Lesson video

In this lesson, we will explore the genre of "The Firework-Maker's Daughter," by Philip Pullman.

We will analyse whether we think this story is a quest narrative and we will learn what a quest narrative is as well.

If you haven't watched lesson one to four, then you should pause this video and you should stop and you should go back to lesson one.

If you have, then let's get started.

We're going to start today's lesson by activating our prior knowledge.

This is when we bring our pre-existing knowledge of something to our reading of the text.

And today, that's going to be our knowledge of a quest narrative.

Then we're going to analyse and look at the features of a quest narrative.

If you don't know what a quest narrative means, don't worry because we'll be looking at that today.

Then we're going to analyse the text to see how "The Firework-Maker's Daughter" is a quest narrative and then we're going to summarise and end with some reflecting on our views overall of the text.

In this lesson today, you will need an exercise book or paper, a pen and pencil, and your brain.

I really want you to be thinking throughout this lesson.

Now is also a good time, if there's loud noises in your house, for instance, if music's playing or if the TV's on, to turn those off.

I also, if you have a phone near you, I suggest you put that to one side.

My phone is actually right at the back of this classroom, away from me, so I don't get distracted.

Okay, when you're ready, let's get started.

So our key idea today is this: That "The Firework-Maker's Daughter" is a quest narrative.

Say, "It's a quest narrative." Repeat after me, "Quest narrative." Well done.

A quest is a long or arduous search for something.

So arduous means a hard search for something.

It's often something that you have to wait a long time to find.

Now this something could be a skill, it could be an object, or it could be a quality that you learn.

And that can change in different stories that we read that are quest narratives.

And sometimes this something is perhaps unknown.

We don't know what the character is going in search of.

So this is what a quest narrative is.

And we're going to think today whether "The Firework-Maker's Daughter" is also a quest narrative.

So before we even start today, I want you to think about what you already know about "The Firework-Maker's Daughter." And I want you to answer what you think Lila's quest is.

You might already have an idea.

So I want you just to pause the video and to think.

You don't have to write this one down.

Just think what do you think Lila's quest is and then press play when you're ready to resume.

Well done.

I'm not going to give you the answer to that just yet, because I think you have to almost read the book a little bit more to find out, and that's what we're going to do now.

And we're going to think today about this key question, as I've said already.

How is "The Firework-Maker's Daughter" a quest narrative? Shout out loud what a quest narrative is.

Ready? One, two, three.

Well done.

It's a long and arduous journey on which the character goes in search for something.

So we're going to think already about activating our prior knowledge.

So what books do we already know that are quest narratives? You definitely have read a quest narrative or you have watched a film that is a quest narrative.

So if you can't think of a book, you can think of a film and that's absolutely fine because a film is a narrative in some ways as well.

So what films and what books do you know where the character goes on a journey or a quest? It might just be a journey, it doesn't have to be a quest.

They're very similar.

And I want to know where did they go and why? And perhaps by the end of the story, what did they learn on their journey? So I want you to pause the video now and I want you to think carefully about what books or films you have watched or read that perhaps the character goes on a journey or a quest, and then complete step two.

So pause the video and press play when you're ready to resume.

I wonder which ones you came up with.

I'm going to show you some of the stories that I can remember or that I've watched that are quest narratives.

So I'm going to show you now my page.

So these are just some of the books that I've read or I know children in my class have read as well.

So the first one is "The Hobbit," by J.

R.

R.

Tolkien, also "The Lord of the Rings." These are both quest narratives because in "The Hobbit," Bilbo Baggins goes on a journey through treacherous lands filled with orcs and through Middle Earth and it's a really exciting tale.

And it's a journey in which Bilbo Baggins perhaps reluctantly goes on.

And then by the end of it, he learns lots of different skills.

It's a very hard journey, as you can see from the front cover.

There's dragons and lots of mythical creatures that he has to battle against.

It's a really exciting read if you haven't read it.

Another book that might be more familiar to you is "Beast Quest." During "Beast Quest," there's a clue even in the title that these are quest narratives.

Lots of you perhaps have read this one.

Then we've got "Knights and Bikes." And this is the story of two girls who go in search of hidden treasure.

And it's a really exciting book as well, if you haven't read this one, but it is a quest narrative too.

Then finally, we've got another book by Philip Pullman.

Now this book is perhaps more suited to upper key stage two children, but I highly recommend you read it when you're in year five or year six.

And this book is called "The Northern Lights." It's part of a trilogy called, "His Dark Materials." And in this story, the main character is also a girl and her name is Lyra, quite similar to Lila actually.

She has lots of similar characteristics to Lila as well and she goes on a very long and arduous journey.

I'm not going to reveal too much about the story, but again, she comes across lots of mythical creatures and she even befriends a polar bear.

So it's a really exciting read.

And all of these shows quest narratives.

So there's lots and lots of books that have quest narratives.

So we're going to think now, "What are the features of a quest narrative?" By features, I mean what do they have in common with each other? So what typically happens in a quest narrative? They're not always going to be exactly the same, but we can make a general assumption that quest narratives will have these features in them.

So in a quest narrative the character embarks on a journey.

Embarks just means goes on a journey.

But I want you to think perhaps what else might happen.

And don't worry if you find this hard, but I want you to maybe imagine one of the stories I've already shown you, or perhaps one that you thought of, and I want you to tell me kind of what happens in that story and why do they go on their journey? What do they learn by the end of their journey? So I want you to think about what happens in a quest narrative.

So press pause.

You can do this Mind Map on a piece of paper and then press play when you're ready to resume.

Fantastic.

So here is mine.

Now don't worry, mine is quite detailed so don't worry if yours isn't as detailed as mine.

Obviously, I know a little bit more about quest narratives.

So in a quest narrative, character embarks on a journey and often this journey is very challenging.

So they might come across something they have to overcome.

It might be that they have to climb a mountain.

It might be that they have to fight a mythical creature.

It might be that they have to learn how to do something.

So often this journey is very challenging and the lead character often has character traits of being determined and resilient.

Also on a quest narrative, the character often changes.

Sometimes characters around the central character also change, they also learn something.

And I would state that in this story, Lalchand learns as much as Lila.

But the main character also overcomes challenges, difficulties that perhaps they never thought they could overcome.

The character often learns a new skill as well.

And often the character learns something about themselves and that's really important.

So they learn perhaps that they're more resilient than they ever thought they were, or they learn that they can do different things that they perhaps never knew they could.

And all of these together can make a quest narrative.

Now, like I said, these are not the only features of a quest narrative and certainly a book does not need all of these in them to be a quest narrative.

If a character goes on a journey and they learn something on that journey, then generally it would be a quest narrative.

They're going on a quest.

So now we're going to start looking at the text.

Before we do that, we're going to do a quick strategy check.

Why is this important? This is always important because, just like in maths, we would never do a written method without having learned how to do it first.

So in guided reading and in reading, we cannot answer a question without knowing the strategy first.

How do you answer questions? And so it's really important when we answer these questions to underline the key words in the question.

Now that's quite hard for you to do on a computer so you might just want to jot the key words down or you might just want to trace it with your finger if it's difficult, because you can't actually underline on a computer screen.

Then we're going to skim and scan the text for key information.

What do I mean by this, I wonder? So by this, I mean that we were not going to read every word for word, for word in detail, because that takes too long when we're trying to find an answer and we should have previously read the book already.

And so to do this, what we would do is we would look for the key words that we've already underlined in the question and we would search the text for these key words.

And that means we're going to speed read.

So we're just going to flick our eyes through the text.

Now, I always find it good if I've got a tracking finger to do this.

Really important to have that ready.

And then once you've found the area in the text that you were looking for the key word, you should read slightly above it and just slightly below it because here you're going to find out the context of that part of the text as well.

If you don't read above and below, sometimes you miss key information.

And then you have to search for hidden clues.

Often this means bringing what you know about something already.

So if you were to find out why a character is being stubborn, sometimes you might have to look for clues that someone is being stubborn.

Perhaps they might say, "No," they don't want to do something, but they won't say, "I am being stubborn." So that means you have to look for the clues.

So those are some of the key strategies that always help us when we answer questions.

And as we answer the next few questions, I would like you to keep these in your mind and to try and use some of them to help you.

Okay, are you ready? We're going to now analyse the text.

And we're going to think about this key question.

How is "The Firework-Maker's Daughter" a quest narrative? Let's check again.

What's a quest narrative? Repeat after me, "What's a quest narrative?" Fantastic.

Great job.

It's a long or difficult journey or arduous journey, a challenging journey.

So question one is this, and I'm going to read the extract from the text, first of all, for you, and then I want you to answer the question.

So just listen to begin with.

"Am I a proper Firework-Maker now?" "No, no," he said.

The he refers to Lalchand and Lila is asking the question.

"By no means.

Ha! You don't know the start of it.

"What are the ingredients of fly-away powder?" "I don't know." "And where do you find thunder-grains?" "I've never heard of thunder-grains." "You've got a lot to learn yet." So this is Lalchand telling Lila that she still has a lot to learn if she wants to become a Firework-Maker.

So what do you think it is that she still needs to learn? What is he referring to? What hasn't she understood in this section of the text? So to answer this question, I would read this again, I would check for the key ideas, and I want you to think about what does Lila not know how to do when she makes fireworks.

What is it overall the general idea? Perhaps you don't have to be specific but what is the general thing she still needs to learn? So pause the video, get your tracking finger, and have a go at answering this question.

Well done.

So now I'm going to read this text again and I'm going to think about what it is that she's missing.

So Lalchand asks her what the ingredients of fly-away powder are.

And she says, "I don't know." And she's not sure where you find thunder-grains.

She's not even heard of thunder-grains.

So to me, it sounds like firework-making is a very complex skill and there's lots of facts that you need to know about it before you can be one.

So Lila might know how to make basic fireworks.

We know she can make a few fireworks, but she certainly doesn't have the knowledge that she needs to know all of them.

And so I said, "She still needs to learn "how to use the different ingredients." But overall, she still needs to know, have the knowledge of how to be a Firework-Maker.

And I wonder where she might gain this information.

Where do you think she might find this information? Perhaps.

Let's find out.

Okay, question two.

We're going to look at another section of the text now and I want you to really think about this one.

This question relies on you actually just having a think.

Think about what you might know about other books, okay? Other stories that you've read.

And I want you to think about this question really carefully.

So let me read the text to you.

"How did you become a Firework-Maker, then?" "I was apprenticed by my father." Apprentice means given a job and taught a skill.

"And then I had to be tested to see "whether I had the three gifts." So Lalchand says not only do you have to learn the skills, but you also have to be tested to see whether you have the three gifts for firework-making.

Now, he hasn't told us here what those three gifts are.

So I wonder, just have a guess.

What do you think the three gifts are and where might Lila learn them? Where might she find them? So pause the video and just have a go at thinking about this question and press play when you're ready.

Fantastic.

So this is quite a tricky question.

And this was just thinking about what you know already about books to help you answer this question really.

So I said, "I think the three gifts "are something she will learn.

"I think this might become part of her quest "and perhaps someone will teach her, "or she will find them herself." So perhaps she's going to learn these three gifts or perhaps this is what she's going to learn about herself.

So perhaps she already even might have these three gifts but isn't yet aware yet.

So all of us probably have a skill that we don't know we have.

It's there, but we've never had to activate it or use it.

And so I wonder whether Lila already has these three gifts and she just doesn't know it, but I think this is going to be key to her becoming a Firework-Maker.

And then finally, we're going to look at her journey.

So this is Lalchand telling her.

"Then came the most difficult and dangerous part "of the whole apprenticeship.

"Every Firework-Maker," and he lowered his voice and looked around to make sure no one was listening.

"Every Firework-Maker has to travel "to the Grotto of Razvani, the Fire-Fiend." So a fiend is one who kind of, he lives in the fire almost.

"In the heart of Mount Merapi "and bring back some of the Royal Sulphur." So do you think Lila will travel to the Grotto of Razvani? And will it be an easy journey? So in order to be a Firework-Maker, we're told here that Lila's going to have to travel to the Grotto of Razvani.

And they're going to to have to meet the Fire-Fiend, who is Razvani, and it's going to be in the heart of Mount Merapi.

They have to bring back some of the Royal Sulphur.

We don't know what any of these things are yet and that's okay.

But listening to this, does Philip Pullman make this sound like an easy journey? And do you think Lila is going to be scared by this and put off? Or do you think she's actually going to take the challenge and travel to the Grotto of Razvani? So pause the video and just say out loud what you think.

Well done.

So I think she will go.

I think she's going to travel to the heart of Mount Merapi and she will meet Razvani who is a Fire-Fiend.

So I think it's going to be a really difficult, dangerous journey and I think this is going to be why this story is so exciting.

So let's finish now by summarising and reflecting.

We're now going to just finish by thinking about this key question again.

How is "The Firework-Maker's Daughter" a quest narrative? To do this, I want you to think about what a quest narrative is.

So the character embarks on a journey, the journey is often dangerous.

The character faces a challenge.

The character learns something or changes.

And then I would like you to think about "The Firework-Maker's Daughter." So how is the plot similar to a quest narrative? So pause the video and have a go at jotting down your ideas.

Well done.

And so here I've got my answers.

You might have similar or you might have different.

Lila needs to learn to become a Firework-Maker so this is the journey she embarks on.

To become that she must travel to Mount Merapi and meet Razvani.

The journey is going to be a challenging journey, as we know that Razvani is a Fire-Fiend.

She will have to go into the heart of the mountain, which is never going to be easy and she must learn the three gifts.

So by the end of her journey, I would expect that she has learned what these three gifts are.

So can you now, I'd like you to write a final sentence.

"The Firework-Maker's Daughter" is a quest narrative because, and explain why.

So pause the video and press resume once you've finished.

Well done.

So will Lila become a Firework-Maker? To find out what happened, you're going to have to read on.

So if you're interested in this story, and I hope you are after these lessons, then I highly recommend you read the rest of this story.

It's a really inspiring read and it's a really imaginative read.

And Lila does go on a journey and it's a really exciting journey where she meets lots and lots of different characters.

So I'd highly recommend that you read the rest of this story.

And congratulations, you completed your lesson today.

Before you go, I would like you to think of three things that you have learned from Lila and what those three things are.

Is it that to be determined as a character, to always follow your dreams? What are those three things? And then I really hope you enjoy the rest of your lessons today and take care.