Kindergarten students explore language, visuals and gesture as they develop an understanding of people and difference.
Reading, Language, Gesture, Visuals, Adjectives, Sentences, Difference, Guided Reading; Inferring; Word Study.
Learning Intention: To make a personal connection with the text and predict the story.
1. Think about pirates you know from books and movies. Share what you know with a partner. Then draw a priate.
2. The book we are going to read is called "Tough Boris". Draw a picture of what you think Boris will look like.
Compare your two drawings. How are they the same? How are they different?
| Pirate | Tough Boris |
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|
Compare yours with a partner.
3. Look at the front cover.
Think - Pair - Share: What do you think will happen in the story?
1. Reference: Connecting self to text; First Steps Writing Map (pg 65) ‘Like or unlike’
Students draw their perception of what a pirate looks like, drawing on their personal experiences from movies and books.
2. Give students the title of the book. Students then draw what ‘Tough Boris;’ will look like; inferring from the meaning of the word ‘tough’.
3. Be explicit about saying you are using personal connections and own knowledge to make a prediction – This is what good readers do!.
More information about Think-Pair-Shares and making thinking visible.
Note: Change activity if there are any refugee children in the class who may have had a traumatic experience of pirates.
Learning Intention: To read and respond to Tough Boris by Mem Fox.
What was your favourite part?
What do you think of tough Boris?
Was he really tough?
After the initial reading, students can respond. Follow this up with shared readings and even choral readings so studnets become very familiar with the text.
Learning Intention: To recall words that describe Boris the pirate from the text and the visuals.
Look at the words and the images. Why did the author choose to call the main character "Tough" Boris?
Record descriptive words around the ithe picture of Boris.
What other words would you use to describe Tough Boris? Use gestures and facial expressions to show what these words mean.
Word study. Create a class list of words that mean the same as the describing words recorded around the pirate.
Note how the visuals complement rather than mirror the text of the story. The main narrative is told through the visuals.
Writing Map First steps pg 62 ‘representing characters in literary texts’
Copy the first illustration of tough Boris onto A3 paper. Why did the author choose to call the main character "Tough" Boris? Focus on gestures as well as language.
Record descriptive words around the illustration from the text eg scruffy, fearless, massive, greedy, scary. What other words would you use to describe Tough Boris? (tall, strong, ugly, fierce). Use gestures and facial expressions to show what these words mean.
Word study. Create a class list of words that mean the same as the describing words recorded around the pirate e.g. fearless; brave, strong. Scruffy; messy, dirty, untidy. Massive; big, huge, large, enormous etc.
Learning Intention: To infer through visual images
Think - Pair - Share:
Was Boris really tough?
Can we really tell how someone is just by the way they look?
Even though Boris looked tough did he have a caring side? Why/why not?
Why did tough Boris feel so strongly about his parrot?
Inferring using visual images
Look at the image from text which shows Boris as massive. Create a word cline for the word massive. You can use some of the words from Update 3. Order words from the strongest of weakest impact.
Inferring is thinking about the deeper meaning of the text and what is not directly stated by the author or illustrator. When you infer, you form opinions, make assumptions and judgements about what has happened in the text and how the characters are thinking and feeling.
As a class, look at image of Boris where it says "He was tough. All pirates are tough."
What can we infer from this image?
What does it tell us about Tough Boris and the other pirates?
How do you know?
How do the visuals complement the words/ language of the text?
Inferring using visual images:
Be explicit about saying that you use your own knowledge and understanding to interpret or infer meaning from the text.
How do the visuals complement the words/ language of the text?
E.g. Tough - arms folded, large person, positioned close to the reader; he has his back to the reader.
Copy image from text which shows Boris as massive for the word cline activity.
Learning Intention: To develop your reading skills.
Complete the Guided Reading activities you are allocated.
(image of guided reading group)
Guided Reading activities
Word/Sound study.
*Depends on needs of students. Select to meet the needs of your srtudents.
LI: To Locate words in the text that have the letter ‘y ‘and identify the different sound ‘y’ can make in a word.
Make a class chart of the words and identify the sound that the ‘y’ is making. (Scruffy, greedy, scary, cry).
*Locate words that have a ‘y’ in them in reading texts. Record word on post it note and identify its sound in the word.
Word/picture sort where ‘y’ can make an ‘i’ sound and an ‘e’ sound
*Focus on the high frequency word ‘all’ and complete an onset and rime activity. What do I add to ‘all’ to make ‘ball’? (ball, call, hall, wall, fall, tall, small) model with magnetic letters.
* On-set and rhyme Look at words that rhyme with cry and identify the onset and rime. Make a class chart by changing the onset of words. Eg fly, cry, shy, fry, sty. Model with magnetic letters. Draw a picture to show meaning.
* Students make an ‘all’ flip book.
*Text transformation.
He was scary. All Pirates are scary.
Draw a visual image to match.
Text transformation using adjectives to add detail and illustrate.
Learning Intention: To identify and use adjectives.
Choose a sentence from the text.
He was massive.
All pirates are massive.
Now let's add more to the sentence to make it more descriptive.
Model:
E.g. He was massive (from the text). The _________ pirate was massive.
He was scruffy. The ________ pirate was scruffy.
Now create your own sentence and illustrate it.
Use ‘adjectives’ to expand sentences from the text and make them more descriptive.
Guided/shared: Prepare sentences from the text where students insert an adjective to make the sentence more descriptive and illustrate.
Students can refer to words brainstormed in Update 3.
Learning Intention: To understand how the pictures add meaning to the words.
Asa class, let's complete a chart about the picturs in the book. Here are some things to look for:
This Update focuses on the visual and gestural modes.
| Mode | Example | Effect |
| Close up shot | Size comparison of Boris to the Pirates. | Leader of the Pirates, the boss. |
| Colour;
Red, pastels |
Red coat for Boris Pastels for other pirates |
Most important, royalty like – king Not as important – the group/workers |
| Gestures | ||
Complete the chart as a whole class activity, adding other examples that the students come up with.
Learning Intention: To understand the author's purpose in "Tough Boris".
Read out a simple sentence for the students to draw in box 1 eg A house. Repeat this again with a new sentence to draw in box 2 eg A yellow, brick house with a purple door.
Examine the pictures and discuss the purpose of adjectives and how they change the sentence and give you a better picture of the story.
As a class, let's discuss why Mem Fox chose the adjectives she did to desctribe Boris. Was he really tough? What did we learn about him?
What about people we know who are tough on the outside? Do you think there might be other sides to that person?
What about us? Is there only one word to describe us. Let's make a class list of all the different words to describe ourselves. Are we always the same all the time?
Let's show some of these feelings through gestures and facial expressions.
When the teacher says "freeze", look around the room and see all the different expressions and gestures.
Reflect: Is difference good or ba
This Update fcuses on diversity - diversity of emotions, personality traits, and the diversity of people.
After the whole class activity on author's purpose, students can use gesture to show the variety of emotions, and personality traits.
Then bring students back to reflect on difference and acceptance of difference.
Learning Intention: To create a text based on an original text
Let's make a class book. Each student should complete a page for the book.
Let's first decide on a main character. For example, it could be Fido the dog. Let's brainstorm words that could be used to describe our main character.
Now it's your turn to write and illustrate your page in the class book.
Text innovation. Make a class book. Students complete a page for the book. As a class decide on a main character and brainstorm describing words that could be used in the class innovation. Students illustrate their page for the class book.
E.G.
Fido was playful.
All dogs are playful.
Fido was furry.
All dogs are furry.
Learning Intention: To apply my understanding of visual grammar my own artwork.
Now it's time to show what you have learnt in this unit.
Think of a person, animal or thing that you would like to draw.
List some words to describe it/him/her.
Now draw it. Think about:
You can colour or paint it. Explain why you have made these choices.
In visual art students apply their knolwedge of visual grammar in an artwork and justify their choices.
Scaffold thinking for studnets who need support and where appropriate, scribe their word choices and their rationale for their choices.