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Year 2

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

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

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Share activities with pupils
New
New
Year 2

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

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

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Making a prediction means deciding what you think will happen next in a story.
  2. One person's prediction may be different to another person's.
  3. Narrative openings introduce the characters, setting and plot.
  4. Plop meets an old woman who likes the dark and says it is 'kind'.

Common misconception

Pupils may find it hard to think of reasons they like the dark.

Brainstorm ideas beforehand as a class and if possible use two adults to model hot-seating before the children start the task.

Keywords

  • Character - a person or animal in a story

  • Setting - where the story takes place

  • Plot - what happens in a story

You may want to read Chapter Two ahead of this lesson so children have a strong understanding of the plot before they engage in the tasks.
Teacher tip

Equipment

You need a copy of the 2014 Farshore edition of ‘The Owl who was Afraid of the Dark’ by Jill Tomlinson for this lesson.

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
True or false? 'The Owl who was Afraid of the Dark' is a non-fiction text.
Correct Answer: false, False
Q2.
Who is the author of 'The Owl who was Afraid of the Dark'?
Correct Answer: Jill Tomlinson, jill tomlinson
Q3.
True or false? Owls sleep in the day time.
Correct Answer: True, true
Q4.
What is the main character called?
Owl
Correct answer: Plop
Baby barn owl
Q5.
What is the big problem in the story so far?
Plop is hungry
Plop doesn't have any friends
Correct answer: Plop is scared of the dark
Q6.
Who does Plop meet on the ground in Chapter One?
a fox
Correct answer: a young boy
another owl

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Order the following events from Chapter One.
1 - Plop and his mother are discussing the dark and how it makes Plop scared
2 - Plop’s mother tries to encourage Plop to stay positive about the dark
3 - Plop meets a young boy who teaches him all about fireworks
4 - Plop and his parents watch the fireworks that night from their tree branch
Q2.
Match the keywords to their definitions.
Correct Answer:character,a person or animal in a story

a person or animal in a story

Correct Answer:setting,where the story takes place

where the story takes place

Correct Answer:plot,what happens in a story

what happens in a story

Q3.
What is a prediction?
reading on to find out what happens next
retelling the story in your own words
Correct answer: guessing what you think will happen using evidence
Q4.
Who did Plop meet in Chapter Two?
Correct answer: an old woman
a young boy
a firework
Q5.
Finish this sentence. The old woman liked the dark because…
she was afraid
Correct answer: she could ‘remember’
she could hunt
Q6.
Order the following events from Chapter Two.
1 - Mr Barn Owl asked Plop if he wanted to go ‘hunting’ with him but Plop said no
2 - Plop’s mother encouraged him to go down from their tree to learn about the dark
3 - Plop met an old woman who told Plop that night time is ‘kind’
4 - Plop had a conversation with the old woman and then returned to his branch