Engaging with the plot of 'The Viewer'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can engage with the plot of ‘The Viewer’.
Key learning points
- ‘The Viewer’ is a narrative fiction story with elements of mystery and supernatural fantasy.
- The setting in the opening is a ‘dump’ in the city.
- The story features a magical object that is found at the dump.
- The distinctive illustrations play an important part in telling the story.
- The story ends in an unusual and mysterious way.
Keywords
Fiction - when authors create made up stories with characters, places and adventures which did not happen in real life
Setting - where or when a story takes place
Fantasy - a genre of fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe
Mystery - a literary genre that builds suspense and plot for the reader to solve
Common misconception
Pupils may think that fantasy stories are entirely built around fantastical elements and cannot have any parts that are based in real life.
Teach pupils that this is a fantasy story, even though there are large parts of it that seem quite naturalistic and real.
Teacher tip
The distinctive illustrations play an important role in enhancing the story. You may wish to spend more time analysing and discussing the illustrations in the text. You could print these off and have children discuss in groups.
Equipment
You need a copy of the 2012 Hodder Children's Books edition of ‘The Viewer’ written by Gary Crew and illustrated by Shaun Tan, for this lesson.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.A fiction text is written about things that ...
Q2.Which of these is a type of fiction text?
Q3.What is the name for the place where a story happens?
Q4.What is the name for the people or animals in a story?
Q5.The front cover of a book will tell you the ...
Q6.The name for the person who drew the pictures in a book is ...
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.True or false? Fiction is when authors create made up stories with characters, places and adventures which did not happen in real life.
Q2.A person, animal, being, creature or thing in a story, is known as a ...
Q3.Fill in the blank. A __________ is where or when a story takes place.
Q4.The main setting in the opening of 'The Viewer' is a ...
Q5.'The Viewer' is written by ...
Q6.The illustrator of 'The Viewer' is Shaun Tan. What does an illustrator do?
To help you plan your 5 English lesson on: Engaging with the plot of 'The Viewer', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 5 English lesson on: Engaging with the plot of 'The Viewer', 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 Viewer': narrative writing unit, dive into the full primary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.