Discussing a section of 'The Borrowers'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can read and discuss a section of the build-up in ‘The Borrowers’.
Key learning points
- In the build-up, Pod is “seen” by a human “bean” and this causes concern for the Clock family’s safety.
- Arrietty expresses her discontent being trapped under the floorboards and her desire to experience the world above.
- Homily persuades a reluctant Pod to take Arrietty borrowing.
- The Clock family have contrasting feelings about Arrietty going on a borrowing expedition.
- We can infer a character’s emotions from their actions, words and expressions.
Keywords
Build up - the building of action and suspense that leads up to the climax in a narrative
Expedition - a journey undertaken for a specific purpose
Infer - to draw conclusions from information and evidence in the text
Common misconception
Some of the vocabulary and phrases in the text may be unfamiliar and even confusing. E.g. the use of the word "hollow" to describe Arrietty's "excitement".
Make a bank of unfamiliar vocabulary from the text and provide definitions. Explore interesting phrase choices. E.g. using the word "hollow" to describe Arrietty's "excitement" could imply that this is the only emotion she can feel.
Teacher tip
Analyse the text further on pages 61 and 62 to infer the different feelings Arrietty experiences as she ventures to the clock for the first time.
Equipment
You need a copy of the 2014 Puffin Books edition of ‘The Borrowers’ by Mary Norton for this lesson.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What does it mean to summarise?
Q2.What happens in the build-up of a narrative?
Q3.Where does the Clock family live?
Q4.How do the Clock family survive underground?
Q5.How does Pod Clock enter the upstairs?
Q6.What does it mean to infer?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is the main problem encountered at the beginning of the build-up?
Q2.True or false? Hearing about the upstairs and what had happened to Eggletina scared Arrietty.
Q3.What did Homily suggest Pod should do?
Q4.Match the vocabulary to the correct definition.
a journey undertaken for a specific purpose
having a hole or empty space inside
a sloping channel or slide used for transporting things lower
expressed an objection to what someone said or did
Q5.How did Arrietty show her mother she was “good” in order to prepare for her first borrowing expedition?
Q6.What clues can we search for in the text to infer how the different characters felt about Arrietty going borrowing?
To help you plan your 4 English lesson on: Discussing a section of 'The Borrowers', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 4 English lesson on: Discussing a section of 'The Borrowers', 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 'The Borrowers': narrative writing and reading unit, dive into the full primary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.