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Year 3

Chapter 2 and humanity's response to the Iron Man

I can understand how different characters respond to the Iron Man and why.

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New
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Year 3

Chapter 2 and humanity's response to the Iron Man

I can understand how different characters respond to the Iron Man and why.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. In Chapter 2 of ‘The Iron Man’, a character named Hogarth is introduced and he encounters the Iron Man.
  2. The Iron Man is responsible for eating the farmers’ machinery which threatens their livelihood and sense of safety.
  3. Humanity’s response to the Iron Man is one of anger and the farmers develop a plan to trap and bury him.
  4. We can infer deeper emotions of fear and confusion beneath humanity’s angry response.
  5. Hogarth’s emotions shift to sorrow & guilt after the Iron Man is buried as he feels a sense of empathy & responsibility.

Keywords

  • Humanity - the term used to describe human beings collectively

  • Response - a reaction to something

  • Emotions - strong feelings that result from a person’s circumstances, mood or relationships with others

Common misconception

Children may find it difficult to understand the emotions that often exist beneath anger. They may also find it difficult to distinguish between 'feeling' anger and 'responding with' anger.

Ask the children to consider a time they have felt angry and what emotions may have triggered the anger. E.g. loneliness or sadness. Explain that anger is a normal emotion to feel but understanding the cause of it can help us respond differently.


To help you plan your year 3 english lesson on: Chapter 2 and humanity's response to the Iron Man, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Children need to have read Chapter 2 of 'The Iron Man' prior to this lesson. Cycle one of this lesson recaps Chapter two by summarising the key events.
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Teacher tip
equipment-required

Equipment

You need a copy of the 2005 Faber and Faber edition of ‘The Iron Man’ by Ted Hughes for this lesson.

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Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Who is the author of 'The Iron Man'?
Correct Answer: Ted Hughes, ted hughes, Ted hughes, ted Hughes
Q2.
True or false? 'The Iron Man' is a non-fiction text.
Correct Answer: false, False
Q3.
Select the features that you might see in a science fiction novel.
Correct answer: non-human/alien life
Correct answer: futuristic life forms, e.g. robots
real people from the past
real scientific events
Correct answer: alternate realities
Q4.
Put these events from Chapter 1 of 'The Iron Man' in the correct order.
1 - The Iron Man stood on the very edge of a cliff, staring at the sea.
2 - The Iron Man fell off the cliff and “crashed” onto the the beach below.
3 - His body broke apart and his parts were “scattered” all around.
4 - One of the Iron Man’s hands found one of his eyes and he reassembled himself.
5 - He walked deep into the ocean until he disappeared.
Q5.
What is an 'atmosphere'?
Correct answer: the tone or mood created in a section or whole of a text
the repeated use of sounds, words or phrases
the comparison of two things using ‘like’ or ‘as’
Q6.
Select the linguistic techniques that Ted Hughes uses in Chapter 1.
Correct answer: repetition
Correct answer: similes
rhyme
facts
Correct answer: personification

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is the name of the important character introduced at the beginning of Chapter 2, and who is he?
Hogwart, the Iron Man’s friend
Correct answer: Hogarth, the son of a farmer
Howard, a local farmer
Q2.
Put the following events in order, from 1 - 4, to show the correct chronology of events at the beginning of Chapter 2 of ‘The Iron Man’.
1 - Hogarth returned home and told his parents about the Iron Man.
2 - Hogarth’s father encountered the Iron Man, but safely escaped.
3 - The farmers found their machinery missing or half eaten.
4 - The farmers found clues that let them know it must be the Iron Man.
Q3.
Put the following events in order, from 1 - 4, to show the correct chronology of events in the second half of Chapter 2 of ‘The Iron Man’.
1 - The farmers dug a hole to trap the Iron Man, but he never came.
2 - One day, Hogarth spotted the Iron Man eating wire fencing.
3 - Hogarth lured the Iron Man with clinking metal and finally trapped him.
4 - The farmers were overjoyed. They buried the Iron Man in the hole.
Q4.
Match these keywords to the correct definitions.
Correct Answer:humanity,the term used to describe human beings collectively
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the term used to describe human beings collectively

Correct Answer:response,a reaction to something
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a reaction to something

Correct Answer:emotions,feelings resulting from a person’s circumstances, mood or relationship
tick

feelings resulting from a person’s circumstances, mood or relationship

Q5.
Why were the farmers angry with the Iron Man?
He was rude and unkind.
Correct answer: He was eating the farmers’ machinery.
He took up too much space.
Q6.
Which of the following emotions can we infer that the farmers were feeling beneath their anger?
comfort
Correct answer: fear
Correct answer: confusion
excitement