- Year 6
Reflecting on 'The Final Year'
I can engage with the key themes in ‘The Final Year’ and reflect on the text.
- Year 6
Reflecting on 'The Final Year'
I can engage with the key themes in ‘The Final Year’ and reflect on the text.
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- At the end of the text, Nate leaves primary school with his friends around him & Dylan has been released from hospital.
- The theme of identity is conveyed through Nate’s emotional journey to find out who he is.
- Hearing from the author and illustrator can enhance the reading process by adding layers of meaning and context.
- A take-away idea within a text may link to themes that are explored and developed in it.
- We will all have different ideas and responses to a text as we are all unique.
Keywords
Theme - a big idea, topic or message that recurs within a story
Convey - to communicate a message directly or indirectly
Identity - understanding who you are and your place within the world
Common misconception
Pupils may not realise that there are multiple answers to open-ended or personal reflection questions.
Encourage pupils to refer to the text as they discuss the questions. Also encourage them to think about the text in relation to their own lives, finding any parts that are relatable to themselves.
To help you plan your year 6 English lesson on: Reflecting on 'The Final Year', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 6 English lesson on: Reflecting on 'The Final Year', 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 Final Year': reading unit, dive into the full primary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Equipment
You need a copy of the 2023 Otter Barry Books edition of ‘The Final Year’ written by Matt Goodfellow, illustrated by Joe Todd Stanton, for this lesson.
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of upsetting content
- Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
- Depiction or discussion of peer pressure or bullying
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Select the statements about 'The Final Year' that are true.
Q2.What does Nate call his inner emotions that he finds hard to control?
Q3.What does Nate do to control "The Beast"?
Q4.True or false? Matt Goodfellow uses the same layout for all the poems in the text.
Q5.How does Mr Joshua encourage and support Nate?
Q6.Which text is Nate introduced to in Year 6?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the keywords to the correct definitions.
a big idea, topic or message that recurs within a story
to communicate a message directly or indirectly
understanding who you are and your place within the world
Q2.Put the following events from Part 5 of ‘The Final Year’ in chronological order.
Q3.True or false? Themes are explicitly stated within a text.
Q4.Select the themes that may be inferred from 'The Final Year'.
Q5.Match the theme to how it is conveyed in the text.
Nate experiences intense feelings of love, anger and pain.
Characters experience self-discovery, change and self-expression.
Nate is very close with his mum, brothers and Auntie San.