﻿Hi everyone, it's Ms. Henman here. We are in our 4th of 5 lessons in this unit. So far, you've done some incredible learning, and I'm sure you're going to have an excellent lesson, today. Let's get ready to go! Hi everyone, before we begin, I just wanted to let you know that in today's lesson, we're going to be continuing with our Blitz survivor stories, and today there's a mention of a boy who sadly lost his family during the Blitz. If you think you're going to find this upsetting, I suggest you go and talk to a parent or carer before you watch the lesson. And you might ask them to sit down with you whilst you do this lesson. Let's go through our agenda for today. First, we're going to recall our knowledge from our first text. Then we're going to read a new account. Next we're going to look at the language within the second account. And finally, we're going to compare the two texts. In this lesson, you will need something to write on such as your exercise book or paper. Something to write with, such as your pencil or pen. And you're going to need your brain. So to help your brain, you're going to need a quiet space and no distractions. So please make sure that you are in a quiet space, or remove yourself into a different room. Let's recall our knowledge from our first text. What can you remember about Len's account? I want you to pause the video, and think back. What can you remember about Len Phillips' account? I reckon you've remembered some really important and interesting information. So I'm going to test you, a little bit. Are these statements True or False? Len Phillips only went to the shelters once he heard the siren. Thumbs up for True, thumbs down for False. What do you think? Only went to the shelters once he heard the siren. It's False; In the text is says he, "went down there most nights" once it had been made "habitable". Now, most nights there were actually bombings in London, and so the siren did sound. But he preempted it, and went down there before they sounded so he didn't have to rush to get to the underground tunnel. Statement two, do you want to have a go at reading it out loud? Now I'm going to read it to you. Len Phillips could recall specific events. That means individual. Len Phillips could recall specific events, True or False? What do you think, thumbs up or thumbs down? It's another thumbs down, it's False. Len Phillips described the general atmosphere in the shelters rather than individual and specific events. Can you read number three, please? Ooh, what was that word, "evacuated"? Len Phillips was evacuated, True or False. Show me your thumbs. It's True; in the text he stated it wasn't long after Christmas that he was evacuated. Okay, you're going to have to pause the video for this task. My question is: If you could give Len four things to take to the countryside when he was evacuated, what would they be? Do you need to have a think? What four things would give him for his trip to the countryside. You don't know how long it's going to be. Pause the video, off you go. Hmm, how did you get on? I'm going to show you mine. I would like to give him his favourite teddy bear, to make sure that he could take it with him, so it could comfort him. I'd like to give him a picture of his family. I'd like to give him a letter, reassuring him that everything would be okay. And, I'd like to give him a football, so he could make new friends. Obviously he's going to a different place and doesn't know anyone, there, which is going to be really hard for a child. So I thought taking a game of some kind might be helpful to him. Now we're going to read a new account. Before we do that, we're just going to look at a few pieces of vocabulary that I thought you may not know. Quilt. Quilt. This is a picture of a quilt. Sometimes you find it on a bed. Or it might be called a bed spread. You might find it on the sofa. And it's different pieces of material sewn together to create a patchwork quilt. Usually they are quite old fashioned. But I do know older people who still make them, like grannies. Dockland. Dockland. So you can see a picture of the River Thames, here. You can see the river, and coming off it a different Dockland. So at the top, you can see West India Dock. Thumbs up, can you see that? Below that, I can see Millwall Dock. To dock is a verb, which means to park a boat. So a dockland is a part of the land which has been carved out, or allows you to park your boat there. And these docklands are in London, and you can find them in other parts of the UK as well. But specifically these docklands are in London. Now, in the war, these would have been quite important, because they would have acted as a place for transportation. So, to move food or army equipment from one part to another. So they were fairly important for the British people. And for the Germans, for the enemy, they were quite keen to try to destroy these docks. Docklands are sometimes abbreviated to docks. You might know this: Meccano set. It's an old fashioned toy. Similar to Lego, similar to something that you build. Often these sets involved trains or cars, and they were vary popular during the war, and throughout the 60's and 70's and onwards. I'm going to read this to you. This is another interview that was conducted by The Independent newspaper. This one is an interview with John Gent, who at the time of the interview, was 78. He was a retired London transport worker, and, in 1940, he was an 8 year old living in London. Okay, you can listen, and follow the text as I read it out loud. By the end of the year, Croydon had experienced 399 air raids. We would all sit knitting squares to make into quilts for the troops and the Merchant Navy. As the bombing worsened, we took going to bed in the shelter and spending the whole night there. Where do you think he lived, in London? Can you find it, in the text? Pause the video, and scan for where he lived in London. Did you find it? It's going to have a capital letter because it's a proper noun. Croydon. Okay, wow, and they had had how many air raids? 399! That's a lot. As the bombing worsened, what did they start to do? They started to go to bed in the shelter, and spending the whole night there. That reminds me of Len Phillips, he started doing that, too. Now I would like you to read this part of the interview out loud. Please pause the video as you do so. Fantastic reading. Now I'm going to read it to you. Please follow with your eyes, or with a finger near to the screen. One evening, a friend and I were in my garden when I remarked on the really beautiful sunset. The bright red sky was due to the fires in the Dockland; it was a spectacular and memorable sight. That night was one of the worst of the Blitz. I am going to read this part of the extract to you. Another clear memory of mine is the that one day we heard that a bomb had destroyed the home of a classmate, Derek Barnes: his mother, father, and baby sister were killed. It's incredibly sad. So this poor boy, Derek Barnes, was left without any family members. Our class clubbed together to buy him a Meccano set. To this day I can see him standing forlornly as he received his gift and said goodbye to us, presumably to start a new life with relatives. I would like you to read this part of the extract to yourself. Please pause the video as you do so. Now I'm going to read it out loud. You can follow with your eyes, or with your finger. My grandparents lived in Peckham and Mother invited them to spend the weekend with us in our shelter. While they were with us, a bomb fell near their home and rendered it uninhabitable. As a result, their weekend visit lasted for the rest of their lives, until Grandma died in 1946 and Grandpa in 1957. Now we're going to look at the language within this second account. So there might have been some words that you didn't understand. And also, I've chosen some words that I think we should look at in detail. I'm wondering what caused the beautiful bright red sunset one evening that John remembers from the Blitz. You need to look in the text for beautiful bright red. Tell me when you found those words. Oh yeah, I found them. "When I remarked on the really beautiful sunset" full stop. "The bright red sky". So what was the cause? Was it actually a sunset? Thumbs up, or thumbs down? No it wasn't actually the sunset. He, as a child, thought it was a sunset, but it wasn't. What was it? What was the cause? It "was due to", can you read the rest of the sentence? "It was due to the fires in the Dockland; "it was a spectacular and memorable sight." So, what caused the beautiful bright red sunset on one evening that John remembers from the Blitz? It wasn't a sunset, it was actually the fires in the Docklands. And what do you think caused the fires? Correct, the bombs. So bombs were dropped, and they caused fires in the Docklands. And he remembers it, he tells us it's a memorable sight, because it was so unique, and it was such a bright red colour. There is the word "forlornly" in this text. And I'm asking you, can you think of a synonym for the word "forlorn"? So the first thing we need to do, is to find the word "forlornly" in the text. So you need to have a look through, and you're looking for words that begin with "f". Pause the video, and have a go of finding it. I found it. The first word I found that began with "f" was "father", but I knew that wasn't it, so I had to keep looking. And it's actually towards the bottom. It's in this sentence: To this day I can see him standing forlornly as he received his gift and said goodbye to us. So the first thing, I've got some top tips to help us work out a synonym for this word. The first thing is to work out its word class. So: To this day I can see him standing... hmm... as he received his gift. Now I know "standing" ends in "ing", and it is a verb. So it is describing the verb. What word class describes verbs, or gives you additional information about how a verb is done? Can you remember? It's an adverb. An adverb describes a verb, it gives you additional information. So the word "forlornly" is an adverb. Now, we're going to cover it up and read around it. So I'm going to say "hmm" instead of the word. To this day I can see him standing... hmm... as he received his gift and said goodbye to us. Now usually, when someone receives a gift, they feel quite happy, or elated, or grateful. Do you think that's what's happening, in this case? Thumbs up, or thumbs down? Definitely thumbs down. Something really sad has happened to him, he has lost his immediate family. He's having to say goodbye to his friends, and he may not have them much information about where he is going. So pause the video, and write down any synonyms you can think of for the word "forlorn" or "forlornly". Off you go. What words did you come up with? I'm thinking sad, miserable, dejectedly. All of those quite sad words, unhappy words. Maybe depressed? Okay, I think we've got a really good idea here of what that word now means. My next question is: Why did John's grandparents' weekend last the rest of their lives? This is a retrieval question, so you can find the answer in the text. I want you to pause the video, and have a look. How did you get on? I'm going to give you a clue, in case you haven't found the answer yet. While they were with us... Read the rest of the sentence. What happened whilst John's grandparents were staying with him? Pause the video, and keep going. Ah, their home became uninhabitable. So, "habitable", you can hear the word "habitat", if you know about animals. "Habitable" means that you can live there. So "uninhabitable" means that you can't live there. That prefix means that you no longer can live there. It's not safe, and it's not hygienic. So, as a result, what happened? Their visit lasted for the rest of their lives. They just carried on living with John and his parents. So his grandmother lived there for a few years, and then died of natural causes. And then his grandpa stayed there for the rest of his life, as well. Now we're going to compare the two texts. Are you ready? Let's go. What was similar about these interviews? I would like you to read the options, and pause the video as you do so. Okay, now I'm going to read them to you. Both men were evacuated. Is that True, or False? At night, both men used shelters during the Blitz. True or False? Both men were alive during the Blitz. Both men were children during the Blitz. Which one, or ones, do you think are true? Well, three of them are. So Len was evacuated, and John wasn't. But the rest, they're all true. Finally, both Len Phillips and John Gent remember specific events. True or False? Remember, specific means individual. False. Len Phillips gives us general memories, where as John gives us specific ones. Well done, you've done fantastically well. If you'd like to, please ask your parent or carer to share your work on social media. I'd especially be interested in reading your diary entries from the previous lesson. So it can be any work you've done this unit. Have a lovely day, bye!

In this lesson, we will read a new account of a Blitz survivor and look at some of the language used to help them build comprehension. We will also make some brief comparisons between the two texts.

English

Y6 English

Key Stage 2

Year 6

To read a new text and consider the author's use of language

The Blitz Survivor Stories

Reading

THEME

UNIT

To activate prior knowledge and consider the historical context

To read a recount and answer retrieval and inference based questions

To understand the key information in a text and consider the author's perspective

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

Lesson overview:To read a new text and consider the author's use of language

Core Content

The Blitz Survivor Stories: