New
New
Year 2

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

I can read the opening of 'The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark'.

New
New
Year 2

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

I can read the opening of 'The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark'.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Fiction is a story which is made up or imagined.
  2. The opening of a story introduces the characters and the setting.
  3. Plop is a baby barn owl who is afraid of the dark.
  4. Plop's mother wants Plop to learn not to be afraid of the dark.

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.

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

The teacher can read to the pupils, or children could read aloud independently or in pairs, depending on reading ability.
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).

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the keyword to the correct definition.
Correct Answer:narrative,writing that tells a story

writing that tells a story

Correct Answer:non-fiction,a text that contains facts and true information

a text that contains facts and true information

Correct Answer:fiction,a story that is made up or imagined

a story that is made up or imagined

Q2.
Based on the front cover, what type of text do you think this is?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: fiction
non-fiction
dictionary
Q3.
Based on the front cover, what type of text is this?
An image in a quiz
fiction
Correct answer: non-fiction
dictionary
Q4.
What is a character in a fiction text?
a picture in a book
where a story takes place
Correct answer: a person or animal in a story
Q5.
What is the plot in a fiction story?
where the story takes place
Correct answer: what happens in the story
the pictures in the story
Q6.
Order these parts of a story structure.
1 - opening
2 - build-up
3 - climax
4 - resolution
Q2 Wild by Emily Hughes © Flying Eye Books. 2013 London Q3 Rushing Rivers, Kingfisher

6 Questions

Q1.
What type of text is 'The Owl who was Afraid of the Dark'?
Correct answer: fiction
non-fiction
poem
Q2.
Who is the author of 'The Owl who was Afraid of the Dark'?
Plop
Correct answer: Jill Tomlinson
Julia Donaldson
Q3.
What does nocturnal mean?
being active in the day
Correct answer: being active at night
being active in night and day
Q4.
Put these parts of a story structure in order.
1 - opening
2 - build-up
3 - climax
4 - resolution
Q5.
What does the opening of a story usually do?
solves the problem
Correct answer: introduces the characters and setting
tells you everything that happens
Correct answer: hooks the reader in
Q6.
What does Plop's mother want to do?
help Plop learn to hunt
Correct answer: help Plop to not be scared of the night time
help Plop to fly well