Developing responses to 'The Unforgotten Coat' through rich discussions
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can develop my own response to 'The Unforgotten Coat’.
Key learning points
- Readers can form impressions of characters based on what they say, the actions they perform and their appearance.
- During the story, characters and their relationships change and evolve.
- Making connections and recommendations can significantly broaden a reader's understanding of literature.
Keywords
Character trait - the special qualities that make a character in a story unique and interesting
Impression - initial feelings about a person, place or thing, gained from reading a text
Polaroid - a brand of instant film camera that produces self-developing photos
Connection - how a text relates to a reader, another text or the wider world
Recommendation - a suggestion for a text that is well-suited to a reader’s age and their interests
Common misconception
Pupils may find it challenging to provide two contrasting impressions of a character.
It may be helpful to visually mind map how readers might describe a character (using adjectives). Impressions can also be modelled verbally to develop pupils' understanding of character.
Teacher tip
Pupils must have read the text in advance of this lesson. When sharing recommendations, make connections to texts that you have read with the class and texts read independently by pupils and allow pupils to make their own peer-to-peer recommendations.
Equipment
You need a copy of the 2012 Walker Books edition of ‘The Unforgotten Coat’, written by Frank Cottrell Boyce with photographs by Carl Hunter and Clare Heney, for this lesson.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
Loading...
Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.From whose perspective do we read the text 'The Unforgotten Coat'?
Q2.What is Julie's class teacher called?
Q3.Put the following events into chronological order.
Q4.What is a suitable definition of the word recommendation?
Q5.What adjectives might you use to describe Julie?
Q6.True or false? Chingis and his family were deported at the end of the story.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the keywords to their definitions.
initial feelings about a person, place or thing, gained from reading
a brand of instant film camera that produces self-developing photos
how a text relates to a reader, another text or the wider world
a suggestion for a text that is suited to a reader’s age & interests
Q2.Which of the following character traits are demonstrated by Chingis in the text?
Q3.Match the following characters to their relationship with Julie.
Julie’s class teacher.
Chingis’ younger brother. He sits in Julie’s class on the first day.
Julie’s best friend.
Q4.Which of the following are true?
Q5.True or false? Julie was able to get back in touch with Chingis as an adult.
Q6.True or false? Researching and making recommendations does not widen a reader's understanding of texts.
To help you plan your 5 English lesson on: Developing responses to 'The Unforgotten Coat' through rich discussions, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 5 English lesson on: Developing responses to 'The Unforgotten Coat' through rich discussions, 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 Unforgotten Coat': book club unit, dive into the full primary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.