Understanding character in 'The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark'

English

Reading the opening of 'The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark'

Character, setting and plot in 'The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark'

Building comprehension of 'The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark'

Exploring themes in 'The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark'

In The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark’, pupils read a linear narrative with an animal as the protagonist. In ’The Sheep Pig’, pupils will read another narrative where animals are the protagonists and will discuss the features of narrative writing in more detail.’

In The Wolf, The Duck and The Mouse’, pupils read and discussed a narrative story. In ’The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark’, children will read and listen to a more challenging narrative. They will infer meaning to build understanding.’

In this unit, pupils read and explore the text, 'The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark'. They use a range of strategies to build their understanding of the plot and the characters. Finally, they explore the key themes in the text and give a personal response.

'The Owl who was Afraid of the Dark': reading

how fictional characters talk to each other

the way an author describes and develops the characters

a conflict between characters in the story

What is the definition of **characterisation**?

Match the keywords to the correct definitions.

Which of the following describe Plop's **appearance**?

Which of the following describe Plop's **personality**?

Plop hates the dark and does not ever want to learn about it.

Plop is unsure about the dark, but is interested to learn about it.

Plop loves the dark and wants to go out hunting.

Select the statement that is true about Plop.

Plop met a boy who taught him about fireworks and said darkness is ‘exciting'.

Plop met an old woman who said night time is ‘kind’ as she likes to 'remember'.

Plop met some Scouts who said darkness is ‘fun’ because they can play games. 

Order the following events from 'The Owl who was Afraid of the Dark'.

In Chapter 1, Plop met a young boy who said the dark was...

In Chapter 2, Plop met an old woman who said the dark was...

In Chapter 3, Plop met a Scout who said the dark was...

Mr and Mrs Barn Owl went out hunting but Plop decided not to go with them.

Plop heard noises from down below so he decided to be brave and go down.

Plop met a Scout who was guarding a fire and told Plop why the dark was ‘fun'.

Plop joined the Scouts for singing round the fire & then went back to his tree.

Order the following events from Chapter Three.

finding information directly from the text

using clues from the text to draw conclusions

talking to others about the meaning of what we have read

Match the reading strategy to what it means.

Starter Quiz

In Chapter 1, Plop met a young boy who said the dark was...