New
New
Year 7

Meeting a fantastical creature in Bilan's 'Asha and the Spirit Bird'

I can effectively use topic sentences to present my ideas about how Bilan uses light and colour imagery to present the spirit bird.

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New
New
Year 7

Meeting a fantastical creature in Bilan's 'Asha and the Spirit Bird'

I can effectively use topic sentences to present my ideas about how Bilan uses light and colour imagery to present the spirit bird.

Link copied to clipboard

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Use your first read through of an unseen extract to establish ideas about plot and characters.
  2. Use your second read through to examine words or phrases in more detail to consider the writer’s intention.
  3. Light imagery is where the writer uses descriptions of light in order to influence the atmosphere.
  4. Colour imagery is where the writer makes specific vocabulary choices to influence the reader.
  5. Topic sentences introduce the main idea of a paragraph and clearly tell the reader what your idea is.

Keywords

  • Topic sentence - a sentence that states the main idea of a paragraph

  • Present - to describe or show (someone or something) in a particular way

  • Imagery - the use of words or pictures in books, films, paintings, etc. to describe ideas or situations

  • Connotations - a feeling or idea that is suggested by a word in addition to its basic meaning

Common misconception

That we will all have the same answer to a question about how a writer presents a particular character or theme.

The way we respond to how a writer presents a particular character or theme will be very individual since our responses depend on our own experiences or memories.


To help you plan your year 7 english lesson on: Meeting a fantastical creature in Bilan's 'Asha and the Spirit Bird', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Once they have created their topic sentence, you could ask the students to select at least two quotations from the text as evidence for their idea and explain those quotations for homework.
Teacher tip

Equipment

You will need a copy of the Chicken House Books edition of ‘Asha and the Spirit Bird’ by Jasbinder Bilan.

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

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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6 Questions

Q1.
A fantastical creature is ...
something ordinary
Correct answer: something strange and wonderful
something scary
Q2.
Which of the following words for yellow suggests something valuable?
Correct answer: gold
straw
flaxen
blonde
Q3.
A topic sentence should ...
Correct answer: explain the main focus of the paragraph
use quotations
specify the language devices used in a text
Q4.
Concise means ...
Correct answer: something short and clear
something long and clear
something long and confusing
Q5.
Which light do we associate with mystery?
sunlight
Correct answer: moonlight
light at dawn
Q6.
Colossal means ...
Correct answer: something very large
something average size
something very small

6 Questions

Q1.
In Jasbinder Bilan's 'Asha and the Spirit Bird', the feathers of the lamagaia are said to be ...
Correct answer: golden
brown
tan
Q2.
In Jasbinder Bilan's 'Asha and the Spirit Bird', Asha wants the lamagaia to be the spirit of her ...
Ma
Correct answer: Nanijee
Father
Q3.
In Jasbinder Bilan's 'Asha and the Spirit Bird', Asha meets the lamagaia under a...
blazing sun
Correct answer: half-moon
weak light
Q4.
To describe or show (someone or something) in a particular way means to ...
Correct Answer: present
Q5.
Why is 'The writer presents the spirit bird as beautiful' not an effective topic sentence?
it is not concise
it uses quotations
Correct answer: it doesn't reference the writer's name
Q6.
What are the potential connotations of the word "mesmerized"?
gentle
Correct answer: bewitching
soft
precious