Hello everybody, it's great to be here with you today.

My name is Ms. Afsal and I'm really pleased to be here because we are going to be exploring one of my favourite novels and this is "Front Desk" by Kelly Yang.

You will need a copy of this wonderful novel.

It should look like this one here.

So I'm gonna give you a minute or so to go and find your copy, and then let's gather back together again.

Okay, you have it.

You have this amazing text in your hand.

You have got your listening ears, you've got your thinking brain, full of ideas, full of responses.

So let's get into it.

Let's explore this fantastic text.

The outcome for today's lesson is I can develop my own response to "Front Desk".

We have got some keywords in our lesson.

Let's go through them.

My turn, your turn.

Character trait, impression, connection, and recommendation.

Let's make sure we listen out for those words, and we think carefully about them, and we're curious about them.

Here they are.

Let's find out some more about these words.

Character traits are the special qualities that make a character in a story unique and interesting.

An impression refers to initial feelings about a person, place, or thing gained from reading a text.

How a text relates to a reader, another text or the wider world can be called a connection.

A recommendation is a suggestion for a text that is well suited to a reader's age and their interests.

Today's lesson has got two parts to it.

First of all, we'll be exploring characters and relationships.

Next, we'll look at connections and recommendations.

First of all, characters and relationships.

"Front Desk" is written by Kelly Yang with cover illustrations by Maike Plenzke.

"Front Desk" was inspired by the author's childhood, but is a work of fiction.

Kelly Yang's family immigrated to the United States from China when she was a young girl.

She grew up in California in a similar situation to the central protagonist, Mia Tang.

The text explores complex themes around racism, bullying, poverty, and justice.

It shares with readers the importance of tolerance and diversity.

Here's my first question for you.

Who do you think the main characters in "Front Desk" are? Pause the video here and tell someone nearby who you think the main characters in "Front Desk" are.

Let's gather some responses.

Here's Lucas, "Mia Tang, her mother and father, who all work at the Calivista Motel.

Mia's extended family have remained in China." Okay.

Yeah, good thinking there.

How about Sam? Sam says, "Frequent characters at the motel include Mr. Yao and his son Jason.

Hank is one of the weeklies, who's staying there long term." Yeah, also really important characters.

And here's Alex, what you have to say? "Lupe is Mia's best friend at school.

She immigrated to the United States from Mexico when she was three." Okay.

I wonder if you thought of any of these characters as the main ones in this text.

Mia is the protagonist of the story.

She's a young Chinese immigrant girl who helps her parents manage a motel while navigating the challenges of fitting in at school and facing discrimination.

How would you describe Mia at the beginning of the text, in the middle, and at the end? What character traits and emotions does she exhibit? Pause the video here while you discuss this with the person next to you.

I'd like to share some suggestions with you.

At the beginning of the text, Mia is unsure how much of herself to share at school.

We can see this around pages 48 and 49.

In the middle, Mia is determined to succeed despite facing numerous obstacles and setbacks.

You can see this around chapter 21, page 116.

At the end of the text, Mia is empowered.

She's confidently learned to use her voice to advocate, to speak up for herself and her family.

We can see this around page 330.

Check for understanding.

Match the following characters to their relationship with Mia.

So we've got Mr. Yao, Lupe, and Hank.

And their relationships are Mia's friend, who supports her in overcoming adversity, a motel guest who offers support and guidance to Mia and encourages her to stand up for herself.

And the owner of the motel treats Mia and her family harshly.

Pause the video while you match the characters to their relationship with Mia.

Okay, did you match up Mr. Yao as being the owner of the motel? Lupe is Mia's friend.

And Hank is a motel guest.

A very encouraging and supportive motel guest.

Well done if you made these connections.

Throughout the text, the Tang family experienced a number of setbacks.

In chapter nine, the washing machine at a motel stops working and they cannot afford a replacement.

I'd like you now to refer to pages 58 and 59.

How does the family fix the problem with the amount of washing and what impression does this give the reader of them? So pause the video now while you refer to those pages and then reflect upon these two questions.

And share with someone nearby.

I wonder if you came up with a response like this.

"Mia and her father came up with an ingenious plan to use the bathtub to wash the towels.

When they're discovered by Mia's mother, Mia expects to be told off.

Instead, they all get in hopping about and laughing.

This tells me that the Tang family are very close.

They all work together to solve problems." What a lovely way to be together.

The relationship between Mia and her mother is not always positive.

Mia's mother suggests at several points in the text that Mia will never succeed at writing in English.

She describes not being able to match her classmates in their language.

Refer to Paige 110 to 112.

Why might this be upsetting to Mia? And what is Mia's response? Pause the video now.

Refer to those pages, and discuss your responses to these questions with your partner.

Okay, I wonder what you came up with.

Here's a response.

"Mia really likes writing.

She does not want to conform to the stereotypes that her mother has of her.

Mia is determined to prove her wrong and win the essay contest." A very determined and resilient character, this Mia.

Check for understanding.

Mia's family have a special kind of tea they drink when something good happens, what type is it? Refer to pages 16 to 17.

Is it A, oolong tea, B, white tea, C, jasmine tea, or D, gunpowder tea? Pause the video while you refer to those pages and decide which tea it is.

Well done if you selected Jasmine tea, that is the type of tea that the Tang family enjoy when something good happens, I wonder if you have a special drink that you like to have when it's a special occasion or something good, I know for me, I quite like hot chocolate.

A cheeky hot chocolate.

Mr. Yao, the owner of the Calivista, is proud of the fact that his son does not have a Chinese accent.

He says to Mia's mother that Jason speaks native English.

A native speaker, that is a noun, is a person who has spoken the language in question since birth.

Refer to page seven now.

How does being compared to Jason make Mia feel? Pause the video while you refer to page seven and discuss with someone nearby.

I wonder if you came up with a response like this.

"Mia feels that her mother is impressed with Jason.

Mia is embarrassed.

Her tongue feels 'limp' in comparison.

She wonders if she will ever be considered a 'native' speaker." That sounds tough.

Throughout the story, there are lots of similarities and differences that readers can see between Mr. Yao and his son, Jason.

In what ways are they the same and how are they different? You might like to refer to pages 33 to 34, father and son at Calivista and pages 349 to 350 where Jason speaks with Mia at school.

So pause the video while you refer to those pages and consider how Mr. Yao and Jason are the same and how they're different.

And talk to someone nearby about your responses.

Well, we can see that on pages 33 to 34, Jason lies to back up his father who is exploiting Mia's family.

He acts with a similar rudeness when he leaves the motel.

So we can see there's some similarities between them there and yet here, maybe there's something quite different about Jason.

On pages 349 to 350, Jason returns Mia's pencil case to her.

He informs her that his father is bluffing to make himself more money.

Jason's character has changed.

So we can see a difference in Jason through the course of the text.

Check for understanding, true or false.

The reader's impression of Jason remains the same throughout the text.

Pause the video while you decide if this is true or false.

Well done if you selected false.

In fact, the reader's impression of Jason changes throughout the text.

It doesn't stay the same.

And now justify your answer with one of these two statements.

Jason eventually shows kindness towards Mia.

He demonstrates courage by defying his father and helping her.

Or Jason's bullied by children in a year above.

Mia steps in to help him, but they don't talk about it.

Pause the video while you decide which of these justifications best fits with your answer.

Well done if you selected A.

Both of those statements are true statements, but statement A more directly justifies and is linked to your answer.

Okay, let's think some more about characters.

Who is your favourite character in "Front Desk" and why? You might like to consider character traits.

How characters develop within the text.

Memorable moments in the story.

How characters relate to characters from other texts or people you know.

And you could use a sentence starter such as I like and because to justify your answer.

Pause the video here while you reflect on who is your favourite character from "Front Desk" and why.

And share this answer with someone nearby.

So I am wondering, who did you come up with? Maybe Lupe.

Here's a response for Lupe.

"I like Lupe because she's supportive, loyal, and understanding." Wow, that's a kind of friend you want.

"She empathises with Mia through their shared experiences and encourages her to write." "I really enjoyed how Jason's character changed throughout the text.

He changed the most from the beginning to the end." Yeah, he really went through a transformation.

And now for the next part of our lesson, we'll be looking at connections and recommendations.

Connections are ways in which you personally connect with the text.

The way that one reader connects might be different to another based on their own life experiences.

Connections can be made from text-to-self, from text-to-text, or from text-to-the-world.

Text-to-self, this is when the contents of the text relates to personal experiences, feelings, thoughts.

Text-to-text is when the content of the text relates to another text.

And this could be something you've seen, watched, read, or heard.

And text-to-the-world is when the content relates to events and issues in the real world.

Connections can also relate to patterns that you spot while you're reading.

Making connections and recommendations can significantly enhance the reading experience and broaden our understanding of literature.

Here are some recommendations based on themes, form, and connections in "Front Desk", "Boy Everywhere", "Swim Team", "Pie in the Sky", "City of Stolen Magic", and "Three Keys".

Have a look at those covers.

Is there anything that's drawing you in initially? Just by looking at these covers and hearing the titles.

Let's find out more about these texts.

"Boy Everywhere" follows the journey taken by Sami and his family from privilege to poverty "Swim Team" is a graphic novel text exploring themes around perseverance and overcoming fears.

"Pie in the Sky" details Jingwen's experience immigrating to Australia.

It explores strong family connections.

"City of Stolen Magic" is a fiction text, which combines historical events with magic and adventure.

And "Three Keys" is the sequel to "Front Desk".

Continuing Mia's story at Calivista Motel.

The connections that I make to the text are to the wordless/silent text, "The Arrival", which explores themes of immigration and arriving in a new country.

And it's interesting how text without any words can be so powerful.

Also, I make a connection to the illustrated chapter book, "A Story like the Wind", which contains stories of migration and the power of community.

How about you? Which connections do you make to the text? And are they text-to-self, text-to-text or text-to-the-world? Pause the video and reflect on this.

I wonder what connections you made, and I hope you enjoyed sharing them.

Which text would you recommend for Izzy? So this is what Izzy's after.

"I want to continue to read about Mia's experiences and want to know what happens to her after 'Front Desk'." Would you go for a "Swim Team" or "Three Keys"? Pause the video while you decide.

Well done, if you selected "Three Keys".

And why does this make such good recommendation? Well, Izzy wants to know more about Mia's experiences and Kelly Yang's "Three Keys" is a follow-up.

It's the sequel to "Front Desk".

And guess what Izzy, there are another three novels after this one.

So you can just keep finding out more and more about the adventures of Mia and her family.

For your task, I'd like you to research one of the recommended texts, discuss with your partner, which one would you like to read, and do you have a text that you'd like to recommend and why? Pause the video while you discuss with your partner.

Okay, so I wonder which of these texts you were researching.

Here's Laura.

"'Boy Everywhere' interests me as it focuses on what it's like to flee a country and start a new life somewhere else." Yes, really interesting.

Yeah, thank you for that, Laura.

And here we've got here, Aisha, "'Pie in the Sky' adds graphic novel panels to its narrative." Oh, you like graphic novels, Aisha? Okay.

Yeah, me too.

"It explores what it's like trying to understand a new language." Yeah.

Fantastic.

In our lesson today, we've covered the following.

Readers can gain an impression of a character through the words they use, the actions they make, and their interactions with other characters.

During the story, characters and their relationships change and evolve.

Connections are ways in which you connect personally with a text.

The way that one reader connects might be different to another based on their own life experiences.

Connections can be from text-to-self, text-to-text or text-to-the-world.

Making connections and recommendations can significantly enhance the reading experience and broaden the reader's understanding of literature.

Well done for joining in with this lesson everybody.

It was so great to explore responses to "Front Desk" together.

Such an amazing text and really good to be with you.

I look forward to seeing you in the next lesson.

Bye for now.