Reading the opening of 'The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can read the opening of 'The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark'.
Key learning points
- Fiction is a story which is made up or imagined.
- The opening of a story introduces the characters and the setting.
- Plop is a baby barn owl who is afraid of the dark.
- Plop's mother wants Plop to learn not to be afraid of the dark.
Keywords
Title - the name or label given to a piece of writing, such as a book, story, or poem, often representing its main idea or theme
Fiction - a story which is made up or imagined
Opening - the opening is the beginning of a story which establishes the setting and introduces key characters
Nocturnal - being active or happening at night rather than during the day
Common misconception
Children may not know or understand that owls are nocturnal and therefore not find it unusual or funny for an owl to be scared of the dark.
Allow the children to research owls ahead of the lesson, using non-fiction texts and the internet.
Teacher tip
The teacher can read to the pupils, or children could read aloud independently or in pairs, depending on reading ability.
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
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the keyword to the correct definition.
writing that tells a story
a text that contains facts and true information
a story that is made up or imagined
Q2.What type of text do you think 'The Three Billy Goats Gruff' is?
Q3.What type of text is a book that gives information about rivers?
Q4.What is a character in a fiction text?
Q5.What is the plot in a fiction story?
Q6.Order these parts of a story structure.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What type of text is 'The Owl who was Afraid of the Dark'?
Q2.Who is the author of 'The Owl who was Afraid of the Dark'?
Q3.What does nocturnal mean?
Q4.Put these parts of a story structure in order.
Q5.What does the opening of a story usually do?
Q6.What does Plop's mother want to do?
To help you plan your 2 English lesson on: Reading the opening of 'The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 2 English lesson on: Reading the opening of 'The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 1 English lessons from the 'The Owl who was Afraid of the Dark': reading unit, dive into the full primary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.