Unit of Work- Year 3/4
Author Study: Paul Jennings
Learning Focus
Further develop an appreciation of literature
Further develop an understanding of the author Paul Jennings
Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS)
- Students produce, in print and electronic forms, a narrative using structures and features of language appropriate to the purpose, audience and context of the writing.
- Students use a range of vocabulary, a variety of sentence structures, and use punctuation accurately, including apostrophes.
- Identify and use different parts of speech, including nouns, pronouns, adverbs, comparative adverbs and adjectives, and use appropriate prepositions and conjunctions.
- Employ a variety of strategies for writing, including note-making, using models, planning, editing and proofreading.
- Students access websites to acquire from, or share information with, peers and known and unknown experts.
- Students use a broad range of thinking processes and tools, and reflect on and evaluate their effectiveness.
Lesson / Lesson Plan/Activities / Resources
1 /
- Write down all that you know about Paul Jennings.
- Access Official Website of Paul Jennings- listen to audio.
- Discuss the life of Paul Jennings.
- Show the range of books that have been written by Paul Jennings.
- Read Chapters 1-3 of ‘The Paw Thing’ by Paul Jennings
- Create a word wheel about Paul Jennings
- Interactive whiteboard
- Website
- Picture story books- ‘Rascal and the Hot Air Balloon’ and ‘Rascal and Little Flora’
- A range of books written by Paul Jennings (short stories, picture story books, fiction novels)
- Activity sheet- word wheel
- A copy of ‘The Paw Thing’
2 /
- Discuss the main characters in ‘The Paw Thing’ by Paul Jennings.
- Reread Chapter 4 of ‘The Paw Thing’. Discuss how each of these characters are feeling throughout this chapter and give reasons for why they are each feeling this way.
- Whole class make a list of words to describe how each character is feeling. Complete a thinking bubble for each character.
- Each student to write down his or her own ideas about what each character is thinking using thinking bubbles.
- Design a mouse trap for Major Mac. Label the parts.
- A copy of ‘The Paw Thing’
- Cardboard cut-outs of speech bubbles
3 /
- Complete ‘The Paw Thing’ (Chapters 7 and 8).
- Discuss why Paul Jennings gave it the title of ‘The Paw Thing’.
- Each student is to write a newspaper article for the Standard telling of how Singenpoo saved the day. Discuss the structure of recount- sequence of events answering Who? What? When? Where? Why? Students must include the favourite part of ‘The Paw Thing’ in their letter. Use computer to present article.
- Design a medal for Singenpoo.
- A copy of ‘The Paw Thing’
- Computer
4 /
- DVD- Round the Twist
- Comparison between books and DVD- discuss the impact of each on the reader or viewer.
- DVD- Round the Twist