Y7: Autumn Term Fiction 1: Historical stories Main texts: War Horse by Michael Morpurgo & War Game by Michael Foreman
Wk 1 / Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday / FridayIt is essential to read two or three chapters of War Horse the day before the day that they are used in the teaching. Read these chapters to chn just before the end of school for best effect.
Whole class teaching / During this unit, chn are going to look at books set in WW1. Show chn War Horse by Michael Morpurgo. Read the blurb. Then read the Author’s Note, which sounds true, but is also fiction. Explain that MM had chatted to old men in the village where he lived, two of whom had worked with horses during WW1 and a third who could remember horses in the village being bought by the army to take to war. His wife had also been given a painting that showed horses suffering in WW1. These and a boy who struck up a relationship with a horse on MM’s farm, were his real inspiration for the story. Read Chapter 1 to chn. Ask who is telling the story (the narrator) – Joey, the horse. What other characters were introduced? Zoey, an older horse; Albert; Albert’s mother and father. What is the setting? A farm. How old were Joey and Albert at the start of the story? Model writing a summary of the chapter. Spoken Language 1 /
Comprehension 1 / Read Chapters 4 & 5 of War Horse to chn. Discuss what happened. How did Joey feel? How did Albert feel? Use Resources PPT slides 1-9 (see resources) to explore the type of sentences MM uses, revising single and multi-clause sentences and types of conjunction, co-ordinating and subordinating. Encourage chn to verbally swap the order of clauses in a sentence, e.g. Wherever you are, I’ll find you Joey. I’ll find you Joey wherever you are. Revise how commas are used to separate clauses when the subordinate clause is at the beginning. Agree that writers vary the length and type of sentence to create flowing prose and for different effects. Multi-clause sentences are good for building detailed images, giving reasons for character actions and slowing action to create tension; single-clause sentences create impact and speed up the action.
Grammar 1 / Read Chapters 7, 8 & 9 of War Horse to chn. In partners, chn recap what happened to Joey and Topthorn. Look at sentences and discuss commas (see resources). Some separate phrases, some separate clauses, some indicate parenthesis and some separate items in a list (words or phrases). Also, fronted adverbials are followed by a comma (remind chn of work done in LKS2). Commas clarify meaning and help the reader to know when to pause and to use the correct tone when reading aloud. They are also used to separate vocatives (chn don’t need to remember this word), i.e. the person or persons to whom we are speaking or writing, e.g. But Sally won’t write, Joey, because she can’t. If there were no commas the sentence would imply that Sally couldn’t write the word ‘Joey’. Grammar 2 / Read Chapters 10 to 14 of War Horse to chn. Which new characters have we met since Joey went to war? List on f/c. Captain Nicholls, Corporal Samuel Perkins, Topthorn, Captain Stewart, Trooper Warren, the doctor, Herr Hauptmann, Emilie & her Grandpapa, Old Friedrich. Write ‘fought’ and ‘cough’ on f/c. These words could be used to describe some of the characters, e.g. Topthorn suffered from a nasty cough. Herr Hauptmann fought in WW1. What do the words have in common? The letter-string ough. Using plan resources explain ough is one of the trickiest spellings in English, as it can be used to spell a number of different sounds. Have we met any other words containing ough in the story? E.g. plough, through. Ask chn what they can remember about each character. Model making notes, then writing a description of a character.
Transcription 1 / Composition 1 / Read Chapters 15 & 16 of War Horse. Point out that we are learning about WW1 by reading this book, e.g. Tanks were a British invention & were first used in September 1916. What other things have we learnt about the war? Why it began, the use of horses, trench-warfare, the fact that lots of men were killed, the muddy conditions, that letters were delivered to the men at the front, etc. What do chn think will happen to Joey now? Give chn 5 minutes to discuss ideas in pairs. Then bring the class back together and ask for suggestions, making notes on f/c. If chn have seen the film/ stage show or read the book they must not ‘give the game away’!
Spoken Language 2 / Composition 2
Objectives / Dimension / Resources
Spoken Language / a. listen appropriately to their peers
g. use spoken language to develop understanding
d. articulate and justify answers / 1. Monday: Group read and discuss two chapters of War Horse See Comprehension 1
In mixed ability groups, chn read and discuss the next two chapters of War Horse. Chn can make notes of key events as they read to support them with summary writing.
Plenary: See Comprehension 1. / None
d. articulate and justify opinions
i. participate in discussions
g. use spoken lang to explore ideas
k. consider and evaluate different viewpoints / 2. Friday: Discuss what will happen next in War Horse See Composition 2
(Input) Chn discuss with a partner what they think will happen to Joey next. Consider his condition, the characters he has met during the story, the fact that he’s still involved in the war, etc. Bring their ideas to a class discussion. Ask chn to explain and justify their ideas. Remind chn that this is fiction, even though it is based on facts about WW1, so this may affect the ending. Plenary: See Composition 2 / None
Comprehension / a. continuing to read and discuss a range of fiction
a. discussing understanding
c. drawing inferences
d. predicting what happens
e. summarising main ideas / 1. Monday: Group read two chapters from War Horse and create chapter summaries See Spoken Language 1
In mixed ability groups, chn read chapters 2 & 3 of War Horse. Chn write a short summary of the two chapters. Depending on your class, you might ask chn to create summaries collaboratively as a group or to write them individually.
Plenary: Share some chapter summaries. Has anything important been missed? Did other chn consider that there were other key points? Show chn the facts about the cavalry in WW1 using the website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zp6bjxs#z9c2yrd.
The video explains that some horses were sold for their meat after the war so only share after the book is finished and with teacher discretion. / A copy of War Horse for each group (chapters 2 & 3)
Transcription / Spelling
d. understand that the spelling of some words needs to be learnt specifically
e. use dictionaries to check the meaning of words
f. use the first three or four letters of a word to check meaning / 1. Thursday: Explore words with letter-string ough See Composition 1
Chn do this activity for 5-10 minutes. Then come back together for Composition 1.
Look at the table showing one word for each different sound represented by ough (see resources). Say them together so that chn can hear the different sounds. Challenge chn to find other words with the same sounds as the examples discussed. Chn can work in pairs or individually. Give chn 5-10 min to do this, then bring the class back together. Fill in a class chart with their findings. Discuss how knowing other words that rhyme with the words that contain the letter-string ough may help remember their pronunciation. Look at examples of words that do rhyme with the ough words (see resources) – can chn think of other similar words?
Plenary: Give chn a spelling list (differentiated) to learn for homework (see resources). If unsure of the meaning of any of the words, chn should use a dictionary to check. Encourage chn to move to the section of the dictionary with the first 3 or 4 letters of the word, rather than scanning through several pages. Challenge chn to use these words in their writing. / Table of words containing letter-string ough: blank and completed (see resources)
Dictionaries
Grammar / Use and understand the grammatical terminology in Appendix 2 accurately and appropriately in discussing their writing and reading
[clauses and conjunctions] / 1. Tuesday: Recognise different types of sentence and conjunction and think about impact
Chn read copies of Chapter 6 of War Horse (see resources), in pairs, looking for examples of single and multi-clause sentences and collect examples of conjunctions. Chn discuss why they think Morpurgo chose that type of sentence and the impact that it has.
Plenary: Discuss some of the sentences and conjunctions, checking for understanding. Play an excerpt from a BBC Radio adaptation of War Horse. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04rs1fhl (from 7.24-11.40) How does listening to an excerpt compare with reading it yourself? Why do chn think that the text has been abridged? Which version do chn prefer? / Chapter 6 of War Horse (see resources)
Internet access
Indicate grammatical and other features by:
a. using commas to clarify meaning or avoid ambiguity
c. using commas to indicate parenthesis / 2. Wednesday: Revise use of commas in sentences
Together look at a selection of sentences from War Horse that contain commas. Establish whether they separate items in a list, separate a subordinate clause from a main clause, separate a fronted adverbial from the main clause, indicate parenthesis, or enclose the person(s) to whom the writer is speaking or writing. Challenge chn to annotate further sentences (see resources) to show how the commas are used.
Plenary: Share chn’s work and discuss how useful a comma can be! / Sentences for chn to annotate (see resources)
Composition / Plan their writing by:
c. considering how authors have developed characters
Draft and write by:
b. describing characters / 1. Thursday: Write a description of a character from War Horse Chn do this activity after Transcription 1
Chn partner up/work independently to choose a character from War Horse and write a description of this character. Chn should think about both physical characteristics and personality traits to include.
EASY: Adult led: Choose a character as a group and discuss/develop ideas. Chn then work with a partner to write their description.
Plenary: Volunteers read out their descriptions. Can other chn work out which character is being described? (See Transcription 1) / None
Plan their writing by:
b. noting and developing initial ideas
c. considering how authors have developed characters / 2. Friday: Predict what will happen to the main character See Spoken Language 2
Chn decide what they think is the most likely ending and write a paragraph explaining what their idea is and why they think that. They should refer to other characters (including perhaps ones we’ve not yet met) and must remember that it is taking place in WW1.
Plenary: Ask a volunteer to say what their prediction is and why. Which other chn agree? What other ideas did chn have? Have a show of hands to find out which prediction is the most popular. Read the last chapters of War Horse before Monday’s lesson. / None
© Original plan copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.
Y7: Autumn Term Fiction 1: Historical stories Main texts: War Horse by Michael Morpurgo & War Game by Michael Foreman
Wk 2 / Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday / FridayIt is essential to read War Game by Michael Foreman before it is used in the teaching on Friday. Read it in sections just before end of school for best effect.
Whole class teaching / Hold up War Horse. Was the ending expected? Did anyone make the correct prediction? Had they already seen or heard the rest of the story? Did chn enjoy the story? Why/why not? Could anyone other than Joey have been the narrator? No, because Joey was the only character present at all times. The story could, however, have been written by a 3rd person narrator. Explain that writers of historical stories must beware of anachronisms (write on f/c) – including things that had not been invented or discovered or were not understood at that time, e.g. tanks couldn’t appear in War Horse until 2 years into the war. Briefly discuss other things that had to be considered, e.g. families back home read newspaper reports to find out what was happening (no radio, TV or Internet). The book tells us about everyday home life, e.g. horses were used in farming and that horses pulling carts was a common means of transporting goods.
Comprehension 2 / Composition 3 /
Spoken Language 3 / Start compiling a list of words for a glossary of terms used in WW1 (see resources). Can chn suggest words? (More can be added when reading other WW1-based books.) Explain that we can make writing sound more authentic depending on the vocabulary and grammar that we use. Use Resources PPT slides 10-15 (see resources) to explore ways in which to write realistic dialogue and link this to the idea of using appropriate register in writing. Give chn practice of speaking in different registers noting the contrast.
Composition 4 /
Grammar 3 / Ask if chn have seen the theatre production of War Horse or the film version. Explain that on the stage puppet horses were used instead of real ones. Show video at: https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/file/10131/view. Discuss how lifelike these are with very skilled puppeteers operating them! Watch part of the DVD of War Horse with chn. Ensure that the section you pick is suitable for chn (the film is rated age 12). There are differences in all parts of the story! Compare with the book. Is there a narrator? Is the story the same? Are there any additional or missing characters? Which did chn prefer – the book or the film? Why? Explain that chn are going to adapt part of the book into a play. Remember that Joey and the other horses cannot speak! Revise play script conventions.