Roald Dahl’s five books:The Twits etc
- This topic has 11 replies, 1 voice, and was last updated 4 years, 6 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
-
-
VIPERS questions for each book:
Teacher’s Reading task and VIPERS questions to be discussed on 1st Lesson:
-
Summary for lesson 1:
What did we cover?
Students gave introductions (name, age, favourite book)
Introduced the book group and discussed what we will be working on together (i.e. the aims being to read, understand, and enjoy the books as much as possible through discussing our
ideas as a group)
Covered the first 14 chapters (looking at different VIPERS and giving some one word summaries)
Discussed some general points about the book as a whole (i.e. what do the illustrations add to the book, and how is humour created)Home work after lesson 1:
Using The Twits as inspiration, write the first paragraph of a story titled ‘The Darlings’ in the style of Roald Dahl.
Think about how you will introduce the characters of ‘the darlings’, and how you will capture the reader’s attention.
Or
Summarise the first half of the book in 4 sentences or one short paragraphTeacher’s Reading task and VIPERS questions for lesson 2 to be discussed on 2nd Lesson
-
Summary for lesson 2:
– Discussed what everyone did well on in their homework
– Studied the second half of The Twits
– Discussed how Dalh achieved certain effects (i.e. how he built anticipation).Home work for lesson 2:
In one paragraph, explain what your favourite part of The Twits was and why.
Teacher’s Reading tasks and VIPERS questions for lesson 3 to be discussed on 3rd Lesson
-
Summary for lesson 3:
What did we cover
– Reviewed our last lessons on The Twits
– Discussed the homework tasks and what we did well on/could improve
– Did an overview of what we would be focusing on for the next two week
– Worked through the questions for the first half of George’s Marvellous MedicineClass report
It was wonderful to meet the students again and begin our work on the second Dahl book,
George’s Marvellous Medicine. Many of the students were clearly very excited to begin this
book, and their enthusiasm showed throughout the lesson.
The initial nerves that some students had have mostly worn off; there was a fantastic increase
in the number of students offering up answers, and it is great to see so many of them keen to
share their thoughts or read aloud. For those students who are a little quieter, it can be more
challenging; that said, all the students (regardless of how confident they are with speaking)
have provided some excellent answers, and proved themselves to be knowledgeable and
invested.
As we progress through the lessons and the class confidence builds, we will continue to push
ourselves to think about more difficult questions. We started this today, with the students
being asked to think further (i.e. find good evidence to support their answers, or come up with
multiple/alternative answers). We will continue this progression over the next few weeks; this
will enable the children to build their analytical and creative skills, rather than just exercising
them.
I would like to finish by mentioning how pleased I have been with the homeworks produced so
far; many of the students have clearly put in a lot of effort, and it is evident through their
descriptions of what they enjoyed about The Twits and their wonderfully creative pieces that
they are really getting stuck in and finding joy in reading/writing (which is so encouraging to
see)!Home work for lesson 3:
Come up with your own marvellous medicine! Write a short story about how you make it and
what happens when someone takes it.
OR
Summarise the first half of the book in 4 sentences (one short paragraph).
VIPERS questions for lesson 4 to be discussed on 4th Lesson:
-
Summary for lesson 4:
What did we cover
– Discussed the homework tasks and what we did well on/could improve
– Reflected on last lesson
– Recapped the first half of the book
– Worked through the questions for the second half of George’s Marvellous Medicine
– Discussed what a ‘moral’ is and whether there is a moral to the story
– Did a character study of George and Grandma
– Discussed the importance of considered multiple characters’ perspectivesClass report
Once again the students produced some wonderful, which they were praised for and
encouraged to continue producing. We began our lesson by recapping the last session, and
having the students refresh our memories of what has happened in GMM so far.
We continued working through the VIPERS questions today, many of which were quite a bit
more difficult than those done previously. I was impressed by how the students were willing to
have an educated guess at answers which they were unsure about, and the way in which they
contributed to some more complex discussions.
As well as working on the VIPERS questions, we worked through some additional exercises
and debates in the lesson. We discussed the idea of ‘ethics’ and ‘morals’; I was very
impressed by how engaged the students were, and many of them made some very
sophisticated and thoughtful contributions to the discussion. We then did a character study of
George and Grandma, and imagined what kinds of questions and answers they would be
faced with by an interrogator trying to work out whether George’s actions were fair and right.
This exercise proved really useful, as it encouraged the students to think about different
characters’ viewpoints and discover a deeper level of complexity in regards to the ‘lessons’ of
the story.
The students seemed really excited by the homework tasks (particularly the option to write an
introduction to the sequel of GMM). I am very much looking forward to reading what they
come up with and starting the next book, Esio Trot, next week.Home work for lesson 4:
Come up with a title for the sequel of George’s Marvellous Medicine and write the
introduction.
OR
Write a paragraph on your favourite part of the book and explain why you choose it.VIPERS questions for lesson 5
-
Summary for lesson 5:
What did we cover
– Discussed the homework tasks and what we did well on/could improve
– Reflected on last week’s lesson
– Did a study of the character illustrations (discussing what info we can find in pictures)
– Summarised the first half of the book
– Worked through the questions for the first half of Esio Trot
– Discussed whether the character of Mr Hoppy was ‘wrong’ for lyingClass report
It was a real pleasure to work with the students again today, and I am very excited to continue our work on Esio Trot on Thursday. I was also very pleased with the homework the students produced from our last lesson; I have noticed an improvement in the quality of their work,which is very encouraging.
We began our lesson today by doing an exercise which enabled us to discover how much information can be gathered from illustrations. We looked at illustrations of characters from the book, and investigated what we can learn about the characters from their clothes,
expressions, the colours they wear, the way they interact with others in the picture, the background. The students really enjoyed this exercise, and it was great to see them develop
an appreciation of how much can be presented in a single image.
The students then summarised the first half of the book, and we worked together through the VIPERS questions. They continued to provide excellent answers, and I was really pleased to see some of the less confident students speaking up. We would often stop and dive deeper into certain questions, which enabled the students to show off how well they can think on the spot and push themselves.
We finished the lesson by debating whether we think Mr Hoppy was wrong for lying to Mrs Silver. Some of the responses were fascinating, and it was great to see the students engage with not only the text but also each other.
The lessons are continuing to increase in difficulty level, and I have been hugely encouraged and impressed by how well the students are responding to the more tricky tasks and
questions that they are being presented with.Home work for lesson 5:
Imagine you are Mr Hoppy and write a love letter to Mrs Silver.
OR
Summarise the first half of the book in 4 sentences (one short paragraph).VIPERS questions for lesson 6
-
Summary for lesson 6:
What did we cover
– Discussed the homework tasks and what we did well on/could improve
– Reflected on last lesson
– Went over some facts about the book
– Came up with alternative titles for the booked
– Summarised the second half of the book
– Worked through the questions for the first half of Esio Trot
– Discussed whether the ending is happy and if we consider Mr Hoppy to be a ‘good
man’
Class report
It was lovely to continue our work on Esio Trot today. The homework that the students
produced after last lesson was wonderful, so I was very glad to be able to compliment them
all on their hard work at the start of the session.
We began by recapping what had happened so far in the book, and then went over some ‘fun
facts’ about Esio Trot. Following on from the fact that Esio Trot wasn’t the first choice for the
book’s title, we spend some time coming up with our own ideas for titles and explaining why
we would call the story that. Some of the ideas were really fun!
We then moved on to work through the rest of the VIPER questions. The students continued
to provide some really fabulous answers, and I was especially pleased to see how much they
engaged in our longer debates over certain questions (such as ‘how would Mrs Silver feel
about Alfie growing’, and ‘does Alfie have a happy life in the end’).
We spent the final section of the lesson discussing some important points, mainly whether we
thought Mr Hoppy was a ‘good man’ or not. The way the students discussed the morality of
lying was impressively sophisticated; they engaged with both sides of the argument, and
came to some very interesting conclusions. It was a wonderfully lively debate, and a really
fantastic way to finish off our work on this book.
I was glad to see how excited the students were when they heard that Matilda will be our next
book; it will be very interesting to see how they deal with this text, as it is quite a bit longer and
more complex than those that we have studied so far.Home work for lesson 6:
Write the prequel to the story.
OR
Describe your favourite part of the story and why it was your favourite.
Teacher’s Reading task and VIPERS questions for lesson 7
-
Summary for lesson 7:
What did we cover
– Discussed the homework tasks and what we did well on/could improve
– Reflected on last week’s lesson
– Summarised the first half of the book
– Did character studies (using illustrations by Quentin Blake)
– Worked through the questions for the first half of Matilda
– Discussed whether Matilda is ‘right’ in getting revenge on her fatherClass report
I was very excited to get started on Matilda with the students, as they had expressed how much they were looking forward to these lessons last week. Matilda is a far longer and more
dense book than those we have studied before, so it will be an interesting challenge for the students.
We began our lesson by reflecting on what we have done so far, and discussed the fact that Matilda is slightly different to the other books we have looked at. One student in each group
then gave a summary of the first half. After this, we moved on to look at some illustrations of the characters and discussed what we could infer about them from their pictures; I was
delighted to see that the students were far more capable and confident in this exercise than they were the first time they did it (with Esio Trot). This shows that they are really taking
onboard the lessons and skills they are learning.
As we worked through the questions, we always had in mind the question ‘is Matilda right to do what she does’. In relation to this, we discussed how it is interesting that many of Dahl’s
books have characters that seek to ‘get revenge’. The students, as always, provided some great answers, and some really intriguing debates arose throughout the lesson.
We finished off by discussing the question of revenge; it was fantastic to hear so many different ideas and opinions, and I was particularly pleased to see the students engage in conversation with each other.Home work for lesson 7:
Imagine you are Miss Honey. Write a diary entry from the day she first met Matilda.
OR
Summarise the first half of the book in 4 sentences.
VIPERS questions for lesson 8
-
Summary for lesson 8:
What did we cover
– Discussed the homework tasks and what we did well on/could improve
– Reflected on last lesson
– Discussed some ‘fun facts’
– Studied what we can tell about a character from their name
– Worked through the questions for the second half of Matilda
– Debated whether we could want to keep the superpowers or be put in a higher classClass report
Today we completed our second and last lesson on Matilda; this has been the longest and most dense book we have studied so far, and I was really impressed by how all the students managed this change.
We began our session by recapping what happened in the story so far, then we spent some time discussing what we can tell about the characters from the names they have (i.e. Miss
Honey being sweet, Miss Trunchbull being bullish). Following this, we learned some fun facts about the book; the students seemed to particularly enjoy the facts about the earlier versions of the book.
The students all provided some wonderful answers to the VIPER questions we discussed. I have continued to notice how students who were initially more shy have been making a marked effort to volunteer their thoughts; this has been so wonderful to see, and it shows how much more comfortable and confident the students are becoming. We spent some extra time with certain questions in order to discuss the students’ different opinions on certain matters (i.e. what makes a ‘good’ punishment).
We finished off by debating whether, if we were Matilda, we would keep the powers and stay in the lower class or go to the class which challenges us but lose our powers. This was a
really fascinating way to end the lesson, as the students had many different ideas and gave some excellent reasons for their answers.
The students were very excited to start on Fantastic Mr Fox; I too am very much looking forward to continuing our work together.Home work for lesson 8:
Write a story about another magic trick that Matilda does.
OR
Do you think this book is entertaining? Explain why.
-
Summary for lesson 9:
What did we cover
– Discussed the homework tasks and what we did well on/could improve
– Reflected on the last month
– Discussed which book has been our favourite and why
– Did a character study (using illustrations)
– Worked through the questions for the first half of FMF
– Debated whether we feel sorry for the farmersClass report
It was wonderful to begin work on FMF, as many of the students had said last week that they were incredibly excited to start lessons on the book.
We began by reviewing our work so far (as we have been learning together for a whole month now). I remarked how pleased I have been with the wonderful progress the students have made over the last four weeks; it is so clear that they have gained a lot of confidence, insight,and skills over the past 8 sessions, and it is incredibly exciting to think how much further they will progress over the coming weeks.
We went round and discussed which books we had most enjoyed and why. I was pleased that every book we studied was mentioned at least a few times! The reasons the students gave for their answers were also incredibly interesting; it seems that they enjoy the more ‘challenging’
of Dahl’s books, which is good as we move forward to work on his longer and more complex works.
Next, we did a character study of the key characters in FMF. It is great to see how much better the students are at inferring details about characters from drawings of them, and I believe it is a really useful exercise for us to continue doing at the start of each next set of lessons.
The students were wonderful at providing answers to the VIPERS questions. One thing which I noticed was how much the students enjoy elaborating their answers; rather than just stating the answer in its simplest form, many of the students clearly love to go into more detail about how they came to finding their answers and how it links to the rest of the story. This is absolutely wonderful to see and it will certainly help them when they come to doing English assessments in the future.
We finished by debating whether we felt sorry for the farmers. As usual, the students were lively, engaged, and shared some very interesting ideas. They continue to build upon each other’s answers, which I have been very pleased to see and actively encouraging.Home work for lesson 9:
Imagine you are one of the farmers. Write a letter of complaint about the problems you have
been having on your farm.
OR
Summarise the first half of the book in 4 sentences.VIPERS questions for lesson 10 to be discussed on Thur:
-
Summary for lesson 10
What did we cover
– Reflected on the last lesson
– Discussed who are favourite character was and why
– Did a character study (using pictures of characters from the film)
– Learned some ‘fun facts’
– Worked through the questions for the second half of FMFClass report
We began the lesson today by discussing who our favourite characters were and why. It was
fascinating to hear the students’ views, and very interesting to see that all the characters were
mentioned by at least one student. We developed this discussion to talk about how the central
character is often seen as a ‘hero’ and how there are also ‘villains’. From here, we thought
about who Mr. Fox would see as the villain and who the farmers would see as the villain.
Next, we looked at some images taken from the film of the characters. Not only did the
students infer some excellent character details based on what these images showed, they
also made some great comparisons to how they differ in the book and the film.
We spent a little time talking about some ‘fun facts’ about the book and film. I am so glad that
the students tend to enjoy learning this trivia, as it proves that they have a genuine interest in
the books and in broadening their knowledge.
We then moved onto the VIPERS questions. The students have continued to improve in the
quality of their answers to these questions; everytime a student answers they give some
fantastic details, and I am so pleased to see the students using quotes from the text more
frequently to back up their answers.
We will now be taking a break of one week before we start on the next few books, beginning
with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. As these books are longer and more complex, they
will confront the students with new and exciting challenges; they will be encourage to think
further and deeper, and this will enable them to discover even more skills and interests.
As we have reached an important stage of the programme (5 weeks in) and we are about to
take a short break, I would like to comment on how much I have enjoyed teaching the
students over the last five weeks. It has been a real joy to see them develop in skills and
confidence, and I am so excited to see how much further they can progress as we embark on
the next stage in a week’s time.Homework for lesson 10:
Write the first paragraph of the prequel to Fantastic Mr Fox.
OR
Write a short paragraph about your favourite part of the book.The end
-
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.