Exploring themes in 'Mulan'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explore the themes within ‘Mulan’ to infer a moral from the story.
Key learning points
- A theme is a big idea, topic or message that recurs within a story.
- Identifying the themes within ‘Mulan’ helps us understand the deeper meaning behind the story.
- A moral is a lesson that can be learnt from a story or experience.
- Key themes such as gender roles and the character traits Mulan shows to become a trailblazer help us infer a moral.
- Readers may have different interpretations of a text, its meaning or the moral drawn from it.
Keywords
Theme - a big idea, topic or message that recurs within a story
Moral - a lesson that can be learnt from a story or experience
Gender roles - ways in which girls and boys might be expected to behave differently
Trailblazer - a person who is the first to do something; an innovator
Common misconception
Children may find it hard to infer or justify an appropriate moral for the tale.
Ask the children to consider what they think is 'right vs wrong' in the story. Use prompt questions such as, "Do you think that girls should be allowed to do the same things as boys?" or "Do you think that lying is always the wrong thing?"
Teacher tip
Create a shared mind map of the range of themes within the story of Mulan to support children when inferring a moral and widen the scope of personal responses. Compare themes across other texts the children have read.
Equipment
You need a copy of the 2014 Oxford University Press edition of ‘Mulan' written by Michaela Morgan for this lesson.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is a moral?
Q2.What is inference?
Q3.What problem was Mulan's country facing in the story?
Q4.True or false? During the time the story of 'Mulan' is set, girls and boys were treated the same way.
Q5.Which character traits did Mulan show in order to succeed in her quest?
Q6.Match the character traits Mulan showed to their definition.
the ability to do something that frightens one; bravery
the ability to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions
having a firm goal and remaining committed to it
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is a theme within a story?
Q2.How do we infer themes within a story?
Q3.Which of the following themes are explored in the story of 'Mulan'?
Q4.What does 'gender roles' refer to?
Q5.What does the term 'trailblazer' mean?
Q6.Which morals might we infer from the story of 'Mulan'?
To help you plan your 3 English lesson on: Exploring themes in 'Mulan', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 3 English lesson on: Exploring themes in 'Mulan', 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 2 English lessons from the 'Mulan': reading unit, dive into the full primary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.