Lesson video

Hello, My name is Ms. Johnson.

I'm going to be teaching you English today.

In today's lesson, we're going to be reading a traditional tale called Mulan.

When you're ready, let's get started.

We're going to start today's lesson by having an introduction to the tale that we are going to be reading today, then we're going to use the front cover and some pictures to help predict what might happen in the story, and then we're going to read the opening pages of the text.

And then essence day, you won't even exercise book or paper, a pencil or a pen and your brain.

You are going to be making your own predictions today using what you know about the tale already.

Now there's also a good time if there are any distractions in the room, to pause the video here and go remove those instructions, and then press play when you're ready to resume.

Let's get started, so we're going to start by thinking about the tale that we are going to read today, we are going to be reading Mulan, and this is an adaptation of that traditional tower by McKayla Morgan and Steve Dorado.

Looking at the front cover here now, some of you might have actually already heard of the town of Mulan before so if you have, you might already get a bit of a head start and some of these questions, but if you haven't then you really look closer at the picture to help you.

looking at the front cover what do you think this tale will be a balance? And what can you tell me about the character? So look for clues in that front cover to tell me what you know about the character, so press pause and then, press play when you're ready to resume.

So looking at this picture here I can see that the character of Mulan is a female, she is dressed in clothing looking like she's about to go fight, So she's got a sword, she's got armour and she's also carrying a flag.

So this tells me she's about to go into battle, now her clothing also suggests that perhaps she's quite superior as well she's got this quite decorative clothing as well.

She looks very determined her facial expression is very determined so I think this story is perhaps about a young girl who goes to war.

What did you think it was? Did your ideas seminar or different to mine? Now I want you to think about, where do you think the story is set, and when do you think the story is set, so what era, what time is it set in modern day, or do think it's set in an ancient world, what do you think? Pause the video here, have a go at answering those questions and then press play when you're ready to discuss them.

So looking at this I think her clothing is quite Oriental, so I wonder whether this is set perhaps over somewhere in a country like China.

Also by looking at this I think this is perhaps an ancient tale because looking at her clothing, it's not modern day, I think her clothing is quite ancient and often armies and fighting was happening in the ancient world.

So Mulan is actually traditional tower that has been told for many, many years.

So what is a traditional tale? We'll think about that one in a minute, this is an ancient Chinese story so here is our map of the world.

And I have shown you on the map where China is, so this is an ancient Chinese story, but everybody has circulated around the world and lots of people now know the tale of Mulan.

So what is a traditional tale? Do you know any other traditional tales? Can you tell me what features they have? I've given you a few clues already, but what I'd like you to have a go is doing some mind mapping around traditional tales.

So to do a mind map, you write down everything you already know about traditional tales.

What ones have you heard already? Don't worry if you're not a hundred percent sure this is just guessing, this is just activating your prior knowledge and Nikki Gamble who suggested the idea of doing mind maps, always say is that when we activate our prior knowledge we really helped to ink ourselves engaged with the text even further.

So pause the video here and can you have a go at thinking about traditional towers and everything you already know about them, and press play when you're ready to resume.

Well done, did you know lots already, I'm sure you do Let's have a look so these are just some ideas.

So traditional towers are a little bit similar to fairy tales, in the sense that they are retold this means they're passed through generations.

Often we'd say a traditional tout out loud rather than it being written down often, it's a tale that we pass on verbally to somebody else.

The tale of Mulan, some other ones that you might have heard of things like little red riding hood, rumpelstiltskin and anansi the spider, some of these you might have already heard of these were some that I thought about when I was thinking about traditional tales.

Because traditional towers are often retailed and passed through generations, it means that there are often many versions of them.

And so there are many versions because every time it's retold people adapt the story.

They change the story slightly because if, when we remember something and we're saying something orally we tend to paraphrase, which means we change it slightly.

So there are many versions of these tales.

Often in them in moral lesson is learned.

so the reader is taught something or the character is taught something and something is learned.

So we're going to be looking at the traditional town of Mulan over the next few lessons, we're going to start by predicting what we think might happen in this tale.

So this is the opening, this is the little kind of thing that goes before the rest of the text, so this is becoming before the text, it's like the introduction to the story.

Can you predict what might happen in the tale from this introduction, long ago and far away in a land of dragons and battles, they lived a famous warrior this is the tale of that hero.

So what do you think might happen in the tail, Pause the video here and can you predict what you think this tail is going to be about and then press play when you're ready to receive.

So in almost understand this we have to look at these two words, warrior and hero.

What do you know about these two words already, if I was to say, describe a warrior what warriors have you heard of before, but describe a hero.

What heroes do you know, Or have you heard in stories before? What would come to mind? So just like we did before you can either mind map this or you can write bullet points.

What do you think about when you hear these two words warrior and hero, pause video again and press play when you're ready to receive.

So let's have a look, so a warrior when I think of warrior, I always think of war because in warrior you can see the word war and a warrior is someone who goes to war and fights battles.

I think of soldiers, it's basically a synonym for soldier or perhaps a warrior is a more experienced soldier.

I think with battles.

And in this introduction, it talks about the battles that are happening in this story.

I also think that often warrior is a Male, so when I think of a warrior, I often think of nails and to be a warrior, you must be brave and courageous.

Then I thought about the word hero, So heroes on who saves the day.

I also talked about the word superhero, the superhero has superhuman qualities so it's slightly different to a hero, it could be you or me or so on in everyday life.

Recently, we've been talking about the NHS heroes, they are also really brave.

They are somebody that risked themself for the greater good so they try and save the day and often they can be famous, they're well-known in stories heroes are people that are retold and we refer to them over and over again in our understanding of stories.

So what do we think then this story is going to be a bounce, What do we think Mulan might be about, pause video here and just have a think about that.

So let's think, can we predict what might happen, we know what a warrior is, she's a famous warrior, she's a hero and this is happening long ago far away in the line of dragons and battles.

So what do you think Mulan has to do in this story, and wonder why you can predict already, why you think she might be a hero? So press pause here and answer that question and then press play when you're ready to resume.

I think the story this tale is going to be about a young girl who has to fight battles, she becomes a warrior.

And she must be a really experienced and skilled warrior in order for her to be a hero.

But I'm still not sure why perhaps she is a hero, but what does come into my mind is I said before that I always imagined a warrior, or soldier to be a male.

I don't know if you also think that, because that's what I often see in the stories I read and the films I watch, but Mulan is a girl, she is a female so I wonder if that is a really important message in this story and perhaps that's why she becomes such a famous hero.

Now we're going to do, but to reading, as I read this I want you to track it and I want you to listen carefully.

Chapter one: Mulan that's a name.

It's got a capital letter, was working quietly in her corner of the house, just as she did every day.

She was at her loom weaving just as she did every day, she went the shuttles of her loom.

Now, if I wasn't sure what a loom was, I could look at the picture here to help me and I can see that it is something that is making a material.

So sometimes when I'm reading when I come across words I'm not sure, if there are pictures, it can be really good to look at the pictures because these often help us and give us clues as to the meaning of the words.

It was quiet in the house.

Mulan's father, tired and ill was tossing and turning in his bed.

Mulan's mother busy as ever, was making a meal.

Little brother was playing as quietly as little brother could, which means not really quiet at all.

Shh, shh went the shuttles of the loom.

But there was another sound.

What was it? So we've been introduced to the Mulan's family, what do we know already? We know that she's hard at work, we know her father is ill, We know her mother is always very busy looking after the family and we know the little brother perhaps is a little bit annoying because it says he was painting as quietly as he could, which suggests perhaps is quite noisy.

But other than that, there's this strange new sound I wonder what it could be, it was the sound of Mulan's sighing as she worked, what is it? Father asked her, why do you sighing? Mother asked her, are you dreaming of a boyfriend? Are you wishing for new shoes? Little brother asked her.

He was a cheeky boy and liked to tease his older sister.

Teasing is he likes to wind her up he knows by saying things of IUD and her boyfriend, that's going to annoy her.

And she's definitely not thinking of a boyfriend, but this is what he assumes a girl Would be thinking of, a new shoes as well he's suggesting she's only worried about rain material things.

I am thinking of the poster I saw in town, said Mulan she sighed again, sigh when you show an expression of feeling upset.

Our countries under attack we have been ordered to send them out from this family, to fight in the emperor's army, in an emperor is like a king.

War, one man from every family must join the army to fight for the emperor.

What do you think is significant about the poster but that's, to me, what is important about this poster and why might it be a problem for Mulan's family? Why do you think she's sighing, remember sighing shows she's upset about something.

So press pause here, and then press play when you're ready to receive.

So Mulan, we already know that her family, her father is old and her brother is young assuming Mulan is worried because they don't have and then they can send to fight in the army.

So what do you think will happen to Mulan's family? What do you think she might do? Pause the video again and answer this question.

I would like a written response saying I think because, and you should use evidence from the text to help you.

To press pause and then press play when you're ready to resume.

What do you think will happen? I think Mulan will volunteer to go fight in the war, because we already know from the front cover that she becomes a warrior and a hero.

I don't think her father is well enough to fight and I think her younger brother is too young to fight and we know already that she must send a man to the emperor and they had to obey all the orders.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens next in this tale.

You have completed today's lesson, I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you enjoy the rest of your lessons today.