you know?
What?
Who?
Why?
Where?
How?
When?
Book Talk: Let's explore this illustration.
Explore
What do you know and think?
While other little girls were learning needlework and dancing, little Ada was solving mathematical problems.
How might this extract link to the illustration?
From: Little People, BIG DREAMS: Treasury by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Lisbeth Kaiser © 2021. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Today's Question(s)
A) What do we learn about Ada’s parents?
B) How was Ada different from other girls her age?
Explore
Let me read today's text
Explore
Ada Lovelace
MATHEMATICIAN
Born – 1815, England
Died – 1852, England
Little Ada was born to a mother who loved maths and a father who loved poetry. Ada’s father left when she was a baby and never returned, while her cold, distant mother was rarely at home. Left alone, Ada’s imagination soared. She dreamt up a machine with wings that could move in any direction, and excitedly wrote to tell her mother about her invention.
But Ada’s mother didn’t like her daughter using her imagination. She insisted that Ada concentrate on maths and nothing else. Luckily, Ada liked numbers. While other little girls were learning needlework and dancing, little Ada was solving mathematical problems. And as she grew up, Ada kept studying and inventing – and dreaming of where her talents might take her.
Adapted from: Little People, BIG DREAMS: Treasury by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Lisbeth Kaiser © 2021. Adapted for accessibility under CLA Licence. Do not share.
One night, at a ball in London, Ada was introduced to a famous mathematician called Charles Babbage. While the other young ladies waltzed around the room, Ada sat listening to Mr Babbage as he told her about the large machine he was building, called a calculator. The calculator could do sums so quickly, it was like magic! Most people couldn’t understand Babbage’s invention, but Ada was fascinated. Ada and Babbage worked on plans for a new machine. Ada wrote a code made up of numbers that would tell the calculator what to do. She didn’t know it, but she had just invented the language that computers use today! And so, little Ada became the world’s very first computer programmer – and the dreams of the little girl with the talent for mathematics and the big imagination took flight.
Adapted from: Little People, BIG DREAMS: Treasury by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Lisbeth Kaiser © 2021. Adapted for accessibility under CLA Licence. Do not share.
Common Exception Words
Explore
who
any
father
told
cold
most
people
could
move
would
Explore
Vocabulary
Explore
Hover for definitions!
distant
needlework
imagination soared
waltzed
computer programmer
took flight
From: Little People, BIG DREAMS: Treasury by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Lisbeth Kaiser © 2021. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
I will model the first.
Find the word or phrase Read the sentence Talk about it to a partner
distant
Explore
Find Read Talk
Little Ada was born to a mother who loved maths and a father who loved poetry. Ada’s father left when she was a baby and never returned, while her cold, distant mother was rarely at home.
Reveal Vocabulary
Adapted from: Little People, BIG DREAMS: Treasury by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Lisbeth Kaiser © 2021. Adapted for accessibility under CLA Licence. Do not share.
distant
Your turn
imagination soared
Find the word or phrase Read the sentence Talk about it to a partner
needlework
waltzed
computer programmer
took flight
Use your text
Explore
Vocabulary Check & Re-read
Explore
Reveal Vocabulary
Ada Lovelace
MATHEMATICIAN
Born – 1815, England
Died – 1852, England
Little Ada was born to a mother who loved maths and a father who loved poetry. Ada’s father left when she was a baby and never returned, while her cold, distant mother was rarely at home. Left alone, Ada’s imagination soared. She dreamt up a machine with wings that could move in any direction, and excitedly wrote to tell her mother about her invention.
But Ada’s mother didn’t like her daughter using her imagination. She insisted that Ada concentrate on maths and nothing else. Luckily, Ada liked numbers. While other little girls were learning needlework and dancing, little Ada was solving mathematical problems. And as she grew up, Ada kept studying and inventing – and dreaming of where her talents might take her.
Adapted from: Little People, BIG DREAMS: Treasury by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Lisbeth Kaiser © 2021. Adapted for accessibility under CLA Licence. Do not share.
Reveal Vocabulary
One night, at a ball in London, Ada was introduced to a famous mathematician called Charles Babbage. While the other young ladies waltzed around the room, Ada sat listening to Mr Babbage as he told her about the large machine he was building, called a calculator. The calculator could do sums so quickly, it was like magic! Most people couldn’t understand Babbage’s invention, but Ada was fascinated. Ada and Babbage worked on plans for a new machine. Ada wrote a code made up of numbers that would tell the calculator what to do. She didn’t know it, but she had just invented the language that computers use today! And so, little Ada became the world’s very first computer programmer – and the dreams of the little girl with the talent for mathematics and the big imagination took flight.
Adapted from: Little People, BIG DREAMS: Treasury by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Lisbeth Kaiser © 2021. Adapted for accessibility under CLA Licence. Do not share.
Fluency
Explore
Let me use my reader's voice...
While the other young ladies waltzed around the room, Ada sat listening to Mr Babbage as he told her about the large machine he was building, called a calculator. The calculator could do sums so quickly, it was like magic! Most people couldn’t understand Babbage’s invention, but Ada was fascinated.
What did you notice?
From: Little People, BIG DREAMS: Treasury by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Lisbeth Kaiser © 2021. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
My Turn
Your Turn
Echo Read
While the other young ladies waltzed around the room,
Ada sat listening to Mr Babbage
as he told her about the large machine he was building, called a calculator.
The calculator could do sums so quickly,
it was like magic!
Most people couldn’t understand Babbage’s invention,
but Ada was fascinated.
From: Little People, BIG DREAMS: Treasury by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Lisbeth Kaiser © 2021. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Sound like a reader!
Stand up!
Choral Read
While the other young ladies waltzed around the room, Ada sat listening to Mr Babbage as he told her about the large machine he was building, called a calculator. The calculator could do sums so quickly, it was like magic! Most people couldn’t understand Babbage’s invention, but Ada was fascinated.
From: Little People, BIG DREAMS: Treasury by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Lisbeth Kaiser © 2021. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Strategy Focus
Explore
Strategy: Look Around & Find and Take
Be a word thief and steal what you've been asked to find...
A) What do we learn about Ada’s parents?
What's the question asking? Now, what are you looking for?
Let me show you
Reveal Text Marks
Little Ada was born to a mother who loved maths and a father who loved poetry.
Reveal Explainer
A) What do we learn about Ada’s parents?
I will ‘look around’ for the words parents, mother or father. I can then ‘find and take’ the answers. This shows that Ada’s mum loved maths, just like her.
From: Little People, BIG DREAMS: Treasury by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Lisbeth Kaiser © 2021. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Strategy Stop
What else could you use to answer today's question(s)?
Teach
Your Turn
A) What do we learn about Ada’s parents?
B) How was Ada different from other girls her age?
Find the answers
Text mark
Explore
Acceptable Answers
Text Mark Evidence a father who loved poetry
things her father liked
Text Mark Evidence Ada’s father left when she was a baby and never returned
Ada’s father didn’t live with her
A) What do we learn about Ada’s parents?
Text Mark Evidence her cold, distant mother
Ada’s mother wasn’t a warm, friendly person
Text Mark Evidence her cold, distant mother was rarely at home
Ada didn’t see her mother often
Text Mark Evidence Ada’s mother didn’t like her daughter using her imagination
Ada’s mother didn’t like dreams
Click on the evidence to reveal acceptable answers
Text Mark Evidence she (Ada’s mother) insisted that Ada concentrate on maths and nothing else
Ada’s mother forced her to study maths
Acceptable Answers
Text Mark Evidence - while other little girls were learning needlework and dancing, little Ada was solving mathematical problems - while other young ladies waltzed around the room, Ada sat listening to Mr Babbage as he told her about the…calculator
Ada had different interests
B) How was Ada different from other girls her age?
Text Mark Evidence most people couldn’t understand Babbage’s invention, but Ada was fascinated
Ada was cleverer
Click on the evidence to reveal acceptable answers
Quiz Time
Start
Picture Me
Which image is the best match for ‘needlework’?
True or False?
Ada was sad when her mother made her learn maths.
True
False
Tick Me
Tick the answer which best completes the sentence:
The language for computers that Ada invented…
Tick one
A didn’t make sense to her.
B was made up of numbers.
Check
C came to her in a dream.
Click if correct
D was silly because computers don’t talk.
Sequence Me
Put the events in the correct order:
A) Ada met Mr Babbage at a ball.
B) Ada’s father left home.
C) Ada created a way to tell machines what to do.
D) Ada was home alone a lot.
Click if correct
Check
Feedback: Who did what well?
FindRead Talk
EchoRead
ChoralRead
ReadingStrategy
Answers & Text Marks
Other...
To be a book lover, you could...
read biographies.
Reveal
Learn about the lives of inspiring people.
Copyright Notice
This document has been supplied under a CLA Licence with specific terms of use. It is protected by copyright and, save as may be permitted by law, it may not be further copied, stored, re-copied electronically or otherwise shared, even for internal purposes, without the prior further permission of the Rightsholder. Extracts sourced and adapted for accessibility from: Little People, BIG DREAMS: Treasury by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Lisbeth Kaiser © 2021 Schools must purchase the original text for full content.
RSRT Y2 L1 Little People, Big Dreams
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Created on June 17, 2025
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Transcript
Ready Steady Read Together
Little People, Big Dreams: Non-Fiction Lesson 1
What do you think you know?
What?
Who?
Why?
Where?
How?
When?
Book Talk: Let's explore this illustration.
Explore
What do you know and think?
While other little girls were learning needlework and dancing, little Ada was solving mathematical problems.
How might this extract link to the illustration?
From: Little People, BIG DREAMS: Treasury by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Lisbeth Kaiser © 2021. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Today's Question(s)
A) What do we learn about Ada’s parents?
B) How was Ada different from other girls her age?
Explore
Let me read today's text
Explore
Ada Lovelace
MATHEMATICIAN Born – 1815, England Died – 1852, England
Little Ada was born to a mother who loved maths and a father who loved poetry. Ada’s father left when she was a baby and never returned, while her cold, distant mother was rarely at home. Left alone, Ada’s imagination soared. She dreamt up a machine with wings that could move in any direction, and excitedly wrote to tell her mother about her invention. But Ada’s mother didn’t like her daughter using her imagination. She insisted that Ada concentrate on maths and nothing else. Luckily, Ada liked numbers. While other little girls were learning needlework and dancing, little Ada was solving mathematical problems. And as she grew up, Ada kept studying and inventing – and dreaming of where her talents might take her.
Adapted from: Little People, BIG DREAMS: Treasury by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Lisbeth Kaiser © 2021. Adapted for accessibility under CLA Licence. Do not share.
One night, at a ball in London, Ada was introduced to a famous mathematician called Charles Babbage. While the other young ladies waltzed around the room, Ada sat listening to Mr Babbage as he told her about the large machine he was building, called a calculator. The calculator could do sums so quickly, it was like magic! Most people couldn’t understand Babbage’s invention, but Ada was fascinated. Ada and Babbage worked on plans for a new machine. Ada wrote a code made up of numbers that would tell the calculator what to do. She didn’t know it, but she had just invented the language that computers use today! And so, little Ada became the world’s very first computer programmer – and the dreams of the little girl with the talent for mathematics and the big imagination took flight.
Adapted from: Little People, BIG DREAMS: Treasury by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Lisbeth Kaiser © 2021. Adapted for accessibility under CLA Licence. Do not share.
Common Exception Words
Explore
who
any
father
told
cold
most
people
could
move
would
Explore
Vocabulary
Explore
Hover for definitions!
distant
needlework
imagination soared
waltzed
computer programmer
took flight
From: Little People, BIG DREAMS: Treasury by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Lisbeth Kaiser © 2021. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
I will model the first.
Find the word or phrase Read the sentence Talk about it to a partner
distant
Explore
Find Read Talk
Little Ada was born to a mother who loved maths and a father who loved poetry. Ada’s father left when she was a baby and never returned, while her cold, distant mother was rarely at home.
Reveal Vocabulary
Adapted from: Little People, BIG DREAMS: Treasury by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Lisbeth Kaiser © 2021. Adapted for accessibility under CLA Licence. Do not share.
distant
Your turn
imagination soared
Find the word or phrase Read the sentence Talk about it to a partner
needlework
waltzed
computer programmer
took flight
Use your text
Explore
Vocabulary Check & Re-read
Explore
Reveal Vocabulary
Ada Lovelace
MATHEMATICIAN Born – 1815, England Died – 1852, England
Little Ada was born to a mother who loved maths and a father who loved poetry. Ada’s father left when she was a baby and never returned, while her cold, distant mother was rarely at home. Left alone, Ada’s imagination soared. She dreamt up a machine with wings that could move in any direction, and excitedly wrote to tell her mother about her invention. But Ada’s mother didn’t like her daughter using her imagination. She insisted that Ada concentrate on maths and nothing else. Luckily, Ada liked numbers. While other little girls were learning needlework and dancing, little Ada was solving mathematical problems. And as she grew up, Ada kept studying and inventing – and dreaming of where her talents might take her.
Adapted from: Little People, BIG DREAMS: Treasury by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Lisbeth Kaiser © 2021. Adapted for accessibility under CLA Licence. Do not share.
Reveal Vocabulary
One night, at a ball in London, Ada was introduced to a famous mathematician called Charles Babbage. While the other young ladies waltzed around the room, Ada sat listening to Mr Babbage as he told her about the large machine he was building, called a calculator. The calculator could do sums so quickly, it was like magic! Most people couldn’t understand Babbage’s invention, but Ada was fascinated. Ada and Babbage worked on plans for a new machine. Ada wrote a code made up of numbers that would tell the calculator what to do. She didn’t know it, but she had just invented the language that computers use today! And so, little Ada became the world’s very first computer programmer – and the dreams of the little girl with the talent for mathematics and the big imagination took flight.
Adapted from: Little People, BIG DREAMS: Treasury by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Lisbeth Kaiser © 2021. Adapted for accessibility under CLA Licence. Do not share.
Fluency
Explore
Let me use my reader's voice...
While the other young ladies waltzed around the room, Ada sat listening to Mr Babbage as he told her about the large machine he was building, called a calculator. The calculator could do sums so quickly, it was like magic! Most people couldn’t understand Babbage’s invention, but Ada was fascinated.
What did you notice?
From: Little People, BIG DREAMS: Treasury by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Lisbeth Kaiser © 2021. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
My Turn
Your Turn
Echo Read
While the other young ladies waltzed around the room,
Ada sat listening to Mr Babbage
as he told her about the large machine he was building, called a calculator.
The calculator could do sums so quickly,
it was like magic!
Most people couldn’t understand Babbage’s invention,
but Ada was fascinated.
From: Little People, BIG DREAMS: Treasury by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Lisbeth Kaiser © 2021. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Sound like a reader!
Stand up!
Choral Read
While the other young ladies waltzed around the room, Ada sat listening to Mr Babbage as he told her about the large machine he was building, called a calculator. The calculator could do sums so quickly, it was like magic! Most people couldn’t understand Babbage’s invention, but Ada was fascinated.
From: Little People, BIG DREAMS: Treasury by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Lisbeth Kaiser © 2021. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Strategy Focus
Explore
Strategy: Look Around & Find and Take
Be a word thief and steal what you've been asked to find...
A) What do we learn about Ada’s parents?
What's the question asking? Now, what are you looking for?
Let me show you
Reveal Text Marks
Little Ada was born to a mother who loved maths and a father who loved poetry.
Reveal Explainer
A) What do we learn about Ada’s parents?
I will ‘look around’ for the words parents, mother or father. I can then ‘find and take’ the answers. This shows that Ada’s mum loved maths, just like her.
From: Little People, BIG DREAMS: Treasury by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Lisbeth Kaiser © 2021. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Strategy Stop
What else could you use to answer today's question(s)?
Teach
Your Turn
A) What do we learn about Ada’s parents?
B) How was Ada different from other girls her age?
Find the answers
Text mark
Explore
Acceptable Answers
Text Mark Evidence a father who loved poetry
things her father liked
Text Mark Evidence Ada’s father left when she was a baby and never returned
Ada’s father didn’t live with her
A) What do we learn about Ada’s parents?
Text Mark Evidence her cold, distant mother
Ada’s mother wasn’t a warm, friendly person
Text Mark Evidence her cold, distant mother was rarely at home
Ada didn’t see her mother often
Text Mark Evidence Ada’s mother didn’t like her daughter using her imagination
Ada’s mother didn’t like dreams
Click on the evidence to reveal acceptable answers
Text Mark Evidence she (Ada’s mother) insisted that Ada concentrate on maths and nothing else
Ada’s mother forced her to study maths
Acceptable Answers
Text Mark Evidence - while other little girls were learning needlework and dancing, little Ada was solving mathematical problems - while other young ladies waltzed around the room, Ada sat listening to Mr Babbage as he told her about the…calculator
Ada had different interests
B) How was Ada different from other girls her age?
Text Mark Evidence most people couldn’t understand Babbage’s invention, but Ada was fascinated
Ada was cleverer
Click on the evidence to reveal acceptable answers
Quiz Time
Start
Picture Me
Which image is the best match for ‘needlework’?
True or False?
Ada was sad when her mother made her learn maths.
True
False
Tick Me
Tick the answer which best completes the sentence: The language for computers that Ada invented…
Tick one
A didn’t make sense to her.
B was made up of numbers.
Check
C came to her in a dream.
Click if correct
D was silly because computers don’t talk.
Sequence Me
Put the events in the correct order:
A) Ada met Mr Babbage at a ball.
B) Ada’s father left home.
C) Ada created a way to tell machines what to do.
D) Ada was home alone a lot.
Click if correct
Check
Feedback: Who did what well?
FindRead Talk
EchoRead
ChoralRead
ReadingStrategy
Answers & Text Marks
Other...
To be a book lover, you could...
read biographies.
Reveal
Learn about the lives of inspiring people.
Copyright Notice
This document has been supplied under a CLA Licence with specific terms of use. It is protected by copyright and, save as may be permitted by law, it may not be further copied, stored, re-copied electronically or otherwise shared, even for internal purposes, without the prior further permission of the Rightsholder. Extracts sourced and adapted for accessibility from: Little People, BIG DREAMS: Treasury by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Lisbeth Kaiser © 2021 Schools must purchase the original text for full content.