Character, setting and plot in 'The Wolf, The Duck and the Mouse'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explore the story through discussing the characters, setting and plot.
Key learning points
- ‘The Wolf, The Duck and The Mouse’ is a children’s story told through narrative writing and illustrations.
- Using what we know to make a prediction can help to build our understanding of a text.
- There can be multiple main characters in a story, e.g. the wolf, the duck and the mouse are all main characters.
- The main setting of the story is inside the stomach of the wolf.
- The plot follows the story of how the duck and the mouse decide to make a home inside the wolf’s stomach.
Keywords
Character - a person or an animal in a story
Setting - where the story takes place
Plot - what happens in the story
Prediction - making a guess using what we already know
Common misconception
The word 'woe' is repeated at several points by all characters in the story. Children may be unfamiliar with the meaning of this word or have questions around why it is repeated.
Provide the definition of 'woe' (great sorrow or distress). Ask the children to consider the different points at which the characters say the word and the impact this has on them as the reader, (e.g. not knowing the fate of each character).
Teacher tip
Incorporate an opportunity for children to retell the story with a partner using illustrations to support them.
Equipment
You will need a copy of the 2017 Walker Ltd. edition of ‘The Duck, The Wolf & The Mouse’ written by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Jon Klassen for this lesson.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.True or false? A story is always told through only words.
Q2.What is a character in a story?
Q3.What is a setting?
Q4.What is a plot?
Q5.What is an illustration?
Q6.What is a prediction?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Who are the main characters in 'The Wolf, The Duck and The Mouse'?
Q2.Where is the story of 'The Wolf, The Duck & The Mouse' mainly set?
Q3.Why did the duck prefer living inside the wolf's stomach than the outside world?
Q4.How did the duck and the mouse trick the wolf?
Q5.True or false? The duck and the mouse decided to help the wolf when he was in danger from a hunter.
Q6.What favour did the wolf grant the duck and the mouse?
To help you plan your 2 English lesson on: Character, setting and plot in 'The Wolf, The Duck and the Mouse', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 2 English lesson on: Character, setting and plot in 'The Wolf, The Duck and the Mouse', 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 Wolf, The Duck and the Mouse': book club unit, dive into the full primary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.