Literacy Year 5: Autumn – 2 Weeks Narrative Unit 1A: Significant author Michael Foreman
/ Objectives /Text/Speaking/Listening
/ Word/Sentence / Independent group activities / Outcomes // For this unit you need to have read Michael Foreman’s The War Game before the start of Week 2. You also need a variety of Michael Foreman’s books, incl. Seal Surfer, Wonder Goal, Fox Tale, Sand Horse, Cat on the Hill, & Dinosaurs & all that Rubbish. World Team by Tim Vyner is also required. Scroll down for list.
Week 1 Monday
/ Main Focus:Compare two books.
1. Defend views with evidence.
7. Compare different narratives and identify how they are structured.
Make notes on and use evidence from texts to explain ideas. / Read World Team by Tim Vyner. Discuss what the book is about. Look at the start and end pages. What is the significance of ‘One small round world…’ etc? Read Wonder Goal by Michael Foreman. Chn discuss this book in relation to World Team. Which book did they prefer? Explain that we need to be able to justify our preference by giving reasons based on the text, eg I liked Wonder Goal best because it was all through the eyes of one character… /
Easy/Medium
Chn use a comparison chart (see plan resources) to compare World Team and Wonder Goal. Put chn in pairs or threes to work so that they can discuss each heading before writing their comments. Comments must be written in whole sentences.
/Hard
Chn write a review of their preferred book out of the two. They refer to the text to give reasons for their opinion and cover the main aspects of plot, art work, interest and quality of start/end. TD / Children can:Easy/Medium
1. Compare two books under given headings.
Hard
2. Write a book review giving text-based reasons.
Plenary
Discuss the two books – which book was most popular? Listen to reasons why one or other is the best then take a vote!
Week 1 Tuesday
/ Main focus:Write a predicted or new ending.
7. Infer writer’s perspectives from what is written.
9. Experiment with narrative styles to write own story ending. / Read Fox Tale by Michael Foreman up to the page where the ambulance arrives. Discuss how chn would have known that this book is by the same author as Wonder Goal – list aspects of Foreman’s style that make the books similar: illustrations/art work, both written from perspective of ONE central character (however, point out that one is written in 1st person, and one in 3rd person). Both are quite ‘romantic’ with a view of the world as a place where wonderful or good things can happen… Discuss the ending of Wonder Goal – it has a ‘happy’ or comforting ending. / Easy
Chn work with adult to discuss story so far & to brainstorm ideas and make predictions about what might happen next. Look at Foreman’s style and help chn to write notes about their predicted ending. TD / Medium/Hard
Chn look at Cat and Canary/Cat on the Hill and Sand Horse. They discuss how Michael Forman likes a satisfactory & comforting ending, then, think about Fox Tale & how it might end. They draft their own ending in Michael Foreman’s style. (If any chn already know the ending, they invent a new ending of their own!) / Children can:
1. Reflect on the style of an author.
2. Predict the ending of a story.
Plenary
Read to the end of Fox Tale. Had anyone predicted this ending?
(Chn can read Sand Horse/Cat on the Hill if they have not done so.)
/ Before Wednesday’s lesson, Make sure all chn have read Cat on the Hill & Sand Horse by Michael Foreman. They should look at the artwork as well as reading the stories.
Week 1 Wednesday
/ Main focus: Research/writing notes.7. Infer writer’s perspectives from what is written.
Explore writer’s use of language.
8. Reflect on material read and preferences. / Read Seal Surfer by Michael Foreman. Look at Sand Horse, Seal Surfer and Cat on the Hill. Add to our list started yesterday of aspects of Foreman’s style: written with great love of animals – about animals, awareness of seasons and their effect on natural world, the situation of the story is very important. Point out that all 3 of today’s books are set in same place – St Ives. Explain to chn that we are going to try to find out what makes Michael Foreman write as he does. What sort of person is he? How does his context (St Ives) inform his writing? / Easy/Medium/Hard
Provide chn with material downloaded from internet and, if possible, with biographical information from book covers/books (see booklist below plan). Some chn work on the internet to follow web addresses supplied (see plan resources). Chn work in 2’s and 3’s to research both Michael Foreman and St Ives. They make notes and try to find out two or three things which they think really link the information about this author as a person to his books or to his art. Provide Easy group with a prompt sheet (see plan resources). TD with Easy / Children can:
1. Research an author and his writing context.
2. Think about an author’s style in relation to his biography.
Plenary
Chn share the things they think link the author to his books.
Week 1 Thursday
/ Main Focus:Plan and write a diary entry.
3. Take the lead and support others in discussion.
9. Experiment with different narrative forms/styles to write own diary entry in role.
11. Adapt sentence function for different text types.
Understand how characters in diff stories by the same author may be similar. / Teach this second
Read Dinosaurs and All That Rubbish and also Grandfather’s Pencil*. Discuss how both fit the style of Michael Foreman, referring back to our list from yesterday. Discuss and list the main characters in each of the stories read: Fox, Boy in Seal Surfer, Boy in Wonder Goal and Grandfather’s pencil, etc. What do these characters have in common? How are they different? / Teach this first
Show a thesaurus to chn and discuss its function. Brainstorm other words for ‘story’ & list on f/c. Look up ‘story’ in thesaurus and add any synonyms that we have not thought of. / Easy/Medium/Hard
Explain to chn that they are going to choose a character from one of Michael Foreman’s books. They will imagine themselves as that character and then they will choose a point in the story and write a diary entry for that character for that day, eg they could be the boy in Seal Surfer and write a diary entry for the day he nearly drowns. They could be the Cat on the Hill and write a diary entry for the night the boy comes with the meal and the straw. Chn work in pairs and threes and discuss which character they will be. They then help each other select a page in the story for which they will write the diary entry for their character. Chn start writing their diary entry. They should take care to use an appropriate style of writing for their character. They may finish it tomorrow.
TD as required supporting different groups / Children can:
1. Create diary entries in the role of a Michael Foreman fictional character.
2. Study Michael Foreman’s fictional characters.
/ You will need to have finished War Game – apart from the last 2/3 pages from ‘Then everything went black’.
Week 1 Friday
/ Main focus:Write a diary entry in role of a fictional character.
9. Experiment with diff narrative forms and styles to write diary entry in role.
6. Group words according to their meanings and textual functions. / Look at chn’s diary entries. Choose a confident child and enlarge their work. Have they ‘got into’ their character – does the diary entry ring true? Encourage helpful suggestions which will help us all to improve our own. / Look at Grandfather’s Pencil*l again. Turn to page where the tattered tales come home to the forest (pp19-20). Enlarge text and highlight adjectives. Turn to the last page in the story and repeat this. Discuss how Michael Foreman uses description – look at the sea page (p13/14) and highlight descriptive words. / Easy/Medium/Hard
Activity 1: Chn finish their diary entries, talking on board some of the suggestions from the whole class session.
Activity 2: Chn choose a Michael Foreman book and make a note of some examples of particularly descriptive writing. They can either mark these with post-it™ stickers or write them out.
TD with easy group and as required / Children can:
1. Identify descriptive language in a text.
2. Complete a diary entry writing in role as a character.
Plenary
Look at all the characters we have studied so far created by Michael Foreman. Do they have anything in common? All are slightly sad… wistful… slightly lonely… romantic… dreamers…!
* Since Grandfather’s Pencil is now out of print, please use Saving Sinbad by Michael Foreman (Red Fox, ISBN: 0099439670). The middle spread is good for adjectives.
/ Objectives /Text/Speaking/Listening
/Word/Sentence
/Independent group activities
/ Outcomes // For this week’s work, you will need to have finished War Game – apart from the last 2/3 pages from ‘Then everything went black’.
Week 2 Monday
/ Main focus: Drama Act in role.4. Reflect on how working in role helps to explore complex issues.
8. Compare the usefulness of empathy & visualisation in exploring the meaning of texts. / Read the end of War Game. Ask chn if this was a story or not. Was it fiction or fact? Explain that War Game is a very famous story and that it is based on fact – there was a football match in the middle of the trenches during the first world war. Michael Foreman has told the story through the eyes of a made up soldier character - fiction – but the events (war in the trenches, the game of football and the battle at the end) really did happen. Explain that War Game is probably Michael Foreman’s most famous story and that he has won several prizes for it. Discuss if chn thought it was his best story out of those they have read. Discuss the main character. Look at dedication at start of book: In memory of my uncles… Look at the names of the characters on page beginning ‘The day after the football match was a Sunday…’ What is the name of main character in the story? (Will) And the goalie? (Freddie). Tell chn that seeing the story thro the eyes of a character, feeling what they feel is a very important part of enjoying books. Michael Foreman has made these events real by creating his uncle’s character – he has probably used real things about his uncle (eg he liked football & played as a striker, Freddie was the ‘goalie’, etc). By telling the story this way, he helps us to empathise with these characters… /
Easy/Medium/Hard
Explain to chn that they will work in grps to act out a visit home that Will and Freddie made after they got to the front & before the football match. They imagine that Will & Freddie were allowed some ‘leave’ (ie a visit home). The group should act out the scene as the brothers arrive home. Each group will decide which family members are in their scene, and who will take the part of ‘Mum’ or ‘Sister’ or Will or Freddie. They have to imagine the questions his family would ask, and how the boys might decide to answer them. Stress that it is the dialogue (conversation) that is important - encourage chn to really try to think themselves into the characters.
TD as required
/ Children can:1. Act out a short scene, working together as a group.
2. Act in the role of a fictional character.
Plenary
Divide the class in 2, each with an adult, and allow groups to act out their scenes.
Week 2 Tuesday
/ Main focus: Writing a letter in role.9. Adapt non-narrative forms (eg letters) to write fictional texts.
11. Adapt sentence function for different text types.
Punctuate sentences correctly. / Look again at War Game. Discuss the conditions that the soldiers lived in. Look at the way that Michael Foreman gives facts as well as telling the story (eg the rats would sometimes leave the trenches …). Talk about the way that the fictional parts relate to the factual parts of the story – we see what happened (fact) & the conditions (fact) through the eyes of fictional characters. Discuss how the soldiers must have felt about the football match and the incidents that led up to it. Imagine that Will or Freddie were one of the soldiers who had their hair cut by the German barber. How might they feel about this? / Explain that each child will write a letter home from the trenches describing their Christmas and the haircut incident. They should set out their letter in the traditional manner as Will or Freddie would have done. Model how to set out a letter. What address will Will or Freddie put? They would not be allowed to give an exact location! Discuss the style of writing that Will or Freddie would use. Will their sentences be long or short? How much description will they give? / Easy
Chn work with the teacher to write some suitable phrases and sentences for use in their letter – they can take some of these from book itself, eg ‘You know Freddie, how he’s a bit daft like. Well he walked out into No-man’s land…‘ TD / Medium/Hard
Chn imagine themselves in the trenches, writing home to their families. How much would they want to describe? Would they want to put a cheerful ‘slant’ on their news – they can include the hair-cutting and perhaps describe the football match. Encourage chn to draw on what they learned yesterday in their drama about how Will or Freddie think and feel in getting into character to write their letters. Their sentences should be short and humorous where possible and should contain simple descriptions. Check punctuation. / Children can:
1. Write a letter in role as a fictional character describing real events.