The Midnight Fox by Betsy Byars

Transcription

1 The Midnight Fox by Betsy Byars This unit lasts three weeks This classic children s novel, written in 1970 by the American writer Betsy Byars, reads aloud very well. It tells the compelling story of Tom, a boy who is sent, very reluctantly, to stay with his aunt and uncle on their farm. Readers experience his sense of wonder at the beauty of nature as he observes the beautiful sight of a black fox and her cub. The harsh reality of life in the country is revealed as Tom s concern for the fox and her cub come into conflict with his aunt and uncle s attempts to protect their farm stock. Children can relate to Tom s initial reluctance to being sent to stay with his aunt and uncle. His discovery, admiration and concern for the fox and changing attitude to life in the country provide lots of opportunities for discussion. Drama, debate and writing in role enable the reader to experience the story from Tom s viewpoint. Appreciation of the language is developed through text marking and word collections. The main writing outcomes are writing in role in the form of notes and a fox-spotter notebook and also poetry and newspaper reports. Teachers should read the book and the teaching sequence before starting work on the unit with the class. Reading aloud of the text or rereading of sections can sometimes take place during the teaching sessions but should also take place during separate read-aloud times in order to reach particular parts of the narrative in preparation for sessions. Where this is important, it has been signalled in the unit. Sessions are for guidance only. The length of time each aspect of the sequence takes will depend on the way they are developed by the teacher, the amount of time allowed for different activities such as discussion and also the prior experience of the class, for example with drama techniques. Phase 1 Phase 1 of the unit (Sessions 1 4) focuses on detailed discussions about the main character of the novel, Tom, and his feelings about being sent to stay with his aunt and uncle on their farm. Through role-play, discussion, drawing and note making, the children begin to put themselves in Tom s shoes. Letter writing in role completes this phase of the unit. Phase 2 Phase 2 of the unit (Sessions 5 10) focuses on Tom s experiences of discovering and observing the black fox and her cub. Through visualisation, mapping of the different settings, drawing and writing in role, the children are able to gain an understanding of Tom s experiences. Text marking and word collections are used to draw attention to the ways that language is used to describe the fox. Shared and individual poetry writing describing the fox completes this phase of the unit. Phase 3 Phase 3 of the unit (Sessions 11 15) focuses on key moments in the plot as Tom realises that the fox is in danger and wonders what to do. The children are encouraged to explore Tom s dilemma through discussion and debate, role-play and writing in role. The unit ends with the collaborative writing of a newspaper report describing Tom s dramatic rescue of the fox cub. Crown copyright 2007 Primary National Strategy

2 Guided reading Although the unit is designed for use with the whole class, teachers could also select aspects of it to use with guided reading groups. Alternatively, individual sessions could be followed up during guided reading sessions, with a closer look at individual sections of the text looking, for example, at the language or what has been revealed about plot or character. All children will benefit from regular opportunities for small-group reading, discussion and writing with a teacher or teaching assistant. Related core learning objectives The overarching core learning outcomes for the key stage are indicated in italics. Relevant objectives from Years 5 and 6 are indicated under the strands. Speaking Explore, develop and sustain ideas through talk Y5 Present a spoken argument sequencing points logically and defending views with evidence, making use of persuasive language Y6 Use a range of oral techniques to present persuasive arguments Y6 Participate in whole-class debate using the conventions and language of debate including Standard English Drama Use dramatic techniques including working in role to explore ideas and texts Create, share and evaluate ideas and understanding through drama Y5 Reflect on how working in role helps to explore complex issues Y6 Improvise using a range of drama strategies and conventions to explore themes such as hopes, fears and desires Understanding and interpreting texts Retrieve, select and describe information, events and ideas Deduce, infer and interpret information, events and ideas Y5 Make notes on and use ideas from across a text to explain events or ideas Y5 Explore how writers use language for comic and dramatic effects Y6 Understand underlying themes, causes and points of view Engaging with and responding to texts Respond imaginatively, using different strategies to engage with texts Evaluate writers purposes and viewpoints and the overall effect of the text on the reader Y5 Compare the usefulness of techniques such as visualisation, prediction and empathy in exploring the meaning of texts Y6 Sustain engagement with longer texts using different techniques to make the text come alive Creating and shaping texts Use and adapt a range of forms suited to different purposes and readers Y6 Select words and language, drawing on their knowledge of literary features and formal and informal writing Primary National Strategy Crown copyright 2007

3 Teaching approaches Reading Aloud Book talk/discussion Drama: freeze-framing, thought tracking For information on drama approaches see resources Visualising Text marking and word collection Writing in role Collaborative and individual writing Debate Story mapping For a description of teaching approaches see resources. Resources A copy of the book Individual class-made books for the spotter book Flip chart or Interactive whiteboard (IWB) Cross-curricular links and themes Discussions during the unit will help children develop their sense of justice and moral responsibility and begin to understand how an individual s choices and behaviour can affect particular environmental issues. This will help them to reflect on their own actions and choices. There are opportunities to make links with science work on living things and also links with ICT, with opportunities particularly for research and presentation or publishing. Children could collect information about foxes using information books or electronic sources such as CD encyclopaedias and the Internet. The information could be presented as a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation or as a web page. Crown copyright 2007 Primary National Strategy

4 The teaching sequence Phase 1 Session 1 To be able to gather information about the main characters and plot To be able to discuss what is known initially about a character s situation Reading aloud Discussion Read the first two chapters of the story aloud, Chapter 1, Bad News and Chapter 2, The Trouble with Leaving, either before this session or at the beginning of it. Then have a whole-class discussion about what the children know so far about the characters and the story. Make notes on a flip chart as the children offer information. Questions should be open-ended and might include: What do we know already about Tom and his family? This sheet could be kept and added to later in the unit. Ask the children to work with a partner and think about the reasons why Tom s parents want him to go to the farm, and Tom s reasons for not wanting to go, i.e. the things he will miss. Make two lists of these opposing views. See resources for a framework for making notes. Share these notes as a class and then ask the children for their own opinions about whether or not he should go. Encourage them to think about what they might miss if they were sent away like Tom or what they might enjoy about going to stay on a farm. Session 2 To use drama strategies to think about a character s feelings Role-play Freeze-frame Thought tracking Read Chapter 3 Abandoned, then go back and discuss the scenes near the beginning where Tom imagines different scenarios on arrival at the farm. Discuss how they think Tom is feeling and how he imagines his aunt and uncle might be feeling about him coming to stay. Organise the class into small groups and ask them to role-play one of the two imaginary scenarios. Then ask children to create freeze-frames in role to show his actual arrival. Ask two or three groups to voice the thoughts that their characters might have at this stage in the story. Discuss the arrival with the class, asking questions such as: What do you think Aunt Millie and Uncle Fred actually thought about Tom when they saw him? Primary National Strategy Crown copyright 2007

5 Session 3 To deduce information about a character from the clues in the text To be able to show what they have found out about characters through notes and drawing Reading aloud Rereading Drawing and annotation Discussion Read Chapter 4 Stranger, then, rereading parts of this chapter to the whole class, have a discussion about Bubba. What did he have in his room? What do they think he liked to do? What sort of a boy do they think he was? Drawing and annotation, discussion Ask children to draw an annotated picture of Bubba s room with a partner. When they have done this, ask them to talk with their partner about Tom and his interests. What might his room have in it? What differences might there be between the two boys? Look back at the notes made on day one to remind the children what they already know about Tom. Discuss with them how they think Tom might feel about staying in Bubba s room. Session 4 To develop ideas about a character s feelings through talk To express a character s feelings by writing in role Shared writing Writing in role Read the opening to Chapter 5 The Black Fox, where Tom is about to write a letter to his friend Petie. Read up to I wrote a long letter to Petie, on the second page of the chapter. Ask the children to work with a partner and talk about Tom, what he has been doing on the farm and how he feels about being there. What might he tell Petie about being on the farm in a letter? Introduce this as a shared writing activity. Then ask the children to write their own letter to Petie, in role as Tom. Before the next session, read the rest of Chapter 5. Crown copyright 2007 Primary National Strategy

6 Phase 2 Session 5 To be able to develop an understanding of important events in a story through visualisation To be able to record key events in a story through drawing and writing Rereading Visualisation Ask children to close their eyes as you reread the section in Chapter 5 where Tom first sees the black fox, beginning I did not believe it for a minute. Ask questions such as: What could they see? How does it make them feel? Talk with the children about how they think Tom felt when he saw the fox and then ask them to think about why he didn t want to tell Petie about it in the letter. Give each child a small book to be Tom s fox spotter notebook, which they will use to make notes when they hear about any more sightings of the fox in the story. My fox spotter notebook Name: Fold and staple 5 sheets Ask the class to imagine they are Tom recording his first sighting of the fox in their notebooks. Ask them to write the headline FOX and under this to draw a picture of the fox (as if it was a newspaper photograph), adding a caption underneath to show how amazing this sight was. Before the next session, read Chapters 6 Hazeline and Chapter 7 Discovery at the Field. Session 6 Focus objective To be able to retrieve and discuss information from a story : Rereading Note making Reread the section of Chapter 6 Hazeline, which starts: Hazeline do you see many foxes in the woods? Primary National Strategy Crown copyright 2007

7 Ask the children to turn to a partner and talk about what Tom finds out about foxes from Hazeline and Mikey. Then share their ideas as a class, recording the information on a flip chart. Give the children a copy of the section of Chapter 7 Discovery at the field, which describes the fox sighting. It begins Now suddenly I was looking in the right direction or I might have missed it. Ask children to reread this with a partner and then to draw a sketch and make notes in their foxspotter notebooks to record this second sighting. They could also add the list of things Tom has found out about foxes from Hazeline and Mikey and from his observations. Read Chapter 8 The Forest Chase before the next session. Session 7 To be able to gather together what they know so far about the setting and present it as a map of the story world Story mapping Begin this session by asking children to think about what they know about the farm and the area around it. Ask them to close their eyes and in their minds walk around the farm and the places that Tom has explored. Then ask them to turn to a partner and talk about what they can see. Share these ideas as a class and make a list of the places in the story on a flip chart. Demonstrate using a flip chart or interactive whiteboard (IWB) how this information could be turned into a map of the story world. Then ask children to work with a partner and draw their own maps. As well as the farm they might include, for example, the creek, pond, forest and pasture. This will help them to visualise the setting and the location of key events. They could also add labels to show the location of some of the events in the story so far, e.g. This is where Tom is frightened by the cows, first sighting of fox. Before the next session, read Chapter 9 Uncle Fred and Chapter 10 The Search and allow time for the children to enter new sightings of the fox in their fox-spotter notebooks. Session 8 To understand the ways that figurative language can help to create an image Text marking Word collections Display the section of the text in Chapter 10 The Search, which describes Tom s sighting of the fox. Ask the children to help you to identify the words and phrases that describe the fox, how she looks and how she moves. Highlight these words and phrases with the children using an enlarged version of the text or on an IWB. Alternatively, children could have their own copies of this section. Use this as an opportunity to introduce the idea of a simile as children find phrases such as Her fur was black as coal. Talk about the ways that this helps to create a picture of a fox in the reader s head. Then give the children a copy of the extract together with a further extract describing the fox, such as the one in Chapter 7 beginning Now suddenly I was looking in the right direction. Ask them to work with a partner to highlight the words and phrases that tell how the fox looks or how she moves. At the end of the session, list the words and phrases that the children have found on a flip chart and Crown copyright 2007 Primary National Strategy

8 read these together. Discuss with the children the ways the fox is described and what these tell you about how Tom feels about the fox. Sessions 9 and 10 To be able to select words and phrases to write a descriptive poem Shared and individual poetry writing Look together at the words and phrases the children have collected that describe the fox. Ask them to work with a partner and see if they can think of any more words or phrases to describe the midnight fox the way she looks or moves and add these to the collection. As a shared writing activity, demonstrate how this collection of words and phrases could be used to create a simple poem about the fox. For example: Midnight fox Black as coal Crouching Quicker than a cat Leaping Then ask the children to work individually to create their own fox poems using the bank of words and phrases to help them. When finished, the poems could be worked on with a response partner to improve them. The redrafted poems could then be collated into a class book and illustrations added. Read Chapter 11 Tragedy Begins and Chapter 12 One Fear before the next session and allow time for the children to respond to these. Phase 3 Session 11 To be able to present a viewpoint, providing evidence and using persuasive language To learn how to take part in a debate Discussion and debate Organise the children into small mixed-ability groups and ask them to think about and discuss reasons for killing the fox and reasons for not killing her. Give them a large sheet of paper divided in half to list, in their groups, their reasons for and against. Bring the class back together to talk about the two sides of the argument. Then discuss with the class how they could use words and phrases to be persuasive on both sides. It is important that the children give reasons for their opinions, e.g. It would be cruel to kill the fox because. Foxes are a threat to farmers because. Primary National Strategy Crown copyright 2007

9 End the session with a whole-class debate. To do this you could, for example, ask half the class to represent Aunt Millie and Uncle Fred s viewpoint that the fox should be killed and half the class to represent Tom s viewpoint that she should be saved. Individuals could take turns to make their points, with a class vote to end the session. Before the next session read Chapter 13 Tacooma! Session 13 To use role-play to explore characters differing viewpoints To be able to express a viewpoint orally and in writing Role-play Writing in role Discuss with the class how Tom feels about the fox being hunted and his imaginary conversations with his aunt and uncle, where he tries to persuade them not to kill the fox. Ask the children to work with a partner and role-play imaginary scenes where Tom tries to persuade Uncle Fred or Aunt Millie not to kill the fox. Ask them to write a note in role, as Tom, to his aunt and uncle or to his cousin, asking her to help him persuade her parents not to kill the fox. This could be done on paper or alternatively in the children s fox-spotter notebooks. See resources for notepaper. Read Chapter 14 Unwilling Hunter, Chapter 15 The Den and Chapter 16 Captured before the next session and allow time for the children to respond to these. Session 14 To be able to discuss key moments in a story To use drama strategies to explore a key scene in a text Freeze-frame Thought tracking Writing in role Start the session by reading Chapter 17 The Stormy Rescue. Discuss Tom s actions in releasing the fox cub. Do they think he was right to do this? What would they do in this situation? Then discuss the moment when Tom tells his aunt and uncle that he has released the cub. Ask the children to form pairs and freeze-frame the moment in the story where Uncle Fred and Tom are looking at each other, beginning with Uncle Fred and I were left in the hall alone, with one child playing the part of Tom and the other the part of Uncle Fred. Then ask the pairs to voice their thoughts in role to show how each character is feeling. Talk with the class about what they have found out about Uncle Fred from this scene and how Tom s views of him change. End the session with the children writing in their fox-spotter notebooks, in role as Tom, about what has happened. Crown copyright 2007 Primary National Strategy

10 Session 15 To be able to use their knowledge of a story and characters to write a newspaper report of a key event Role-play Collaborative writing Ask children to work with a partner, with one in role as Tom and one as a TV reporter interviewing Tom about the fox cub rescue. If there is time, you could record the interviews using a video camera, webcam or tape recorder. Then ask children to draw on their interviews and work with their partners to create a newspaper report of the rescue, choosing headlines such as: Boy in daring fox cub rescue! It might be helpful to introduce this as a shared writing activity. These could be drafted in their fox-spotter books, word processed to create a professional finish and then displayed. Extension activities The children could research foxes at school or at home (see cross-curricular links). You could make a class collection of poems about foxes to compare the ways that foxes are described. You could compare the way the issue of farmers and foxes is treated by Roald Dahl in Fantastic Mr Fox. Reading journal activities could include: writing headlines about important events in their lives, e.g. boy loses tooth, girl wins competition creating questionnaires like those in the text designing super snacks like The Petie Burkis special. 10 Primary National Strategy Crown copyright 2007

11 Suggestions for assessing reading during the unit Opportunities for assessment in this unit The midnight fox is particularly strong in the area of plot, issues, character development and descriptive language. It therefore supports children who are moving from Level 3 to Level 4 in empathising with characters and inferring feelings, thoughts and motivation over the course of the narrative. Children are able to explore the central issues and begin to develop their own opinions. The descriptive passages provide opportunities to think about the effects of language choices. In the unit of work, children are asked on frequent occasions to search the text to locate evidence, to read the text closely for implicit meanings and to support their opinions by referring to the text. Some of these discussions take place in whole-class discussions; other discussions take place in pairs and groups. Teachers or teaching assistants (TAs) can listen in and make discreet notes on the discussions. Children are also frequently asked to make notes in their fox-spotter notebooks these offer further opportunities for assessment. Ongoing assessment opportunities Class and group discussions During the frequent opportunities for class discussions within the unit, the teacher could make brief notes after the session or a TA, if present, could make notes during a session. Teachers or TAs could set up guided reading or writing activities, using some of the activities in the unit, to make more closely focused assessments with particular children who are working towards Level 4. Notes can also be made, for example, using the following framework, during group discussions and partner work. See resources for a framework which supports the monitoring of children who are moving Level 3 to Level 4. Written work Children s understanding can also be noted from their written work, for example: Tom s note to his aunt or uncle (Session 13) will show children s understanding of his feelings at that point in the narrative and understanding of the main themes of the book the drawing and annotating (Session 3) will demonstrate children s understanding and ability to refer to the text the final newspaper report will show children s ability to summarise key moments on the plot and themes of the novel. Crown copyright 2007 Primary National Strategy 11

12 Assessment opportunities With a particular focus on children moving from Level 3 to Level 4 To be able to search text closely and to refer to the text when explaining ideas To begin to make inferences (reading between the lines) and deductions (pulling evidence together) including empathising with characters and their feelings, thoughts, motivations and changes over the course of the narrative Phase 1 Session 3 Children are asked to refer closely to the text as they draw an annotated picture of Bubba s room. Phase 1 Session 4 The letter to Petie will show children s ability to infer Tom s feelings. To discuss the author s use of language, e.g. to Phase 2 describe characters and settings. Session 9 Children are asked to identify words and phrases the author has used to describe the fox and what this shows about Tom s feelings about the fox. A teacher or TA could work with small groups to assess their understanding at this point of the story. To talk about the author s purposes and Phase 3 viewpoints and the overall effect of the text on Session 14 the reader, e.g. overarching themes, events, characters and plot structures Children are asked to think about Tom s actions; their comments during the thought-tracking activity could be recorded and their understanding will also be evident in their fox-spotter books as they write in role. Sources: NC level descriptions QCA s SATs analysis at the end of Key Stage 2, published in Implications for teaching and learning (QCA 2004, 2005, 2006), show key pointers in helping children to move from Level 3 to Level 4 in reading. National Curriculum Level descriptions Level 3 Pupils read a range of texts fluently and accurately. They read independently, using strategies appropriately to establish meaning. In responding to fiction and non-fiction, they show understanding of the main points and express preferences. They use their knowledge of the alphabet to locate books and find information. Level 4 In responding to a range of texts, pupils show understanding of significant ideas, themes, events and characters, beginning to use inference and deduction. They refer to the text when explaining their views. They locate and use ideas and information. 12 Primary National Strategy Crown copyright 2007