To analyse character (Part 1)

Key Stage 2

English

Holes by Louis Sachar

﻿Hello, my name is Ms. Johnson. And I'm going to be teaching you reading today. In today's lesson, we're going to be analysing one of the main characters in "Holes" by Louis Sachar. This story focuses on a boy who is sent to a juvenile corrections centre. So if this is something that makes you feel uncomfortable. I suggest you pause the video and go and ask an adult to watch the video with you. If you haven't already watch lesson one and two, then you should also pause this video and go back and watch those lessons first. But if you have, then let's just get started. We're going to start today's lesson by recapping "Holes" by Louis Sachar and seeing what you can remember already. Then we're going to do a vocabulary check. Then we're going to look at a key question and we're going to analyse the text in order to answer it. And then we're going to be summarising. And when we summarise, we're going to be answering the key question that we have worked towards throughout the rest of the lesson. In the lesson today, you will need an exercise book or paper. A pencil or a pen. And your brain. I want you thinking throughout this lesson. I don't want you just to listen to what I'm saying. I want you to actively take part in this lesson. Now, if you have any distractions near you that you can control. For instance, if your phone is by you, or if the T.V. is really loud. Then I want you to pause the video now and make sure you fix those distractions. And press play when you're ready to resume. Well done, shall we get started? We're going to start by recapping "Holes" by Louis Sachar. Now, if you have not watched lesson one and two, you should pause the video here and go back and watch. Because it's really important that you have an understanding of the text before you do this lesson. So I would like you, in a minute. To pause your video and write down everything you already know about Camp Green Lake. You can do it in bullet points or note form. But I want as many things as you can remember. For instance, is there a lake at Camp Green Lake? So pause your video now and write down as many things as you can remember and press play when you're ready to resume. Well done, I'm going to show you my notes. You might have some different ideas to me. And that's absolutely fine. So I said it is a wasteland. Now a wasteland is land that is no longer used, it's gone to waste, nobody wants to use it. And I also said that boys are sent there when they have been naughty. So we know it's a camp for bad boys 'cause in the text it tells us that. We also know there are rattlesnakes and scorpions. And we said in our last lesson that this means it's quite a dangerous place to be. We know that the campers, the boys, dig holes when they are there. Because it's thought that this hard work turns them into good boys. And we know that The Warden is in charge. We know The Warden is quite strict because we're told that they own the shade and that campers are forbidden, even in this really hot temperature, to go anywhere near the shade. So well done. I wonder if you could remember as much as me. I'm sure you can. If you couldn't, don't worry. We're going to carry on today and you will. We're going to start with a vocabulary check. Now this is always a really important part of any reading lesson. This helps us to know what to do when we come across an unfamiliar word. It helps us to work out what the meaning of that word is. So when I was reading, I came across in "Holes," this extract. And there was a word that I wasn't sure of. And today, I want you to help me. The bus wasn't air-conditioned. So air-condition keeps us cool. And the hot, heavy air was almost as stifling as the handcuffs. So the word that I wasn't sure of is stifling. Tell me, stifling. Now, we know this is an adjective because the air is being described as stifling. So we know, it's an adjective. Now I want you to try and skip out the word in the sentence to try and work out what it might mean. The bus wasn't air-conditioned, and the hot, heavy air was almost as stifling as the handcuffs. Now, if I was trying to work that out. I might describe the air as... The hot, heavy air was... Suffocating, perhaps? But I'm not too sure. So I've tried to replace it with another word. So I tried to say it was suffocating. But how do I know that actually is a good word to use? I need to read around the word now in the sentence. And there's some clues here. I find out that the air is heavy. Can air be heavy? I think that's a feeling that the author is talking about. When there's heavy air, you find it hard to breathe. The room that I'm sat in now, it's quite a hot day outside and the air is feeling quite heavy in this room. And I know that handcuffs go around your wrist and you can't break out of them. So if someone's wearing handcuffs, they couldn't break out of the handcuffs. Now, if air makes you feel like your wearing handcuffs. The idea that you can't get out, or something. It must be almost suffocating. So I think now I've made a close enough guess to understand the meaning of this word. And now I'm going to tell you the word. This is to improve your vocabulary. So the word stifling is an adjective and it means smothering or suffocating. So I was correct. When the day is so hot it makes you pour with sweat. And you can see here, the character in this image here is pouring with sweat. It's so hot they can't bear the heat. And so you feel really tired, you can't even move. So the word is stifling, say it after me. Stifling. What a fantastic word you can now use in your writing and in your vocabulary. So well done. So if you come across a word today that you're not sure of when I read. I want you to come back to this section and have a go at working it out. Now we're going to analyse the text. This means we're going to look closely at the text. And I've got a big question to answer for you. So when we look closely at the book, the text. I want you to think of this question. What impression of Stanley Yelnats does the author create? So what picture does the author create in your mind of Stanley Yelnats? So I'm going to ask you to pause the video in a minute. But first of all, I'm going to read the extract to you and a question for you. And this is going to help us to come back to the question here. What impression of Stanley Yelnats does the author create? Lock that one in your mind. So his backpack lay on the seat next to him. This is on his way to Camp Green Lake. It contained his toothbrush, toothpaste, and a box of stationary his mother had given him. He'd promise to write to her at least once a week. So box of stationary would have a pen and pencil in it. A ruler in it, perhaps. And some paper. And we're told, he promised to write to her at least once a week. Now what does this then tell us about his relationship with his mother? If he's promised to write to her at least once a week. What do we learn about Stanley's relationship with his mother? So pause the video here, write down your answer. And press play when you're ready to resume. Well done, shall we check the answer together? So it tells me that Stanley promised to write to his mother at least once a week. Now, this means that he must really care about her and is close to her because he's promised it. He's a good boy really, this tells me. So he has promised to write to her at least once a week which shows he cares about her and is close to her. They have a good relationship. It shows that he's listening to authority. Or his mother. And he's close to her. So that's already building a picture in my mind of what Stanley is perhaps like. Perhaps he's not such a naughty boy, even though he's being sent to camp. So again, we're looking at question two now. I'm going to read the question to you. Now I'm going to also read the extract to you. And now that to press pause when I say. So we know that Stanley is being sent to camp. And now I'm going to read an extract to you. And I want you to think about this. So Stanley and his parents had tried to pretend that he was just going away to camp for a while. Just like rich kids do. Now I told you that in America, children often go to summer camps for the summers. And it's really good fun, they have a really great time there. And it's often, most children, quite a few children would go to summer camp. So why does Stanley and his parents pretend he was just going to a summer camp? Why did they pretend that? What were they feeling about Stanley going to Camp Green Lake? So can you pause the video now and have a go at writing down your answer. Well done, shall we check together? So I think that the fact they pretend that he was going away to camp shows that they were nervous. So because they were nervous about him going to Camp Green Lake. They were trying to make it easier by imagining he was just going to a summer camp. So again we find out that Stanley's parents really care about him. We also find out that perhaps camp is not somewhere Stanley has ever been before. So this tells us a little bit about his family as well. Again, I'm going to read a question. This is question three now. I'm going to read the extract to you, then I'll read the question. And then I'll let you to press pause and have a go at answering. So now we find out a little bit more about Stanley's past. We're told in the book, he didn't have any friends at home. He was overweight and the kids at his middle school often teased him about his size. Even his teachers sometimes made cruel comments without realising it. Now, which word tells you Stanley was unpopular at school? I'm looking for a verb that tells me something happened to him at school. So can you pause the video and look for a word that tells me Stanley was unpopular at school. And write that word down for me and then press play when you're ready to resume. Fantastic, well done. So the word I was looking for was teased. Teased shows he was unpopular at school. When you tease someone, you make fun of them. So he was teased by all his friends. Which is not very nice. And he even says that his teachers made cruel comments without realising it. So what does this tell me about Stanley? This tells me that Stanley's unpopular. So if you're thinking of that key question that I asked you at the beginning. What impression of Stanley do you get? This tells me that he is unpopular. Now, we're going to have another go at a similar question. So I'm going to read the extract to you. Then I'd like you to answer the question. Stanley was not a bad kid. He was innocent of the crime for which he was convicted. That means the crime for which he was arrested for. He'd just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. So we learn a really key thing about Stanley from this. We learn that he hasn't committed a crime or he is innocent. He didn't do it. But what else do we find out about him? So look at the underlined section. Wrong place at the wrong time. What does the author mean by this? It's the phrase, what's this phrase kind of suggest about Stanley? So can you pick a word from below that this phrase kind of tells us about Stanley. A word that describes Stanley. Does it tell us that he's naughty? Does it tell us that he's clumsy or a bit silly? Does it tell us that he's rebellious, so he doesn't do as he's told. Or does it tell us that he's just unlucky? Can you pause the video now and write down your answer. And press play when you're ready. Well done, let's check together. So I said unlucky because it says he was not a bad kid. So he can't be naughty and he's not rebellious. It also says he was innocent and he was unlucky to be at the scene of the crime. So if you're in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's bad luck. It means you're suddenly caught up in something. Perhaps in the playground, somebody's having a disagreement. And you happen just to be stood there. That would you being in the wrong place at the wrong time. You'd be unlucky to be there and to get involved. Even though perhaps you haven't done something. If the teacher then came and told off everyone. It was near this argument. And you hadn't done anything. Then you would be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Because you're getting told off for something you've not done. And that's how Stanley is feeling. He's not committed a crime. He's innocent of it. And he's just unlucky he says, to have been there. Or the narrator says, to have been there. So now we're going to build that bigger picture of Stanley. So what impression of Stanley Yelnats does the author create in your mind? If you had to imagine Stanley, what would you imagine? Describe him as a friend. How would you describe him? So to do this, we're going to have a go at creating a mind map for Stanley. Now a mind map is just lots of different ideas and facts that you've known about him. So for example, I say we know he's caring towards his family. Because it says he will write once a week. Now if he was a bad boy, I'm not sure he would do that. So this tells me he's quite a good boy as well. So what else do you know about Stanley from this lesson so far? Can you pause the video and add to the mind map? Off you go. Well done. I'm going to show you some of my ideas and I'm sure we've got some similar ones. So I said he's unlucky. We know he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I've also said he is innocent of the crime he was convicted of. He hasn't committed a crime. He's just unlucky and now he's been sent to Camp Green Lake. We also know that he's unpopular because he was teased by his friends and teachers. And perhaps this is going to be important for us to know as the story moves forwards. Otherwise, Louis Sachar would not have told us it in the opening introduction to Stanley. So to finish today's lesson, I want an extended answer. By that, I want you to write two sentences. So can you tell me what you think Stanley is like. So what impression of Stanley Yelnats does the author create? Write a full sentence for me. So I think Stanley is, because. And I want a reason as to why you think that. And then if you want to extend yourself even further today and have a bit of fun. You can draw a picture to help you imagine what he is like. So if you're picturing him, what age is he, what does he wear? These are things we're not told. But perhaps you've got that picture of him in your mind. I certainly have a strong image of him in my mind. Even though I've never met him or ever seen a picture of him. So can you try and draw what you think he looks like. So pause the video now and have a go at doing that. And press play when your ready to resume. Well done, so shall we check our answer together? Now you answer might differ to mine. And that's absolutely fine. I'm not going to show you my drawing but I'm going to show you my written response. So I said, what impression of Stanley Yelnats does the author create? I said I think Stanley is caring because it says he will write to his mother. I also think he is not a bad boy and is actually just unlucky because it says in the text he is innocent of the crime he has committed. And so I actually think the reader's going to really come to like Stanley and feel a bit sorry for him. You could have also said that I think I feel sorry for Stanley because he is teased by his friends and his teachers. So he is unpopular. So there's lots that you could have said to add to your answer here. Now, as I said before. I'm really interested to find out what happens next in this story. And how this impression of Stanley develops as we go through the lessons. So congratulations, you've completed your lesson for today. Before you go, and this is really important. 'Cause it helps keep all our information that we're learning in our brains. I want you to use your brain and I want you to write down two things you know about "Holes." Is it something about the lake? Is it something about the setting? Is it something about The Warden? Is it something about Stanley, perhaps? So pause the video here and have a go at writing down two things. And press play when you're ready to resume. Fantastic, well done today. You've worked so, so hard. I've been so impressed. I hope that you have enjoyed the lesson. And I hope that the rest of your lessons today go well and that you take care.

To analyse character (Part 1)

To analyse character (Part 1)

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UnitEnglish / Holes by Louis Sachar

English