Lesson video

Hello, everyone.

I hope you're really well today.

My name's Ms. Afzal.

I am doing so incredibly well, because today I get to share with you one of my absolute favorite novels of all time.

It's right up there at the top for me.

It's called "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane" by Kate DiCamillo.

So I'd like you to pause the video while you go and fetch your copy of the novel.

All right, you're back.

This is a happy, wonderful moment.

We all have this fantastic novel with us.

We're about to start exploring.

I hope you got curiosity, ideas, responses.

I can't wait to get into it.

Let's begin.

The outcome for today's lesson is I can discuss the main ideas of "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.

" There are a few key words in today's lesson.

Let's go through them.

My turn, your turn.

Illustrated chapter book.

Vignette.

Theme.

Fantastic.

Let's find out more about these words.

An illustrated chapter book is a longer fictional text with illustrations to support and develop understanding.

Vignettes are small, focused illustrations that often capture a specific moment or scene within a narrative.

A theme is a big idea, topic, or message that recurs within a story.

Our lesson has three parts to it today.

We are going to begin with exploring the story, next, exploring illustrated chapter books, and finally, exploring themes.

First of all, the story and what a story is.

"The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane" is written by Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline.

It's an illustrated chapter book, with black and white pencil sketch vignettes.

At the beginning of the text, Edward is described as an exquisite china rabbit, crafted with great care and attention to detail.

The text is set across the United States, with Edward traveling through different places and experiencing different time periods as he is passed from owner to owner.

Edward's journey takes him to many unnamed locations within the United States.

The text does not explicitly mention when or where much of it is set, except for New York and Memphis, shown there on the map.

There's no mention of modern life or technology.

Edward falls overboard on his way from New York to London.

He spends 297 days on the ocean floor.

Later, he is carried by Bryce to a street corner in Memphis, where he is made to dance like a puppet in order for Bryce to raise enough money for food.

Here are my first questions for you.

Why do you think "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane" is an important text to read?

What makes the story miraculous?

Miraculous is an adjective meaning remarkable, bringing very welcome consequences.

That's interesting.

So pause the video while you discuss your responses to these questions with someone nearby.

I wonder what answers you came up with.

Let's see what Lucas has to say.

"I think this novel is an important read because it describes the character's journey of learning to love.

Edward starts the text being very selfish but ends it with his heart stirring.

I think it is miraculous that Edward was found by each of his owners.

" What a wonderful response.

Thank you, Lucas.

I love that miraculous is those welcome consequences that came with each of his encounters and adventures.

Check for understanding.

At the beginning of the text, Edward cares for Abilene very much.

Pause the video while you decide if that's true or false.

Well done if you selected false.

That is not the case.

As we know, Edward is quite selfish at the beginning of this text.

And now I'd like you to justify your answer.

Edward Tulane considered himself an exceptional porcelain rabbit.

Edward did not experience love when he was held close by Abilene.

He was annoyed to have been inconvenienced.

Which of these justifications more directly relates to your answer?

Pause the video while you decide.

Well done if you selected the second statement.

Both of them are true, but the second one more directly correlates to your answer.

Let's go through a brief summary of the text.

Edward is owned by Abilene, a young girl who adores him.

During a voyage on a ship, Edward is thrown overboard.

He lands in the ocean.

Eventually, Edward is found by a fisherman who brings him to Nellie, who names Edward, Susanna.

Edward is passed from owner to owner, experiencing different relationships and emotions.

Despite facing hardships and heartbreak, Edward gradually becomes more compassionate and understanding.

Ultimately, Edward is reunited with Abilene after a long and miraculous journey.

What a text!

Check for understanding.

I'd like you to put the following events from "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane" in chronological order.

Chronological means in time order, so in the sequence that they occurred.

Use the text to support you.

Let's go through the events.

Edward is cared for by Abilene in a house on Egypt Street.

He has several outfits.

A young boy called Bryce gives Edward to his sister, Sarah Ruth.

She is very poorly.

After being buried beneath mounds of rubbish, Edward is found by Lucy, a dog, who brings Edward to Bull.

Edward is used as a scarecrow to frighten crows.

So pause the video now while you put these events in chronological order.

Okay, so what did you go for?

Did you get this as the first one: Edward is cared for by Abilene?

Next, he's buried under mounds of rubbish, and then is taken to Bull.

Next, he's used as a scarecrow.

And finally, Bryce gives Edward to his sister, Sarah Ruth.

Well done if you put the events in this order.

Now that we've explored the story, we're going to discuss our own thoughts and feelings about the text.

I'd like you to answer the questions in a grid that's coming up, with a partner.

Be honest about your thoughts and your feelings, and make sure you listen carefully and mindfully to your partner's opinion.

So here's the grid we're going to use for your task.

I'd like you to explore your likes, dislikes, and puzzles.

So likes, first of all.

What caught your attention?

What made you want to keep on reading?

Here are some sentence starters: you could say, "I enjoyed.

.

.

" or "My favorite part was.

.

.

" "I loved.

.

.

" is what I'd be saying, because I love it so much.

Dislikes.

Was there anything you didn't understand?

"I was unsure about.

.

.

" or "I wanted to know more about.

.

.

" How about puzzles?

Was there anything you found strange or surprising?

You could start with "I wondered.

.

.

" or "I noticed.

.

.

" So pause the video now, use these sentence starters, and share, with a person nearby, your likes, dislikes, and puzzles.

Okay, I am very curious.

I'm wondering what you have come up with.

Here are some responses from me.

Likes.

I enjoyed how Edward's view of the world is described.

One of my favorite parts is the sensory description of Nellie's cooking on page 76.

Dislikes.

I felt very emotional reading about Sarah Ruth.

I wanted someone to help her.

I wanted to know more about when the story was set.

Puzzles.

I noticed that after each set of owners, Edward's heart grows.

I wondered whether Pellegrina knew that Edward was alive.

She speaks to him as an equal and looks at him directly.

She's described in a very witch-like way on page 17.

I wonder what your responses were, and I hope you enjoyed sharing them.

Next, we're going to look at illustrated chapter books.

Illustrated chapter books are a great form of reading, particularly for readers who want to explore novels.

They have lots of interesting features.

Illustrated chapter books have frequent illustrations throughout the text.

The illustrations can support meaning in the words, or create their own.

Illustrated chapter books can be in a range of different genres including adventure, animal fiction, realistic, mystery, and fantasy.

I wonder which is your favorite genre.

Illustrated chapter books are accessible.

They can support readers who are daunted by long sections of text.

Check for understanding.

What are the main features of illustrated chapter books?

They can be written in a range of different genres.

They can only be written in the fantasy genre.

They have no illustrations.

They include frequent illustrations throughout the text.

So pause video while you decide which are the main features of illustrated chapter books.

Well done if you came up with features A and D.

Absolutely, illustrated chapter books can be written in many different genres, and they have frequent illustrations, hence being called illustrated chapter books.

Bagram Ibatoulline creates vignettes which depict key moments in the story.

The vignettes are included at the beginning of each chapter and sometimes in between.

Edward is featured on many of them.

However, sometimes they draw the reader's attention to an important object or theme.

Refer back to a copy of the text.

What is your favorite vignette, and why?

You may like to use a sentence starter, such as "My favorite vignette is.

.

.

" or "It's really interesting because.

.

.

" So pause the video while you refer to your text and share about your favorite vignette, and why that's the one you picked, with someone nearby.

So which was your favorite vignette, and why?

I hope you enjoyed sharing.

Here are some ideas.

"My favorite vignette is on page 103.

It depicts Edward sat on Bull's leg.

Lucy is sleeping at his feet.

It's interesting because Edward is beginning to listen more and empathize.

" That means to understand, to feel with.

"The illustration is full of warmth.

" "I thought the vignette on page 151 was full of emotion.

We don't see Bryce's face.

It is likely full of tears.

He cradles Edward as he leaves for Memphis.

Clouds hang over his head.

" So poignant.

And finally, we're going to be exploring themes.

A theme is a big idea, topic, or message that recurs within a story.

Identifying themes within a text involves inference.

Inference is when we're looking closely and we're reading between the lines.

Themes are not explicitly stated within a text.

So a text will not say, "This text is about.

.

.

" Rather, we can identify themes in a few different ways.

For example, by considering actions and characteristics of people within the text.

Identifying repetition, actions, emotions, traits that occur again and again.

Searching for deeper meaning using inference.

Considering the overall message of the text.

One of the most prominent themes in the text is love.

Edward begins the text being very self-centered.

All he cares about is himself.

So self-centered is an adjective: someone who is only interested in themselves.

Edward ends the text full of love, having experienced life with many different owners who show care for each other in different ways.

What other themes do you think are shown within the text?

Pause the video and share your ideas with someone nearby.

Other themes you may have come up with might include hope, kindness, listening, compassion, unfairness, self-discovery, loss, and joy.

There are so many possible themes that could be drawn from this text.

It's such a rich text.

Readers may interpret themes and their importance differently, because we all are drawing on our own life experiences when we come to a text.

So here are some of those themes.

Compassion is feeling empathy and kindness towards others in times of need.

Loss is the feeling of sadness or grief from being deprived of something.

Self-discovery is the process of learning about oneself, identity, and personal growth.

Check for understanding: Match the theme to how it is conveyed in the text.

Here are our themes: loss, compassion, self-discovery, and how it could be conveyed, which means shown or represented in the text.

Lawrence and Nellie treat Edward with love and understanding, even when he struggles to give it back.

Through the hardships he faces, Edward gradually learns about empathy, love, and the importance of connection.

Edward experiences heartbreak when Sarah Ruth passes away.

So pause the video now, while you link the themes with how they could be conveyed in the text.

I wonder if you made these connections.

Loss is how Edward experiences heartbreak about Sarah Ruth.

Compassion is the way Lawrence and Nellie treat Edward, and self-discovery is Edward's gradual move towards empathy, love, and importance of connection.

Well done if you made those connections.

A take-away idea within a text may link to themes that are explored and developed in it.

It may include a key message, insight, or perspective the author has communicated to the reader.

I'm interested to know, what are your take-away ideas?

So pause the video now and share your take-away ideas with someone nearby.

Let's see what Joon came up with.

"Loving ourselves and showing kindness towards others is one of the most important things in life.

" Oh my goodness, I love hearing that!

Thank you, Joon.

Amazing.

How about Izzy?

"It's important to open ourselves up to emotions.

" Yeah, absolutely.

There's this whole world of emotions that are there for us to experience.

Yeah, thank you for sharing that one.

What amazing ideas.

I wonder what yours were.

Some take-away ideas you might have mentioned could be: We can learn from our mistakes and try to do better next time.

It's important to actively listen to others, to engage with them, and to hear what they have to say.

Care and compassion can be shown in lots of ways.

Even when we think things are lost, they can come back to us.

As our reading experiences are unique, your ideas will be too.

In our lesson today, we've covered the following.

"The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane" is an illustrated chapter book, with black and white pencil sketch vignettes.

Vignettes are included at the beginning of each chapter and sometimes in between.

They draw the reader's attention to an important object or theme.

One of the most prominent themes in the text is love: Edward begins the text being very self-centered but ends the text full of love.

A take-away idea within the text may link to themes that are explored and developed in it.

It may include a key message, insight, or perspective that the author has communicated to the reader.

I'd like to say thank you so much for being here and sharing your responses, your understanding, and your take-away ideas from this incredible text.

It's been wonderful.

I'll see you in the next lesson.

Bye for now.