To consider how reading can provide people with a way of learning new things

Key Stage 2

English

The Blitz Survivor Stories

﻿Hello, it's Ms. Henman. Today is our fifth and final lesson in this unit. We are going to be doing something a little bit different, we're going to reflect on what we have read. And then we're going to consider what your currently reading. And finally, I am going to recommend some books that I think he might enjoy. We are going to begin with a short reading warm up. Then we're going to consider our new knowledge. And then we will consider other books that you might like to read in this lesson, you will need an exercise book or piece of paper and a pencil so you can take some notes. And you will also need a quiet environment to help your brain think and respond to my questions. You can set up the workstation now and press pause if you're doing that, otherwise let's get going. Okey. This is an extract from a text that I wrote about a scientist. So, I would like you to pause the video and really get, it's not linked to what we have in reading. But you might already know a little bit about the scientist. So please pause the video now and read the paragraph on the screen. Fantastic. So, this is your task. I want you to write down three facts from the text that you have just read. So, three facts that you had just read. I think this might take you one or two minutes, off you go. Pause the video. And it's as simple as that. Reading helps us acquire knowledge. You have three facts in front of you. You may have know one or two of them beforehand, but by reading a few simple sentences, you have learned some key information about a scientist. So let's consider this new knowledge that we have acquired. So I have created a mind map of all the things that I think we have learned by reading these Blitz survivors' stories. One thing that I think we've learnt is that London and other major cities were bombed by Germans and they all came by aircraft. And there was quite a lot of destruction. Can you read these two sentences please? Fantastic. So far we've learned quite a lot. So bombing in London lasted approximately eight months and that's what is referred to as the Blitz. Can you read this thing that we have learned as well please? Fantastic and actually we heard the siren as well. People died and children were evacuated to the countryside. And you may have learned the word, evacuated, as well. Can you read this one please? So people felt a range of things during the Blitz. Anxiety, excitement, enjoyment and fear. And we know about these feelings because we read firsthand accounts and we considered how they're feeling. Sometimes the people told us in these interviews, their actual feelings. But quite over the time, we have to infer these emotions. And we often do that while still reading. Understanding a person or a character is feeling multiple things at once and not just one feeling. Is really important as you develop as a reader. Finally, people tried to keep themselves entertained while sheltering. I just want you to look at everything on the screen for a second. From reading two accounts of people's time in the Blitz, we have read and learned an incredible amount of information. Reading really gives us this opportunity. By reading a book or a newspaper article or a diary, we can consider someone else's perspective. We can acquire new information and we can take ourselves outside of our own experience. Reading offers us a way to almost experience new things. All books offer us this. And so I've got a task for you. I would like you to create a mind map, noting down some of the key things a book has taught you. So, I just did it with the Blitz survivor stories that we have looked at over the course of this unit. I would like you now to do this independently. So in the middle of your page, you can write the title of your current book or a book that you have read recently. You might need to think back to a book that you have read in the last week or two and that you, what you can remember about it. And then I would like you to write down everything that it's taught you. That seems like a big task, doesn't it? But I've given you some top tips. You might like to include moral messages. So did the book have any moral messages? For example, a moral message might be, don't judge someone by what they look like. Often when you're in after key stage two, the book should be, do have quite complex ideas. And so that often, our moral messages in these books. Another thing your mind map might include, is a perspective that you haven't considered before. So an example of that might be, sometimes people lie to protect other people. Sometimes books make us consider a different perspective that either we haven't thought of or that we previously thought was wrong. So that's something else your mind map might include. This is a lovely one and I do this with every book I read. Your mind map might include new words or phrases you have never read before. And I've given three examples here, which are all from the accounts that we have read in this unit. So the word forlorn, which means sad, pitiful, lonely. The phrase, mucked in together, which means to join in and then, fragile around the edges, which means weak or low in morale or low morale. I love learning new words from reading and particularly I like noting down phrases and sure not tell from the books I'm reading. and then trying to use them in my own writing. Your mind map might also include new information. An example of that, there was in all mind map was, children were evacuated during the war. That might have been new information to you. I would like you to pause the screen and to leave this page up as you complete your task. I think this task is going to take you approximately 10 minutes. However, don't forget the new words and phrases it's something that you can do while you read. So it's a continuous project. I like to keep a little notebook so I can jot down any new words or phrases. And then I carry it into all of our writing lessons in school, so that the children can read these new words and phrases and try and use it in their writing. Pause the video now and complete your task. Now I am going to talk a little bit about other books you might like to read. And we start by talking about books on the Home front. And the Home front is how people in England referred to England. Or how people in the United Kingdom referred to the United Kingdom. So during the war, if you lived in Coventry, you were living on the Home front. If you lived in Devon, you were living on the Home front. The first book is "Goodnight Mister Tom". And there is a guided reading unit with the Oak Academy about this book. So you could have a look at that if you haven't already, And I love this book because it's when two worlds collide. So there's a young boy who lives in London. He's had quite a sad life and then there's quite a grumpy, but turns out kind, older man. And the boy ends up being evacuated to his house. And there's a contrast between London and the countryside and a contrast between the two lives that the men have lived. So I would like you to pause the video and just read the blurb on the screen that summarises what this book is about. So this is a book that you might like to read. If you are interested in the experience of an evacuee, This is another book that you might like to read. If you're interested in the experience of an evacuee. It's called "Friend or Foe" and it's written by Michael Morpurgo. Quite a lot of Michael Morpurgo books are set during a war of some kind. This one is set in World War II and it is set on the Home front. I will read you the blurb and as I do so you can think about similarities between this book and "Goodnight Mister Tom". Evacuated from London, David and Tucky felt like the war is a very long way from the new life in the countryside. Then, one night the skyline at the moor is lit up with gun flashes and the distinct crump of bombing miles away brings the war back to them and shatters their new found peace. When a German bomber crashes, the boys feel they should hate the airmen inside, but one of them saves David life. So do you think there are any themes which is similar between this book "Friend or Foe" and "Goodnight Mister Tom". Just from reading this paragraph about "Friend or Foe" and the paragraph on the previous page about "Goodnight Mister Tom" I'm thinking that one similarity is the theme of an unlikely friendship. It seems that one of the German airmen saves David's life and maybe they've become friends And that's unlikely friendship. And then also there's an unlikely friendship in "Goodnight Mister Tom" between Tom Oakley and Willie Beech. The young child and the older man in the countryside. This is another book by the same author. A heart-warming tale of courage and warmth set against the backdrop of the Second World War about an abandoned village, a lifelong friendship and one very adventurous cat. So just reading that, I don't think it's to do with evacuation. However, it's about a village. And where is that village set? we don't know, but it's been abandoned. So maybe it's got something to do with military activity in the area. And I particularly liked the fact that one of the characters is an animal. I love animals. This is the final book I'm going to talk about, which is set upon the Home front. I'm going to read to you, can you track with your eyes please. It is wartime and Carrie and her little brother Nick have been evacuated from their London home to the Welsh Hills. In an unfamiliar place among strangers. Before long, their loyalties are tested, will they be persuaded to betray their new friends? So there seems to be a moral dilemma in this book. And I wonder if any of those other books I've already spoken about, have some moral dilemmas where the key characters have to make some tricky decisions. These two books are all fiction stories. However, they will help you consider other perspectives. And I think you probably will learn quite a lot about life on the Home front during World War II If you were to read them. Other books that you might like to read, which aren't set in the United Kingdom, but are to do with World War II. I imagine you have heard of this book. It's called "The Diary of a Young Girl" and the person who wrote it is a young woman called Anne Frank. And very sadly she died. This is a real diary that she kept during World War II, while she was hiding. I am going to read to you what this book is about. In July 1942, 13 year old Anne Frank and her family fleeing the occupation, went into hiding in an Amsterdam warehouse. Over the next two years Anne vividly describes in her diary, the frustrations of living in such close quarters and her thoughts, feelings and longings as she grows up. Her diary ends abruptly when in August 1944, they were all betrayed. Since its publication in 1947, "The Diary of a Young Girl" has in read by tens of millions of people. Now reissued with a fresh new cover to mark what would have been Anne Frank's 90th birthday in June 2019. So this is a no fiction story, It's a true story. It's written in a style of a diary. And what is remarkable is how many people have read it, tens of millions. I think what appeals to people is that, because it's a diary, it reads like it could be fiction, but actually it's not. This is fantastic book. And certainly a book that you should read at some point in the coming years. This book is called "When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit". There are some similarities in it to Anne Frank story. Firstly, this is semi-autobiographical, which means Judith Kerr, the author of it is inspired by her own life. So it's not actually an autobiography of her own life, but she's taken what happened in her life and as backbone for the narrative. Can you pause the video and read what is on the screen please? So you you've seen the other thing in common with Anne Frank story is that this family who were Jewish also were fleeing the Nazis. So they were leaving Germany so that they weren't persecuted. It is a very sad book just like Anne Frank's diary. But again, One that I really recommend you do read in the next few years. This is one of my favourite books. I read it as an adult although the audience is intended to be read by children. It is about a Jewish boy who is determined to escape an orphanage to see if he can find and save his parents. I think what I found so powerful about it is that it's written in the first person and it's written in the voice of a child who is very naive. And doesn't necessarily understand what's happening to him and to his family and how dangerous the situation is for him. I would really recommend this book. However, I do think you need to know a little bit about World War II and about the Nazis before you read this. Because otherwise you won't understand that the boy's voice is very childlike and that he doesn't understand what is happening. This is the final book I'm going to talk about. If you would like to find out about some of the actual battles in World War II, this is the book for you. It says "War Stories for Boys". But just like all titles that say something stories for girls or boys. They're not just intended for one gender. This book has three short stories in it and where they focus on three different battles. The military operations involved, the type of equipment involved and the people involved. What I enjoyed about this book is that because it's quite a big book, but it's made up of three short stories is that you could read one short, put the book down and read a different book. And then later on you can come back and read the second or the third story. You don't need to read all three stories for the book to make sense. You can access them independently. I really hope you have enjoyed this unit. And I'm so impressed with the hard work you've put in. Have a lovely day. Bye.

To consider how reading can provide people with a way of learning new things

To consider how reading can provide people with a way of learning new things

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UnitEnglish / The Blitz Survivor Stories

English