To understand and order the story of a picture book

Key Stage 2

English

The Fate of Fausto - Narrative Writing

﻿Hello, everybody. My name is Mrs. Hardisty, and I am so excited to be teaching you for this English unit. We are in for a real treat because we are going to be reading the most fantastic book and going to be doing lots and lots of writing based on it. So when you're ready, let's begin. This is what we're going to do in today's lesson. We're going to start by looking at some key vocabulary. That's words that we're going to be using and coming across in our lesson. And then we're going to look more closely at fables, which are a type of story. And then we're going to read the story of "The Fate of Fausto." And then finally, we're going to think about how the story is ordered and the different sections. So for this lesson, you will need a paper and pencil and a ruler. So you might want to pause the video now and make sure you've got all of those things, and then you can carry on. So let's begin with our key vocabulary. My turn, your turn. Fable. So a fable is a story that teaches a moral. Moral. Now, a moral is doing the right thing. So a fable is teaching you how to do the right thing. Fate. Now, this is in the title of the book that we are going to be reading. And fate is what happens to a person or a thing in the end. So as we read our story, we might want to already be thinking about what the fate of our character is going to be. What's going to happen to them in the end. So let's look a bit more closely at fables. So what is a fable? We've already quickly looked at fables in our key vocabulary. So you might already have an idea of what it's for. Can you think of any examples of a fable? A fable that you might have already read or listened to? And can you think who they might be aimed at? Why might they be written, who might read these fables? So fables tell us a story and teach us a lesson at the same time. A fable is a story that nearly always features animals, plants, or forces of nature, like the sea or mountains or volcanoes. And then these are given human qualities. So normally, the animals and the forces of nature can talk and they can act in the same way as humans. And a fable always ends with a moral. So explaining how the right way is to do something. And then this moral, this lesson, is intended to be learned through reading the story. So as the story is read, the person listening to it is learning how to do the right thing. So here are some examples of fables that you might've come across before. Probably the most famous example is "The Hare and the Tortoise" that was written thousands of years ago by a Greek man called Aesop. And it tells a tale of a hare who has a race with a tortoise, and the hare assumes that he's going to win because he's faster. And so he falls asleep halfway through the race, and the tortoise manages to overtake him and win the race. I wonder if you can think what lesson that might be teaching the person who reads or listens to this story. Now, Aesop wrote lots and lots of fables, and he also wrote one called "The Lion and the Mouse." You might've come across this one. And this tells a tale of a mouse who is caught by a lion and begs to be let free. And the lion decides not to eat the mouse, but to let the mouse go free. And then later on, the lion gets caught in a net, and he can't escape. And then the mouse comes along and offers to help. And the lion doesn't think that the mouse is going to be able to help him until the mouse uses its very sharp teeth to gnaw away at the ropes and let the lion go free. Again, I wonder if you can think what lesson, what moral, might be taught through that fable. And then finally you might've come across the story of "The Ugly Duckling," which is by an author called Hans Christian Andersen. And in this story, we have a duckling who gets really upset because everyone laughs at the fact that he's got these grey feathers, and he doesn't look the same as everyone else, and he feels very ugly. And then at the end of the story, he discovers that actually he wasn't a duckling after all. He was actually a baby swan, and he grows into this beautiful white swan. Again, I wonder if you can think what lesson that story might be teaching. So the moral or the lesson of "The Hare and the Tortoise" could be two things. It could be to not show off, because the hare shows off. It says, "I'm going to win the race." And then he shouldn't have done that, because actually it's the tortoise who does. But often people say the moral is also slow and steady wins the race, which means even if it takes you time to do something, you will succeed in the end. You don't have to rush. The moral of "The Lion and the Mouse" is that kindness is never wasted. So the lion was kind to the mouse, and that was actually good because then the mouse was able to help the lion. And if he hadn't been kind to the mouse, and if he'd eaten him, then he would never have been able to escape from the net. And then finally, the lesson or the moral of "The Ugly Duckling" is that you should accept who you are, even if you're different to others. So the ugly duckling was really upset that he looked different to everybody else. But in the end, he came to accept who he was. And he was so pleased that he was a swan. So let's just think now, what is a fable? Is it option one, a story that has animals in it, or option two, a story that teaches a moral or lesson? Which one is it? One or two? Can you show me with your fingers? Can you point to which one it is? It is two. It's a story that teaches a moral or lesson. Now they often have animals in it, but there are lots of stories that have animals in, and they're not necessarily always a fable. So a fable always has to teach a moral or lesson. So now we're going to look at the story of "The Fate of Fausto." And just so that you know where we're going with this, you are going to be writing your own version of this story. So we're going to be reading it. We're going to be exploring and thinking about it. And then you are going to be writing your own version. So let's read it now. So this is "The Fate of Fausto," and it is written and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers. You may well have come across some other Oliver Jeffers books like "Stuck." And it is read with permission by HarperCollins Children's Books. "The Fate of Fausto: A Painted Fable," by Oliver Jeffers. There was once a man who believed he owned everything, and set out to survey what was his. "You are mine," said Fausto to the flower. "Yes," said the flower, "I am yours." Content, Fausto walked on. Can you see here? What has he done to the flower? He's picked it, hasn't he? "You are mine," he said to the sheep. "Yes," said the sheep, "I suppose I am." Feeling satisfied, Fausto walked on. Next, Fausto came upon a tree and declared, "Tree, you are mine." To which the tree replied, "Oh, all right. I can be yours." And the tree bowed before the man. Hmm. I wonder what you think of Fausto. What sort of man is he? This pleased Fausto, and he walked on, happy to be owning a sheep and a flower and his tree. Before long, Fausto had claimed a field and a forest and a lake. At first, the lake had pretended not to hear. But Fausto showed that lake who was boss. What's he doing here? Does he look like he's being kind? When he reached a mountain, Fausto said in a clear voice, "Mountain, you are mine." "No," said the mountain, "I am my own." Okay, so somebody said no to Fausto. I wonder what he's going to do. This angered Fausto, and he stamped his foot and made a fist. Still the mountain would not move. But Fausto put up such a fight, you would not believe. And he showed the mountain who was boss. Eventually, the mountain bowed before Fausto and said, "Yes, you are in charge. I am yours." Hmm, so Fausto's got his own way again, hasn't he? Feeling very important, Fausto easily conquered a boat to set off to sea. For a mountain, a lake, a forest, a field, a tree, a sheep, and a flower were not enough for him. So off he goes to sea. When he had got far enough from shore, Fausto said in a loud voice, "Sea, you are mine." Hmm, I wonder what the sea's going to say. But the sea was silent. "You belong to me, sea. I know you can hear me," said Fausto louder still. Then after a while, the sea said quietly, "You do not own me." "You are wrong. I do," Fausto replied, unsure which way to look, for the voice appeared to come from everywhere. So the sea is much, much bigger than Fausto and his boat, isn't it? "But you do not even love me," said the sea. "Oh, you're wrong again," said the man. "I love you very much." But Fausto was lying, and the sea knew it. "How can you love me when you do not understand me?" the sea asked Fausto. "Ah, you are wrong a third time," said Fausto. "I understand you deeply." Then added, feeling impatient, "Now admit you are mine, or I will show you who is boss." Hmm. Does he understand the sea? Let's find out. "And how will you do that?" asked the sea. "I will stamp my foot and make a fist." Hmm, I wonder what might be the problem with stamping your foot at sea. "Well, if you wish to stamp your foot, then come to show me how it is done, so I understand." And in order to show his anger and importance, Fausto climbed overboard to stamp his foot on the sea. But he did not understand. What's happened to him here? He sunk. And he did not know how to swim. The sea was sad for him, but carried on being the sea. The mountain too went back to its business. And the lake and the forest, the field and the tree, the sheep and the flower carried on as before. For the fate of Fausto did not matter to them. Now that we've read this story, let's see if can understand it. So first of all, I'd like you to think, what is this story all about? So have a think. "I think this picture book is all about. I think this because." So I'd like you to pause the video now, and then write down what you think this story is all about. "I think this picture book is all about. And I think this because." Pause the video now. Well then, this is what I thought the story was about. I think it's about anger and how you deal with your anger. I think it's also about nature. We had lots of different examples of nature, the field, that tree, the flower, the sea, the mountain. It's also about power. Who has the power over somebody else? It's about a man, isn't it? It's about the man Fausto. And I think finally, it's also about ownership, because Fausto tries to own lots of different things. And finally, he can't own the sea. So now I'd like you to look at these three pictures from the story and see if you can explain what happens in each picture. This time, you don't need to write it down, but I'd like you to pause the video, and then just say what happens in each picture. Pause the video now. Well done, everyone. Let's look at what I thought. So the first picture is from the part of the story when Fausto shows anger towards the lake. And then the second picture is from the part of the story when Fausto tries to conquer the sea. And then finally, the third picture is from the part of the story when Fausto sinks beneath the surface of the water. So we've thought a little bit about what the story is about and some different sections of it. And now we're going to think much more closely about ordering the story. So if you haven't come across this before, this is a story staircase. How do we structure a story? How do we organise a story? Well, it begins with the opening, and then we have our buildup, and then our climax, and then finally our resolution. And each part of the story has a different purpose. So the opening is always to set the scene. So your reader knows who the characters are and where it's happening. And then in the buildup, the story starts to happen more. And often, a problem is introduced. And then in our climax, this is our most tense and exciting part of the story, is where all the action happens. And then finally, our resolution is the closing of the story, and it shows how the problem is solved. So which is the most exciting section of a story? Is it the opening, the build up, the climax or the resolution? Can you show me with your fingers? One, two, three, or four? Which one is it? Can you shout out which one you think it is? It's the climax. That's the most exciting section of our story. And then which section introduces the problem? Is it number one, the opening, the build up, the climax, or the resolution? Which one is it? One, two, three or four? Which one is where the problem is introduced? It's the build up. And then which section introduces the main characters? Is it the opening, the build up, the climax, or the resolution? It is the opening. So I've got a picture now from our story, "The Fate of Fausto." Can you work out which section this picture is from? Is it from the opening, the build up, the climax, or the resolution? Which one is it from? It's from the climax because this is the bit where he steps into the sea, and then he sinks beneath the waves. Hmm, what about this one here, where Fausto is looking very pleased with himself. Which section do you think this picture is from? So this is from the opening, where he gets his own way all the time, and he's very pleased with himself and everything belongs to him. Now then, what about this? We've got Fausto, and then we've got the mountain. So which section is this from? Have a think. And it's from the build up. This is the bit where he starts to have a bit more of a problem, because not everything goes his way, and he gets more and more angry. And so we can probably work out which section this picture is from. Which bit have we not used yet from our story staircase? It's from the resolution. So this is where everything just goes on back to normal, and they don't think about Fausto any longer. So now it's your turn to order the story. So I've got sentences that describe each section. Can you work out which section they belong to? So I've got, the sea refused to bow. When Fausto stamped his foot, he sank below the waves. He became angry when he did not get his own way. Fausto stamped his foot to force the mountain to bow down. The natural things carried on as before, and did not worry about Fausto's fate. And a man called Fausto believed he owned everything. He told a flower, tree, and sheep that they were his. So can we put these now in the right order? So first of all, the sea refused to bow, which section was that? That was our climax, wasn't it? Right, let's look at the next one. He became angry when he did not get his own way. He stamped his foot to force the mountain to bow down. Which section was that? It was the build up. All right, next one. The natural things carried on as before, and they did not worry about Fausto's fate. Is that the opening or the closing? So that's the closing, which means the last bit that we've got, a man called Fausto believed he owned everything. He told a flower, tree, and sheep that they were his. Where does that belong? That's our opening. It sets the scene. It tells us where it's happening and who the character is. So what your main task is for today is to create your own story staircase and draw what happens in each section. So you can see here an example that I have drawn. I've used a ruler and tried to make each rectangle a similar width. And then they are different heights, with my climax being my tallest rectangle. Now, you can just do this roughly. You don't have to measure it. If you would like to measure it, here are some helpful measurements for you. So I made mine 24 centimetres wide, the whole thing. And then each section of my story staircase was six centimetres wide. So you might want to use these measurements, and then you can choose how tall you make each section. And then once you've drawn your story staircase, you're then going to draw what happens in each part of our story. So you can see here that I have drawn my opening with the tree bowing down to Fausto. And then here, I've added in my buildup, so with him getting really angry, and the mountain deciding it will bow down after all. And you can see that underneath, I have also written a short caption that explains what happens. If you would like to, you can write a sentence for each section as well. So can you now pause your video, draw your story staircase, and then complete each section with a picture. And you might need two pictures for the build up and two pictures for the climax. And then if you would like to go further, you can add in a caption for each feature. Fantastic work, everyone. Here is my finished example so that you might want to check your story staircase against mine and make sure that you've got everything included. So in our climax, we had him going out to sea, getting really angry, and then falling into the sea. And then in our resolution, we have all the things that he tried to own going back to normal. Check your story staircase. Make sure that you've got the most important parts of your story in the right place in your story staircase. Well, let's have a recap of what we've done in today's lesson. We covered some key vocabulary. Fate and moral and fable. And then we thought more closely about what a fable is, that it often involves animals acting like humans, or forces of nature acting like humans, and it teaches a moral or a lesson to its reader. And then we read the story of "The Fate of Fausto." And then we ordered the story, and we made our own story staircases. Fantastic work. You have done so well today. What a brilliant story "The Fate of Fausto" is. I'm sure you're really excited about all the writing that we're going to do on it. I'll see you soon. Bye-bye.

To understand and order the story of a picture book

To understand and order the story of a picture book

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UnitEnglish / The Fate of Fausto - Narrative Writing

English