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Character, setting and plot in 'And Tango Makes Three'

Lesson details

Learning outcome

I can explore the story through discussing the characters, setting and plot.

Key learning points

  1. 'And Tango Makes Three’ is a narrative fiction that is based on a true story.
  2. The main characters in the story are two boy penguins, one named Roy and one named Silo.
  3. The story is set inside Central Park Zoo in New York City.
  4. The plot follows the story of how Roy and Silo find a way to become parents and have their own family.
  5. Roy and Silo are the first family in the zoo to have two dads but they live and love just like all the other families.

Keywords

  • Character - a person or an animal in a story

  • Setting - where the story takes place

  • Plot - what happens in the story

Common misconception

Children might think that a narrative fiction is always a completely made up story.

Explain that authors often taken inspiration from real life events to develop narrative fiction texts.

Teacher tip

Use a story mountain with illustrations from the text to retell the story. Offer children an opportunity to sequence this and verbally retell the story to a partner.

Equipment

You will need a copy of the 2007 Simon & Schuster UK Ltd edition of ‘And Tango Makes Three’ by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell for this lesson.

Content guidance

Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

6 Questions

Q1.
What is a narrative fiction?

Correct answer: a made up story
a real life story
a piece of poetry

Q2.
What is a character in a story?

where the story takes place
what happens in the story
Correct answer: a person or animal in the story

Q3.
What is a setting in a story?

a person or an animal in a story
Correct answer: where the story takes place
what happens in the story

Q4.
What is a plot in a story?

Correct answer: what happens in the story
where the story takes place
a person or an animal in the story

Q5.
What is an illustration?

the words in a book
Correct answer: a picture in a book
the back of a book

Q6.
Order the following elements of a narrative correctly.

1 - beginning
2 - build up
3 - climax
4 - resolution

6 Questions

Q1.
Who are the main characters in 'And Tango Makes Three'?

Correct answer: Roy
Correct answer: Silo
the zookeeper
Tango

Q2.
Where is the story of 'And Tango Makes Three' set?

in an unspecified zoo
Correct answer: Central Park Zoo in New York
Central Park Ice Rink in New York
the Arctic

Q3.
How were Roy and Silo different to other couples in the penguin area?

They liked to swim together.
They liked to sleep together.
Correct answer: They were both boys.

Q4.
What one thing could Roy and Silo not do like the other make and female couples?

sing together
share a nest
Correct answer: make an egg to have a baby

Q5.
How did the zookeeper realise that Roy and Silo wanted to have a baby?

He saw them playing with all the baby penguins.
Correct answer: He saw them trying to hatch a stone.
He saw them crying.

Q6.
How did Roy and Silo become parents?

They hatched a stone.
They produced an egg.
Correct answer: The zookeeper gave them an egg to hatch.

To help you plan your 2 English lesson on: Character, setting and plot in 'And Tango Makes Three', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...