Lancashire Literacy Strategy

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Handbook foreading Journal

Handbook

Week 1 Lesson 1

Kensuke’s KingdomBy Michael Morpurgo

� Start your journal by making two or three comments about anyaspect of Kensuke’s Kingdom.

Some ideas you may wish to consider:Who was your favourite character and why?Which was your favourite part?What did you think of the ending?How do you think you would feel about being shipwrecked?Did you enjoy the book? What did you enjoy about it?Any other comments?

� Think of two questions you would like to ask Michael Morpurgoabout Kensuke’s Kingdom.

Ideas :

Characters

Ending

Setting

Plot

Beginning

Authors’ Inspiration

Handbook

Week 1 Lesson 2 Extracts from ‘The Butterfly Lion’ and ‘The Dancing Bear’

The Butterfly Lion – opening paragraphsChilblains and Semolina Pudding

Butterflies live only short lives. They flower and flutter for just a fewglorious weeks, and then they die. To see them, you have to be in theright place at the right time. And that’s how it was when I saw thebutterfly lion – I happened to be in just the right place, at just the rightplace. I didn’t dream him. I didn’t dream any of it. I saw him, blue andshimmering in the sun, one afternoon in June when I was young. A longtime ago. But I don’t forget. I mustn’t forget. I promised them I wouldn’t.

I was ten, and away at boarding school in deepest Wiltshire. I was faraway from home and I didn’t want to be. It was a diet of Latin and stewand rugby and detentions and cross-country runs and chilblains andmarks and squeaky beds and semolina pudding. And then there wasBasher Beaumont who terrorised and tormented me, so that I lived everywaking moment of my life in dread of him. I had often thought of runningaway, but only once ever plucked up the courage to do it.

The Dancing Bear– opening paragraphsI was born in this mountain village longer ago than I like toremember. I was to have been a shepherd like my grandfather andhis grandfather before him, but when I was three, an accident left mewith a limp. Shepherding wasn’t ever going to be possible, so Ibecame a teacher instead.

For nearly forty years now, I have been the schoolmaster here. I livealone in a house by the school, content with my own company andmusic. To play my hunting horn high in the mountains, and to hearits echoes soaring with the eagles, is as close as I come to completehappiness.

Yet I suppose you could say that I became a sort of shepherd afterall: I shepherd children instead of sheep, that’s all. I teach them,and I’m kind of an Uncle to them even after they’ve left school. Theythink I’m a bit eccentric – I play my horn and I talk to myself morethan I should. Like all children, they can be a bit cruel from time totime. They call me ‘Three Legs’ or ‘Long John Silver’ when theythink I’m not listening, but you have to put up with that.

The Dancing Bear– page 10Roxanne was about seven years old at the time. An orphan child,she lived with her grandfather, who was a dour and unloving man.She was a solitary girl, but never lonely, I think. At school, sheappeared to be a dreamer, a thinker. After school, with hergrandfather busy in his fields, she would often wander off by herself,watching rabbits, maybe, or following butterflies. She was forevergoing missing. Then her grandfather would come shouting aroundthe village for her. When he found her, he would shake her or evenhit her. I protested more than once, but was told to mind my ownbusiness. A friendless, bitter old man, Roxanne’s grandfather wasinterested in nothing unless there was some money in it. Roxannewas a nuisance to him. She knew it – and everyone knew it. But hewas the only mother and father she had.

Handbook

Week 1 Lesson 3

� Compare and contrast the introduction of the characters of Kensuke andRoxanne. You might want to consider Physical description

Other ideas could include thinking about

What did Kensuke look like?What did Roxanne look like?How was Kensuke feeling?How was Roxanne feeling?What did Kensuke say?What did Roxanne say?What do you think of Kensuke and Roxanne?

Remember: When producing your writing try and include some complexsentences and try and use technical terms when discussing some of thelanguage features Michael Morpurgo has used. (This is called metalanguage!)

Comparing and contrasting the introduction of the characters ofKensuke and Roxanne.

Kensuke RoxanneHowcharacter firstseen byreader

Through first person narrator’s eyes.His first impression – initiallymistaken for an orang-utan.

Through first person narrator’s eyes.Gives a few facts about her life.Summarises his knowledge of her upto the point where the story starts.

Physicalappearance

Very small, very old and thin. Coppercolour skin. Nearly bald, wispybeard. Hooded eyes. Moves fast.Wears only trousers and a knife.

About 7 years old. No details ofphysical appearance.

Character’sfeelings

Furious and upset. No evidence of Roxanne’s feelingsabout her grandfather for the way hetreats her.

Whatcharactersays

Yells one word over and over that isclearly important to him.

Does not speak.

Presentationof character

Through author’s eyes. See howKensuke looks, behaves, speaks andfeels, as if he is in front of us.

Described as solitary, but not lonely.Our knowledge of her is hazy andvague, as if we see her from adistance. Possibly wilful, unhappy,sullen.

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Week 1 Lesson 4

You can either :

� Write a letter from Katie or Andy;

� Write a response from an Agony Aunt or Uncle;

� Write part of a play script in which Katie tells her dad whathappened.

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Week 1 Lesson 5

A. Write a balanced summary of the family incident on p38-40Think about how the incident escalated. Consider howeach of the characters contributed by what they did andsaid

What did Andy do?What did Zen do?What did Crystal do? andWhat did Carrie do?

You may want to use the writing frame to help you structure your work

REMEMBER: Be fair NOT biased!!

B. Offer advice on how to improve behaviour to lessonstress/conflict

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Week 2 Lesson 1

� You are going to continue the investigationwhich has been started in the shared work.

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Week 2 Lesson 2

� Write a poem/rap or song with lyrics that portray theemotions of a character from either Kensuke’s Kingdom orThe Suitcase Kid.

E.g.

ShapeKenning

Free Verse

Concrete

Cinquain

Think of all the different poetic forms youhave learnt about over the year. You maywant to use one of these.

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Week 2 Lesson 3

� Create a ‘Story Map’ for The Suitcase Kid showing theevents which mark the changes in Andrea’s relationshipwith the others.

HINT:You might want to include quotations from the text to helpillustrate your map.

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Week 2 Lesson 4

Wider World Issues

Choose an issue of conflict or conflict resolution that concerns you.Respond to this with a journal entry—you could use a diagram,letter, poem, empathetic response or diary entry etc

The choice is YOURS!

Homework:

Revisit your first journal response. Add to or refine your commentsbearing in mind the last two weeks’ work.

Handbook

Week 2 Lesson 5

� You are going to create a joint journal. Think about your previousjournal entries and choose some for the anthology.

Select some pieces to revise or edit.

Finally, compile some questions and comments for both authors.

You might want to set them out in a diagram.

Eg.

Favourite Part…

I wonder… Kensuke’s Kingdom I think…

Why… Michael Morpurgo Did…

How…

Illustrations from Kensuke’s Kingdom used with the kind permission of Heinemann Young Books Ltd.