Literacy Unit Summary Plan
Name: / Class: / Year Group: 5 and 6 / Additional Unit: Midnight Fox / Term: / Week Beginning:Outcomes
The main writing outcomes are writing in role in the form of notes and a ‘fox-spotter’ notebook and also poetry and newspaper reports. /
Objectives
The overarching core learning outcomes for the key stage are indicated in italics. Relevant objectives from Years 5 and 6 are indicated under the strands.1. Speaking
Explore, develop and sustain ideas through talk
§ Y5 Present a spoken argument sequencing points logically and defending views with evidence, making use of persuasive language
§ Y6 Use a range of oral techniques to present persuasive arguments
§ Y6 Participate in whole-class debate using the conventions and language of debate including Standard English
4. Drama
Use dramatic techniques including working in role to explore ideas and texts
Create, share and evaluate ideas and understanding through drama
§ Y5 Reflect on how working in role helps to explore complex issues
§ Y6 Improvise using a range of drama strategies and conventions to explore themes such as hopes, fears and desires
7. Understanding and interpreting texts
Retrieve, select and describe information, events and ideas
Deduce, infer and interpret information, events and ideas
§ Y5 Make notes on and use ideas from across a text to explain events or ideas
§ Y5 Explore how writers use language for comic and dramatic effects
§ Y6 Understand underlying themes, causes and points of view
8. Engaging with and responding to texts
Respond imaginatively, using different strategies to engage with texts
Evaluate writers’ purposes and viewpoints and the overall effect of the text on the reader
§ Y5 Compare the usefulness of techniques such as visualisation, prediction and empathy in exploring the meaning of texts
§ Y6 Sustain engagement with longer texts using different techniques to make the text come alive
9. Creating and shaping texts
Use and adapt a range of forms suited to different purposes and readers
§ Y6 Select words and language, drawing on their knowledge of literary features and formal and informal writing
Overview: This unit lasts three weeks
This classic children’s novel, written in 1970 by the American writer Betsy Byars, reads aloud very well. It tells the compelling story of Tom, a boy who is sent, very reluctantly, to stay with his aunt and uncle on their farm. Readers experience his sense of wonder at the beauty of nature as he observes the beautiful sight of a black fox and her cub. The harsh reality of life in the country is revealed as Tom’s concern for the fox and her cub come into conflict with his aunt and uncle’s attempts to protect their farm stock.
Children can relate to Tom’s initial reluctance to being sent to stay with his aunt and uncle. His discovery, admiration and concern for the fox and changing attitude to life in the country provide lots of opportunities for discussion. Drama, debate and writing in role enable the reader to experience the story from Tom’s viewpoint. Appreciation of the language is developed through text marking and word collections.
Teachers should read the book and the teaching sequence before starting work on the unit with the class. Reading aloud of the text or rereading of sections can sometimes take place during the teaching sessions but should also take place during separate read-aloud times in order to reach particular parts of the narrative in preparation for sessions. Where this is important, it has been signalled in the unit. Sessions are for guidance only. The length of time each aspect of the sequence takes will depend on the way they are developed by the teacher, the amount of time allowed for different activities such as discussion and also the prior experience of the class, for example with drama techniques.
Phase 1 – approx 4 days
Phase 1 of the unit (sessions 1–4) focuses on detailed discussions about the main character of the novel, Tom, and his feelings about being sent to stay with his aunt and uncle on their farm. Through
role-play, discussion, drawing and note making, the children begin to put themselves in Tom’s shoes. Letter writing in role completes this phase of the unit. / Phase 1: Learning outcomes:
§ To be able to gather information about the main characters and plot
§ To be able to discuss what is known initially about a character’s situation
§ To use drama strategies to think about a character’s feelings
§ To deduce information about a character from the clues in the text
§ To be able to show what they have found out about characters through notes and drawing
§ To develop ideas about a character’s feelings through talk
§ To express a character’s feelings by writing in role / Resources:
§ Midnight fox - note document
PDF 139KB RTF 80.4KB Word 59.5KB
§ Midnight fox - reasons for and against
PDF 24.3KB RTF 6.27KB Word 29.5KB
§ Midnight fox - unit
PDF 236KB RTF 2.2MB Word 1.0MB
Phase 2 – approx 5 days
Phase 2 of the unit (sessions 5–10) focuses on Tom’s experiences of discovering and observing the black fox and her cub. Through visualisation, mapping of the different settings, drawing and writing
in role, the children are able to gain an understanding of Tom’s experiences. Text marking and word collections are used to draw attention to the ways that language is used to describe the fox. Shared and individual poetry writing describing the fox completes / Phase 2 Learning outcomes:
§ To be able to explore themes and issues in a text, referring to the text
§ To be able to write in role to a character in the text
§ To be able to deduce information about the complexities of a character from the text
§ To be able to present ideas to a group
§ To be able to use drama to explore a character's feelings
§ To discuss a turning point in a novel
§ To be able to use role-play to explore a key moment in the development of the plot
§ To be able to record a scene using drawing and writing
Phase 3 – approx days
Phase 3 of the unit (sessions 11-15) involves script writing and performing, writing in role and report writing as the novel reaches its conclusion.
Reading aloud continues during and between sessions. Sessions are for guidance only and the length of these will depend on the way they are interpreted and developed by the teacher, together with the amount of time allowed for drama, discussion and writing. / Phase 3 Learning outcomes:
§ To be able to present a viewpoint, providing evidence and using persuasive language
§ To learn how to take part in a debate
§ To use role-play to explore characters’ differing viewpoints
§ To be able to express a viewpoint orally and in writing
§ To be able to discuss key moments in a story
§ To use drama strategies to explore a key scene in a text
§ To be able to use their knowledge of a story and characters to write a newspaper report of a key event