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Summary for Lesson 1
In today’s lesson we began our study of Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below, which should be used to help with the homework. The powerpoint contains our work on immersing ourselves in the world of the novel, thinking about the deep descriptive detail which Morpurgo includes and how the students could emulate that in their own work. They wrote some fab passages, imagining themselves in Michael’s shoes and using the language of the book to aid them in their writing, and also wrote some fantastic unique and original metaphors comparing the sea to unusual objects of their choice. They also completed some comprehension questions wonderfully, thinking about the effect of Morpurgo’s use of literary techniques in great detail. Lovely work everyone- I really enjoyed hearing your writing and discussion of the novel. See you next week! 🙂
Here is the link to the video we watched about creating unusual metaphors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Wrq6AnYuxI
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Summary for Lesson 2
In today’s lesson we continued our study of Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below, which should be used to help plan and write the letters assigned for homework. The powerpoint contains our work on the characterisation of the novel, considering deeply the surprising friendship that lies at its heart and the nuances of the characters in the book. The class discussed this wonderfully, thinking about how Kensuke and Michael’s relationship changes over time and noting some of their similarities and differences. We then focused in on Kensuke’s character, thinking about his life story and how we can draw a better understanding of him through learning about events such as the dropping of the atomic bomb. We watched a video about the effect that this event had, and also looked at some real-life examples of Japanese soldiers hiding out on islands for sixty years after the end of the war, just like Kensuke! Finally, we considered the end of the book, thinking about Kensuke’s decision not to return home and whether we liked the post-script that revealed his family was still alive. Lovely ideas from everyone today, well done for all your focus and your thoughtful contributions about the effect of WW2 on Kensuke. Keep up the great work 🙂
Here’s the link about the soldiers hiding in the Philippines: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/may/28/secondworldwar.japan
Here is the CBBC video on Hiroshima and Nagasaki we watched: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya3et3mhdWw
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Wonderful work July- well done! I love how for your front cover you have illustrated the beauty of nature on the island, with the setting sun featuring alongside Michael sleeping peacefully, which you have drawn fantastically. Your blurb is super suspenseful, making the reader want to read on and using ellipsis (…) to add to the tension. I love the contrast between him curling up to die and then waking to fresh fruit too- it really draws the reader in! Your letter is beautifully written, using Kensuke’s point of view to tell the story of how their friendship developed. I love that you have included the story of how he came to the island and his devastation at thinking his family had died, and think it is wonderful how focused on emotive writing you are. The last line is very moving as it shows how much Kensuke cares for Michael and you have told his story really well, thinking about how Kensuke would present his life story. To make this even better, could you include a literary technique like a simile or metaphor? Overall amazing work, well done 🙂
Spelling & grammar:
Homework 1:
* A boy is washed up on an island
*Michael needs to survive
*there is no food
Homework 2:
*we heard on the radio
*we were all silent for a moment, then we cried.
* I think all my family are dead
*making fire
*I was very angry that time so I let you go to the other side of the island
*the next time I saw you, you were swimming in the sea
*I pulled you out of the sea and gave you food
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Summary for Lesson 3
In today’s lesson we completed our study of Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below, which should be used to help plan and write the newspaper articles assigned for homework. The powerpoint contains all of our thoughts on treating the novel creatively, which the class absolutely excelled at today! We looked at using our imagination and creativity to re-configure the perspective of the novel, thinking about following Michael’s parents on their search for him, re-writing the first line of the novel whilst also using foreshadowing, and completing a free-writing exercise based on the inspirational prompts of ‘The Great Wave off Kanagawa’ by Hokusai and ‘La Mer’ by Debussy. Using their creativity to play with Morpurgo’s language and themes, and they also analysed a passage from the text through the lens of foreshadowing. They also engaged in a game of “Fortunately, Unfortunately”, excellently showcasing their argumentative skills. Fantastic and energetic work today everyone- it was great to see you all! See you next week 🙂
P.S. I’ve attached a couple of newspaper templates below if you would like to use either of them, but you can also make your own on your computer or hand-draw one- it’s completely up to you!
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Incredible work July- well done! You have used the structure and format of a newspaper beautifully, drawing some excellent pictures and using a fantastic headline too. I really loved that you have included a quotation from Michael’s mother, thinking about how overjoyed and shocked she would be. I also really liked the detail you included about how she doesn’t believe him and thinks he must have made the story about Kensuke up, which is such a great detail that shows their relationship really well. You’ve also used exclamation marks to show the excitement about his return and a lovely rhetorical question. To make this even better, could you include some information from Michael about what he says his time on the island was like? Overall amazing work well done 🙂
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Some lovely work Tim, well done! I really love the picture you have included which is beautifully drawn and shows Michael to the reader so they can picture what he looks like. Your use of repetition and exclamation marks in “Attention! Attention!” is super and pulls the reader into the story and I love the idea of writing it like a breaking news story, interrupting another program to spread the word of Michael’s safe return. To make this even better, could you write a few more details of what has happened i.e., where he was found, what his experience was like, what he said when he was found etc.? Overall fantastic ideas well done 🙂
Spelling:
*important
*a boy who is called Michael has come safely home
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Summary for Lesson 4
In today’s lesson we began our study of The Butterfly Lion by Michael Morpurgo The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below, which should be used to help plan and write the diary entries assigned for homework. The powerpoint contains our thoughts and ideas on two key concepts: the context of the novel and the themes. It also contains some information on the conventions of diary writing, our analysis of a passage from the book about trench warfare, a Horrible Histories video on the First World War, and the students’ ideas of the themes and words they associate with the book. Lovely work today everyone, well done for all your brilliant questions and ideas about the war and the setting of the book. Keep up the great work, see you next week 🙂
Horrible Histories video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEvuMhP2CuA
Homework
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Dear old lady:
It’s the first day in the trench. I don’t want to write to you because it’s so terrible in it. The bomb often drops, and the reports of the guns was shouting in the air. Sometimes bayonets flew all over the sky. The only thing I can do was waiting because it’s too dangerous, I can’t aim at enemies, and I’m not the one to cross the No Man Field. I often want to try to them, but then, more bullets flew just I didn’t pay the attention to another bullet! This bullet flew right to my lower leg, and I got my wound, so I’m still in the hospital!
Love,
Albert Andrew.
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Excellent work Mars, well done! This is a really powerful and emotive letter showing Bertie’s fear through the use of really vivid description. The use of World War One language- such as bayonets and No Man’s Land- uses the historical context wonderfully and the way you describe the onslaught of bullets from every direction makes the reader feel as if they are there themselves as you have shown the thought process of a solider in the trenches so well, debating with themselves whether to go over the top into No Man’s Land. You have used the tone of a letter really well and the point where Bertie says “I don’t want to write to you” is so heartbreaking and really moving. To make this even better could you include some literary techniques such as similes or metaphors? Overall amazing work well done 🙂
Grammar:
* the bombs often drop
* the reports of guns are shouting
* bayonets fly all over the sky
*the only thing I can do is wait
* No Man‘s Land
* more bullets fly
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Amazing work July, well done! Your writing here is very powerful and shows the horrors of war fantastically, from describing what is going through Bertie’s head to showing the different struggles the soldiers had to face. I thought your use of a rhetorical question- “why did we need to shoot other people?”- is so effective and really demonstrates the horrible nature of war and how pointless all the death is. You have used exclamation marks beautifully in this piece to show Bertie’s despair and have used your historical knowledge of what life was like in the trenches (i.e., little food and water, people getting sick) really well. To make this even better, remember to write it in the format of a letter and think about who he might be writing to and why, i.e., maybe he is writing to Millie. Overall fantastic work well done 🙂
Grammar:
*to shoot with a gun
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Summary for Lesson 5
In today’s lesson we continued our study of The Butterfly Lion by Michael Morpurgo. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below, which should be used to help plan and write the letters assigned for homework. The powerpoint contains all our work on author intent in this book, thinking about why Michael Morpurgo might have chosen to write the story the way he did, and how we can understand the way he constructed the novel by inferring his authorial choices. We did a hot-seating exercise where the class interviewed another student playing Morpurgo which they all did amazingly, and also watched an interview with the author himself and discussed what surprised us about his influences and inspirations behind the novel. Finally, we spoke about persuasive writing in preparation for the homework, and the class was particularly brilliant in playing a game of fortunately, unfortunately, that focused on argument and counter-argument, playing around with the key ideas of the book. Enthusiastic and incredible work today everyone, I loved hearing your Morpurgo interview in particular! Well done and see you next week 🙂
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Lovely work July, well done! You have used the structure of a letter fantastically to get your point across here, thinking about how to open the letter straight away by telling Bertie’s dad how he feels and what he so desperately wants. You then go on to give some great reasons, ranging from how the lion could help in the future to emotional pleas about having someone to play with. You’ve used an amazing rhetorical question in the third line and have thought about bargaining tactics, such as telling his dad he will never have to bring him to play outside again if he has the lion as a playmate. Fantastic use of emotive language! To make this even better, could you think of a counterargument i.e., something Bertie’s dad might say that Bertie can acknowledge and then prove wrong for example “But where will we keep him, you might be thinking. I have a solution: the shed! I will put loads of straw down and he can live in there”. Overall amazing work well done 🙂
Grammar:
*when it grows up
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Summary for Lesson 6
In today’s lesson we completed our study of The Butterfly Lion by Michael Morpurgo. The PowerPoint with all of the resources is attached below, which should be used to help plan and write the stories assigned for homework. The PowerPoint contains all our work on analysing a scene from the book and thinking about how to use narrative perspective to think about the choices made in the book. The students also did some fab work on thinking about what the book had taught them, and what the moral of the story was. Wonderful ideas today everyone, you all thought about what this book teaches us about the treatment of animals beautifully and shared some particularly great ideas on the vocabulary challenge. Amazing work, keep it up and see you next week 🙂
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Beautiful writing July, well done! I love the powerful impact of the rhetorical questions you open the story with, showing us how upset and desperate Bertie is at this moment. You have told the story excellently, showing us how it takes place over a long time and tracing Bertie’s journey on his quest to find the white lion. You have used some incredible vocab (i.e., observed and dignified) and I love the idea that the white lion has ended up with a magician performing tricks. Lovely focus on Bertie’s thoughts and emotions which give us a powerful sense of his perspective too. To make this even better, could you show not tell the moment he tries to find the white lion in the place his dad sold the lion to i.e., what does the place look like? what does he discover there? Overall amazing writing and a fab use of this line to inspire you- well done 🙂
Grammar:
* Bertie was very angry with his dad
*that on the newspaper there was a picture of a magician
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Summary for Lesson 7
In today’s class we began our work on Fantastic Mr Fox, thinking about our feelings on the novel and the author behind the books, Roald Dahl. We began with thinking about what the class liked and disliked in this novel, before moving on to a discussion of the kind of writer Roald Dahl is- the themes he writes on, the tone of his novels and the other books the class had read of his. We then watched a clip of a documentary about how he became a writer, thought about the message he might have been sending by writing Fantastic Mr Fox, and played a game of making up false facts about Roald Dahl before learning some real ones! Lovely work today everyone, well done for all your attentiveness and wonderful ideas about the moral of the story. See you next week 🙂
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Summary for Lesson 8
In today’s class we continued our work on Fantastic Mr Fox, working on some character analysis and thinking about some philosophical questions. We began by thinking about who our favourite characters were and why, before learning about the underdog effect and applying this to our reader’s psychology when reading this novel. We discussed who the underdog was in the novel and who the powerful people were, and then thought in depth about Boggis, Bunce and Bean. The students discussed their names, coming up with alternative ones that retained the same villainous effect. We then discussed Mr Fox’s stealing from a philosophical viewpoint, before conducting a trial of Mr Fox from this perspective, thinking about the moral implications of the story. They played the parts of defense, prosecution, Mr Fox and the judge beautifully and came up with some excellent arguments. Lovely ideas today everyone, well done for all your hard work and fab ideas. Keep up the wonderful work! 🙂
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Summary for Lesson 9
In today’s class we finished our work on Fantastic Mr Fox, thinking about the key features of the writing style in the book and taking a creative approach to the novel. We began by discussing what anthropomorphism means, thinking about how this relates to the book before the class came up with their own anthropomorphic protagonists based on Roald Dahl’s work. We then moved on to learning about Dahl’s writing process, watching an interview with him, before the students shared their processes for writing. Finally, the class thought about the inspiration they could draw from Roald Dahl using some fab and dramatic hot-seating and thought about what might happen after the end of the book which they did fantastically. Lovely work today class, well done for all your great ideas about the environmental message behind this story and for your fab imaginations in thinking creatively about this book. See you next week 🙂
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Lovely work July- well done! I really liked that you thought so carefully about the message Roald Dahl is sending through his presentation of Mr Fox, digging into themes of the environment and animal rights. I love that you’ve mentioned how by giving Mr Fox a reason for his stealing, Dahl highlights just how fantastic he is! You have written about his good qualities beautifully and have shown the way the farmers are presented as the baddies too. To make this even better, could you find a quotation from the book that backs up your point? Overall amazing work well done 🙂
Grammar:
*Dahl gives a reason
*the farmers destroyed the animal’s habitat first
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Summary for Lesson 10
In today’s lesson we began our study of The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below, which should be used to help plan and write the letters assigned for homework. The powerpoint contains all our work on the themes, core ideas and key messages within the novel, which we discussed as a class to get to the heart of what The Wind in the Willows is all about. It also contains all our thoughts on the narrative perspective of the novel, tips on letter writing to help with the homework, our thoughts on the character arc of Mole and the synonyms the class came up with in order to track Mole’s development throughout the story, and the students’ discussion concerning the moral of the story. Everyone worked wonderfully today; they showcased their inference skills beautifully through the hot-seating exercise, where they acted both as interviewer and interviewee to dig within the text and spoke about their own feelings on the book really well. Keep up the great work everyone 🙂
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Fabulous work July, well done! I really like how you have focused on the theme of friendship in this letter, which is very appropriate given how strong of a theme it is in the book. You have thought wonderfully about the characters he might want to mention as being very important in his life, and I love the idea that he would encourage his past self to see through Toad’s crazy behavior and understand what a good friend he can be. You have thought about the main features of each of these characters wonderfully (Rat’s intelligence, Badger’s kindness, Toad’s sense of adventure) and have also used letter structure perfectly, with a brilliant instruction that he should try to take care of them all! To make this even better, could you change the word “great” to a synonym to add some more variety to your vocabulary? Overall lovely ideas well done 🙂
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Summary for Lessons 11 & 12
In today’s lesson we completed our study of The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. The PowerPoints with all of the resources are attached below. The PowerPoints contain our work on inference, thinking about how to recreate one of the climatic scenes of the novel, where Toad is on trial for stealing motorcars. It also contains the class’s ideas about argumentative writing, thinking about how to use persuasive techniques and language to act as either the defense or prosecution in Toad’s case. The students conducted a mock trial of Toad beautifully, offering some excellent arguments both for and against Toad’s imprisonment, using lots of argumentative devices to argue their case. We then moved on to some creative and analytical work, looking at the old-fashioned language in the book and using context clues to work out what it means before analysing a passage about the Wild Woods from the novel. The class then spoke about genre and completed a creative writing task where they came up with literary devices for the book in different genres. Amazing work today everyone, well done for your concentration and hard work throughout. It was so great to see you all and I have been very impressed with your work over this course- you should all be proud of yourselves! Keep up the fab work and see you soon 🙂
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