Through this learning module students will develop their reading skills, focusing on the Cooperative Reading principles. They will build their knowledge about how they read and also how they talk about a novel.
Novel, Kensuke's Kingdom, Cooperative Reading, English, Reading, Novel, Speech
In this Learning Module you are going to read and respond to the novel 'Kensuke's Kingdom' by Michael Morpurgo. Through discussion in class, in your Cooperative Reading groups and online, you will analyse the novel. Your final assignment will be an oral book review, performed in a group.
Focus Questions
In this learning module, we will focus on the following questions:
What is the novel about?
How are the characters developed?
How does the author present the information?
How do I present a book review?
Learning Intention: To use the evidence provided to predict what you think the novel is about.
Comment: Predict what do you think the novel is about? Read the blurb on the back. Think about the colours used in the image. Post your predictions.
Listen to chapter one being real aloud. Does your prediction still seem correct? Add or change to your prediction.
Purpose
Reading Strategy
Predicting helps readers to activate their prior knowledge about a topic, so they begin to combine what they know with the new material in the text. Predictions are based on clues in the text such as pictures, illustrations, subtitles and plot. Clues for predictions will also come from readers’ prior knowledge about the author, text form or content. Students should be able to justify the source of their predictions.
Readers can be encouraged to make personal predictions before and during reading. During reading, effective readers adjust and refine their earlier predictions as new information is gathered and new connections are made. Predictions are usually related to events, actions or outcomes and will be either confirmed or rejected once the text has been read. Students can also use predicting to identify unknown words either before or after decoding. These types of predictions are usually based on the context clues; students need to determine whether the word makes sense in the text.
Australian Curriculum Content Descriptions
Literacy: Interacting with Others
Australian Curriculum General Capabilities
Personal and Social Capability
Self-management (Level 5)
Learning Intention: To set up an effective Cooperative Reading group.
Individually on post it notes write down what you think 'Effective Listening' looks like and sounds like.
In your table group collate your answers placing them on the A3 T chart.
As a class collate the group answers to create a class T chart that explains what 'Effective Listening' looks and sounds like. This will be displayed in the classroom.
In your group come up with a team name. Throughout part one of the novel you will work in pairs (from your group of four). During part two you will work in a group of four.
Individually write down 1 -2 reading and social goals. As a group share your social goals, pick 2 - 4 to focus on.
Comment: Reflect on your personal reading goal, what do you want to do, why and what help do you need?
Purpose
Setting up effective groups will help to ensure students are able to function appropriately.
Teaching Tips
Get organised
Teachers begin by encouraging students to talk about why working together can be helpful. Consider activities such as class meetings, community circles, and any activities that encourage Cooperative Learning, eg Think, Pair Share, Effective Listening, T charts and Y charts for social skills.
Students need to work in teams of four or five so they get to know their team members by participating in trust building activities to promote effective collaboration. Each team could choose a name that represents them, design a logo or banner and begin to work out what makes an effective learning team. (MyRead - The Cooperative Reading Cycle)
Australian Curriculum General Capabilities
Personal and Social Capability
Self-management (Level 5)
Social Awareness
Social management
Learning Intention: To think like a 'Text Participant', analyse and discuss the text structure and its purpose in the novel.
After reading chapter one, use a placemat to address the following discussion questions:
In your table group share your ideas. Share your ideas with the class.
Refer back to your placemat and address the following discussion questions:
Comment: Write a PEC paragraph summarising your answers. Remember to think about the narrative structure and the effect this has on the reader.
Purpose
This activity aims to:
Teaching Tips
Text Participants describe how text structures contributes to the meaning of a text.
MyRead: Strategies for Teaching Reading in the Middle Years
Placemat
This activity is designed to allow for each individual’s thinking, perspective and voice to be heard, recognised and explored.
- Participants form groups of four.
- Allocate one piece of A3 or butcher’s paper to each group.
- Ask each group to draw the diagram on the paper.
- The outer spaces are for each participant to write their thoughts about the topic.
- Conduct a Round Robin so that each participant can share their views.
- The circle in the middle of the paper is to note down (by the nominated scribe) the common points made by each participant.
- Each group then reports the common points to the whole group.
A variation is to divide each section into three and include a PMI.
New Learning Online: Learning by Design - The Knowledge Processes
PEC Paragraph Structure
P | E | C |
---|---|---|
Point | Evidence, Example, Explanation | Conclusion, Comment |
What is your point? | Explain reasons for your point | Restate your point sentence |
Re-write the question as a statement | What evidence do you have? | Comment on the topic |
Australian Curriculum Content Descriptors
Literature: Responding to literature
Literature: Examining literature
Literacy: Interpreting, analysing, evaluating
Australian Curriculum General Capabilities
Personal and Social Capability
Self-management (Level 5)
Social management (Level 5)
Learning Intention: To learn how to give useful and constructive feedback
Watch the video Austin's Butterfly.
After watching discuss with your table they types of feedback the children gave Austin. Why was it helpful? What was good about it?
In pairs, you will be given a jigsaw set of feedback. Place the feedback under the heading you think is correct. Discuss the effect of this feedback on your work. Would it help you? How would it make you feel? You can write dot point answers.
Mode | Field | Tenor |
---|---|---|
Types of feedback | Add the examples to the field | What is the effect of this feedback on your work? |
Unhelpful Cheerleader Feedback | ||
Helpful (Constructive) Feedback | ||
Unhelpful (Could be negative) Feedback |
Comment: Which feedback would help improve your work more?
You will be given another student's PEC paragraph from the previous activity. Read the PEC paragraph, refer back to the activity.
Using the following criteria as a guide, give the student feedback to help improve their PEC paragraph.
1. P sentence - clearly tells you what the paragraph is going to be about
After reading the feedback, re-write your P sentence. Have another peer read over it, re-write it again if you need.
2. Reasoning and Evidence - does the writer clearly explain the following:
- What part of the text structure they read
- Why is it important?
- What information are we told in this part of the chapter?
- Does the writer use appropriate evidence?
Edit/re-write your paragraph using the feedback given.
Comment: Was it easy or hard to give feedback? Do you think you gave helpful (constructive) feedback? Explain why/why not.
Purpose
Students can complete this in Scholar or on paper, depending on their experience with Scholar. As these students are completing this task at the beginning of the year, we will do this outside of Scholar. Our aim is for students to focus on giving feedback to each other, building each skill one at a time. Alternatively, , they could just respond to the comment in Scholar.
Teaching Tips'
Ensure that the teacher reads through all the feedback and ensure that constructive feedback is given on their feedback.
Australian Curriculum General Capabilities
Personal and Social Capability
Self-management (Level 5)
Social management
Learning Intention: To be a Code-Breaker, decoding the language in the text.
Scan (you just read) the text. How does the author describe the school, Stella Artois and the letter? In the field add parts of the description. In the tenor, explain the effect this has on you - how it makes you feel.
Mode (written) | Field (examples) | Tenor (effects) |
---|---|---|
school | ||
Stella Artois | ||
letter | ||
Peggy Sue | ||
Other |
Scan the text again, looking for:
Add these words to your Interesting word chart. We have included some below.
Word | Clues from the text | Your definition | Dictionary definition |
---|---|---|---|
Skipper | |||
First mate | |||
Ship's boy | |||
Share with your table group.
On post it notes write down reasons why the Code-Breaker role is important. Share with your group.
Comment: Share some of your words with the class. Comment on what you originally thought the meaning/definition was and how it was similar to and different from the dictionary definition. You can also comment on other students' words, explaining what you thought they meant.
Purpose
The purpose of this activity is for students to use the text to create their own understanding, as well as enabling the students to become more familiar and create a metalanguage. It also allows them to read for meaning. Remind students about the Code Breaker role. Code breakers decode the codes and conventions of written, spoken and visual texts. They use a range of strategies to support the identification of words.
Reading Strategy
Scanning involves glancing through material to locate specific details such as names, dates, laces or some particular content. For example, a reader might scan a contents page or index to find the page number of a specific topic; a reader may scan a dictionary or telephone book in search of a particular word or name or a reader may scan as they re-read a text to substantiate a particular response.
Teaching Tips
Analyse a text by identifying its features and their effects. Consider the features of linguistic, visual, audio, spatial and gestural modes.
Mode is the linguistic, visual, audio, spatial and gestural devices used.
Field is the explicit example from the text.
Tenor is the effect on the audience.
Mode | Field | Tenor |
---|---|---|
school | The monkey school. My father called it that because he said the children gibbered and screeched and hung upside down on the climbing-frame in the playground. Page 12 | Helps to create an image in your head. Draws on prior knowledge of schools and any allows you to make your own connections. |
Stella Artois | ... that is, my-one-ear up and one-ear-down black and white sheepdog, who always seemed to know what was about to happen before it did. Page 12 | Helps to create an image in the reader's mind. Allows you to make connections. |
letter | Until I was nearly eleven, until the letter came, life was just normal. page 12. Then the letter arrived. Stella Artois savaged it as it came through the letterbox. There were puncture holes in it and it was damp, but we could still read it. Page 13 - 14 | Information is given about the letter before you know what is in it, this helps to build sense, alludes to something negative. |
Peggy Sue | "There's someone I want you to meet. A good friend of mine. She's called Peggy Sue. She's been looking forward to meeting you, I've told her all about you." Page 16 | Gives the reader the idea that Peggy Sue is more than a boat, she is a family member. It shows the connection with the boat and the dad. |
Other |
Australian Curriculum Content Descriptions
Literacy: Interpreting, analysing, evaluating
Australian Curriculum General Capabilities
Personal and Social Capability
Self-management (Level 5)
Learning Intention: To read and predict what you think will happen next.
With a partner, preferably someone who reads at the same speed, predict what you think will happen in the next section.
In your books copy down your prediction and your partner's prediction. Individually or in pairs, read chapter two and three. As you read continue to write down predictions about what might happen. You should write 2-4 more predictions plus evidence. This is the evidence you used in the text to help you make the prediction. Do you agree with your partner's predictions? Why or why not? At the end of the chapter discuss whether your predictions where correct .
Comment: After your discussion write about one prediction you made and the evidence upon which it is based. Was it correct? Was it partly correct? Did you change it?
Teaching Tips
Encourage students to work in pairs or threes with people who read at a similar speed to them. This will help the students work together. Students can read aloud to each other, but they should also be encouraged to read parts silently to themselves. Some students will need more guidance than others to pick people they will be able to work with, as well as read at a similar pace. For students who struggle with reading by themselves, there is the audio book. However, encourage students to read one chapter by themselves, then listening to the others. In the following activities students will be able to work with different partners, reassure students they are not with the same students throughout. This will make some students more at ease with the task.
Pattern Partner Reading Strategies can be used to provide structure and purpose to students responses. Throughout this unit, we will use a variety of the strategies outlined in patterned partner reading. As this is the first time the students will have done this activity, we have helped to provide stop points, to scaffold their learning. Patterned Partner reading (McLaughlin & Allen, 2002)
Predicting is also a part of the Text User role.
Read - Pause - Predict
Partners begin by making predictions based on the cover and title of the book. Next, they take turns reading a section silently or orally. After reviewing each section, they pause to confirm or revise their predictions and make new predictions about the next section. This process continues throughout the reading.
Australian Curriculum Content Descriptions
Literature: Responding to literature
Australian Curriculum General Capabilities
Personal and Social Capability
Self-management (Level 5)
Social management (Level 5)
Learning Intention: To make connections with the novel.
You may choose to have a new partner for this section or you may choose to stay with the same reading partner, this is up to you and your partner. Preferably pick someone who reads at a similar speed to you.
During this reading, you are going to work with your partner to make connections with the text. You might like to use sentence starters like:
You are going to make connections to yourself, the world and the text.
Connecting with Text |
This story reminds me of when |
This story reminds me of another text because |
One of the characters reminds me of because |
Something I know that helps me understand this story is |
Comment: Write about the connections you made. Comment on other students' connections, noting how they are very similar or very different to yours. Explain why you think this is so.
Teaching Tips
Connecting is also a part of the Text Participant Role
Connecting with Text
Students record any personal connections on post-it notes while reading or viewing a text. Their personal connections could be about similar experiences, people they know, similar images, links to other texts they have read/viewed or information they recall. Students complete a Connecting with Text chart to record their notes. The chart can be adapted to suit the text type and student cohort. Once students have completed their chart they share with other students, then compare and discuss their connections.
New Learning Online: Learning by Design - The Knowledge Processes
Read-Pause-Connections
Partners take turns to read a section silently or orally. After reading each page, they pause to make and share text - self, text - text, or text - world connections. When using this pattern, students can use connections stems, such as this reminds me of ...,' 'I remember an experience I had like that,' 'I remember another book I read about this.'
Australian Curriculum
Literature: Responding to Literature
Australian Curriculum General Capabilities
Personal and Social Capability
Self-management (Level 5)
Social management (Level 5)
Learning Intention: To start my project and to use the Rubric to identify what is important to include.
Project Name: Kensuke's Kingdom Book Review
Description: In your Cooperative Reading group (4 students) you are going to discuss the novel Kensuke's Kingdom.
Watch the video.
As you are watching what do you notice? Record dot points on post it notes. In table groups collate your post it notes under the following headings:
You will need to have:
Check the Work Request in your Notifications. The link will take you to Creator where you can start your work. You should look in the About This Work => Project => Description tab for further information about the project.
For what you need to do in order to write a good informative/explanatory text, go to Feedback => Reviews => Rubric. Keep the Rubric open and refer to it as you write.
Comment: Do you have any questions about how Scholar works? Make a comment in this update. If you think you have an answer to another student's question, please answer it - be sure to name the student you are replying to in your comment by starting with @Name.
Assigning the project to the students at this stage is important to set clear expectations, and also so students understand how the activities that follow will support them.
Students may begin writing dot points as they read the text.
As students begin to draft their work, encourage them to use the Structure tool to organize some of the key ideas they have gathered from the reading and inferring activities. The Structure tool supports students to develop an initial structure for their text, including notes based on their background knowledge.
Students should also refer to the rubric as a guide as they write in Creator. If necessary, look through the rubric with students.
For first time users of Scholar, the following Overt Instruction Updates from the Writer's Toolkit may be useful to add to Community:
Australian Curriculum Content Descriptors
Literature: Literature and Context
Literature: Responding to Literature
Literature: Creating Literature
Literacy: Interacting with Others
Literacy: Creating Texts
Australian Curriculum General Capabilities
Personal and Social Capability
Self-management (Level 5)
Social management (Level 5)
Learning Intention: To create an effective Cooperative Reading group.
During part one, we read and discussed with partners. During part two, we are going to work in groups of four, your cooperative reading group.
In your group, come us with a team name. You will use this team name throughout part two of the novel.
As a group, discuss what rules you think you need to make sure your group functions well. Write these down on your sheet. Do these seem to hard to do all at one? Pick 1 - 2 to focus on for todays lesson.
Comment: What is your group name? And what rules are you going to on doing today?
Purpose
Cooperative reading encourages students to make their own learning and reading goals, as well as look at the text in a variety of way to help their understanding and comprehension of the text.
Teaching Tips
The Cooperative Reading lesson sequence is based on a cycle. The students stay in their teams throughout a cycle to finish reading their book. However, because students are learning new roles and routines the first cycle may take five weeks or more.
During a cycle the students:
Students need to work in teams of four or five so they get to know their team members by participating in trust building activities to promote effective collaboration. Each team could choose a name that represents them, design a logo or banner and begin to work out what makes an effective learning team.
Australian Curriculum General Capabilities
Personal and Social Capability
Self-management (Level 5)
Social Awareness
Social management
Learning Intention: To think like a 'Text Analyst', analyse and discuss what part of the text you just read and its purpose in the novel.
Your teacher will model the Text Analyst role.
Individually or in your Cooperative Reading group, read chapter 5.
After you have finished write 3 fat questions. As an extension, you could work with a partner and make an audio recording in which you discuss how you came up with your three questions.You could also comment on what you think of the characters.
When all group members have finished as a group, discuss how the characters are represented. Share your questions. Record your responses on your Cooperative Reading sheet. Ensure your sheets are placed in your portfolio.
Comment: Write a new PEC paragraph journal entry. What is your opinion of Michael and Kensuke? How does Kensuke feel about Michael being on the island?
Purpose
Model the Text Analyst role to students. Potential questions to ask at this point would include:
Teaching tips
Ensure students focus on asking the questions as opposed to just answering generic questions.
Australian Curriculum Content Descriptors
Literature: Responding to literature
Australian Curriculum General Capabilities
Personal and Social Capability
Self-management (Level 5)
Social management (Level 5)
Learning Intention:To think like a 'Text User', analyse and discuss what part of the text you just read and its purpose in the novel.
As a group decide whether you will read aloud or silently. Read chapter six. When you've finished reading complete the Text User role.
Discuss the Text User questions in your group. Complete the Cooperative Reading record sheet.
Comment: Share 1 of your questions. Answer or discuss at least 2 other questions.
Purpose
Model the role of text user for the students by asking the following question:
Teaching Tips
What is the purpose of chapter 6?
Answer: to bring Michael & Kensuke together and force them into spending enough time together to get to know each other.
Understanding the purposes of different written, spoken and visual texts for different cultural and social functions, eg:
Australian Curriculum
Literature: Literature and Context
Literature: Responding to Literature
Literature: Examining Literature
Australian Curriculum General Capabilities
Personal and Social Capability
Self-management (Level 5)
Social management (Level 5)
Learning Intention: Use the information in the novel to sketch Kensuke's cave.
Using chapter 7 as a guide, draw a plan of Kensuke's cave in your book. Think about what you have read and label your picture with quotes from the book - i.e. if you read something that tells you where in the cave something is, draw it there and write the part of the text and page number next to it.
Share your image with your group. Compare the similarities and differences.
Comment: Describe some of the similarities and differences in your drawings. Why do you think your images were similar/different?
Purpose
Sketching allows the teacher to check the students understanding and comprehension of a text, as well as allows the students to understand the physical environment.
Teaching Tips
This activity uses the Read - Pause - Sketch principles, but is asking students to sketch the description of the cave in the chapter.
Read - Pause - Sketch
Partners take turns reading a page silently or orally. After reading each page, they pause and each sketch an idea from that page or text. Then the partners share and discuss their drawings.
Encourage students to scan the chapter after their first reading/sketch.
Reading Strategy
Scanning involves glancing through material to locate specific details such as names, dates, places or some particular content. For example, a reader might scan a contents page or index to find the page number of a specific topic; a reader may scan a dictionary or telephone book in search of a particular word or name or a reader may scan as they re-read text to substantiate a particular response.
Australian Curriculum Content Descriptors
Literature: Responding to Literature
Australian Curriculum General Capabilities
Personal and Social Capability
Self-management (Level 5)
Social management (Level 5)
Learning Intentions: To think like a 'Text Participant', analyse and discuss what part of the text structure you just read and its purpose in the novel.
As a group decide whether you will read aloud or silently. Read chapter eight. When you've finished reading complete the text participant role.
Complete the Cooperative Reading record sheet. Discuss your question in your group.
Comment: Write a new PEC journal entry that answers the following question. How has your opinion of Michael and Kensuke changed? How does Kensuke feel about Michael being on his island now?
Teaching Tips
Model Text Particpant before students being reading.
Remind students that text participant is about comprehending written, spoken and visual texts. It uses background knowledge to make meaning of the test. It understands the literal and inferential meaning of the language used in the text. And it uses pictures and meaning clues to predict the storyline or text features.
Use the laminated role cards as guides to help support all students. It is important that you use this opportunity to model text participant so that the students are comfortable using the role.
Australian Curriculum Content Descriptors
Literature: Literature and Context
Literature: Responding to Literature
Literature: Examining Literature
Australian Curriculum General Capabilities
Personal and Social Capability
Self-management (Level 5)
Social management (Level 5)
Learning Intention: To research the Atomic Bomb
As a group decide whether you will read aloud or silently. Read chapter nine. After reading chapter nine watch the videos and fill in the Zoom in, Zoom Out retrieval chart.
Fill out a T-Chart that looks at Kensuke's reasons for going home. What reasons are there for him going home and what reasons are there against it?
For | Against |
---|---|
Comment: Why is Kensuke unsure about going home? Write a PEC paragraph journal entry. You must add at least one quote from the novel to back up your argument.
Purpose
Teaching tips
You will have to teach students how to add quotes and how to reference the quote.
Resources
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3FB5BBB3C71306BF
Australian Curriculum Content Descriptors
Literature: Literature and Context
Literacy: Interpreting, Analysing, Evaluating
History: World War II (Year 10)
Australian Curriculum General Capabilities
Personal and Social Capability
Self-management (Level 5)
Social management (Level 5)
Learning Intention: To find examples of "Giving" in the novel.
With a partner, identify how "giving" was shown in the novel.
In pairs come up with a definition for "giving". Share this definition with your table group. Using these table group definitions, create a whole class definition.
Using this definition, go back through the novel and find instances of "giving".
Comment: First of all, add one example of giving in the novel; use a quote as evidence. Try not to repeat what other students write so we have lots of examples. Based on the novel, then write your definition of "giving". Read other students' definitions, and keep refining your own definition, until we have an agreed class definition of "giving".
Purpose
This activity relates to the Lanyon Cluster's focus on Giving. Throughout the novel there are many instances of giving. This activity also requires students to skim the text and use quotes as evidence.
Australian Curriculum General Capabilities
Personal and Social Capability
Self-management (Level 5)
Social management (Level 5)
Learning Intention: To review other students’ works and then revise my own.
Check your Notifications for Review Requests: You have received a review request. Please find the draft in your contributor works list. Then from the Feedback toolgroup's Reviews tab to your right, you can provide feedback to the author. Submit your feedback once it is finished. If you don't find the work in your works list, refresh the page to reload its contents.
The next stage of the writing process is to revise your own work.
Check your Notifications for a Revision Request: You have received a revision request for this draft. While you revise your work, take account of any feedback that may have been provided in the Feedback toolgroup's Reviews, Results and Annotations tabs.
Once you have gone through all the feedback and revised your work, write a self-review.
Comment: Do you have any more questions about Scholar at this stage? Make a comment in this update. If you think you have an answer to another student's question, please answer it - be sure to name the student you are replying to in your comment by starting with @Name.
This update covers two stages of the writing process in Scholar: Review and Revision.
The following Overt Instruction Updates from the Writer's Toolkit may be useful to add to Community. They may be used with first time users or it may be appropriate to introduce them in a second writing project so students learn about the features of Scholar over time.
Australian Curriculum Content Descriptors
Literature: Literature and Context
Literature: Responding to Literature
Literature: Creating Literature
Literacy: Interacting with Others
Literacy: Creating Texts
Australian Curriculum General Capabilities
Personal and Social Capability
Self-management (Level 5)
Social management (Level 5)
Learning Intention: To present your book club to the class and to participate as an audience member giving each group feedback.
Use the feedback sheet as a guide.
Students present their book club discussion.
Australian Curriculum Content Descriptors
Literature: Literature and Context
Literature: Responding to Literature
Literature: Creating Literature
Literacy: Interacting with Others
Literacy: Creating Texts
Australian Curriculum General Capabilities
Personal and Social Capability
Self-management (Level 5)
Social management (Level 5)
Title: (Source); Fig. 1: (Source); Fig. 2: Group (Source); Fig. 3: Gold Key (Source); Fig. 4: Tiger Butterfly (Source); Fig. 5: Codebreaker (Source); Fig. 6: (Source); Fig. 7: (Source); Fig. 8: First Tuesday Book Club (Source); Fig. 9: (Source); Fig. 10: Scales (Source); Fig. 11: Jigsaw (Source); Fig. 12: (Source); Fig. 13: Gold Key (Source); Fig. 14: (Source); Fig. 15: (Source).
Other Resources
First Steps: Reading Resource Book. Department of WA 2013
Patterned Partner reading (McLaughlin & Allen, 2002)
MyRead - Strategies for teaching reading in the middle years
New Learning Online: Learning by Design - The Knowledge Processes