Linking to personal experiences and feelings in 'Don't Cross the Line!'

English

In this unit, pupils explored a text with high quality illustrations and few words and learnt to follow the narrative and understand themes through illustrations. In 'Julian is a Mermaid', pupils will explore another text where the illustrations play an important role in understanding the key themes about the characters, setting and plot.

In 'The Planet in a Pickle Jar', pupils understood the theme of protection and the environment through discussing the meaning of rich vocabulary and discussing detailed illustrations. In this unit, pupils will build on their inference skills by reading a book with few words, relying on illustrations to understand the plot and key themes. 

In this unit, pupils read and explore the text, 'Don't Cross the Line!'. By reading a book with few words, pupils will use inference skills, relying on illustrations to understand the plot and key themes. They will engage in rich discussions, linking themes to their personal experiences.

'Don't Cross the Line!': book club

It tells the story of how to cross a line.

It tells the story of how to obey rules and order.

It tells the story of how people work together to stand up for what is fair.

Which statement is the best summary of ‘Don’t Cross the Line’?

 The name of the main character in the story.

A big idea, topic or message that appears in a story.

Tick all the themes that are explored in 'Don't Cross the Line'.

Mach the theme to the correct definition.

How people are organised according to importance and authority.

When you don't like the person making the rules.

When the rules are genuinely not just or fair or pose harm to others.

When you don't like the rule and the impact it has on you.

When is it appropriate to challenge authority or break rules?

Citizens having a party, told mainly through words.

Citizens not being allowed to cross the line, told mainly through illustrations.

Citizens fighting, told mainly through words.

What is 'Don't Cross the Line' about and how is the story mainly told?

A citizen approaches the line and a guard stops them.

The guard says the right-hand page is reserved for his Army General.

Gradually, more and more disgruntled citizens enter the left-hand page.

The guard starts to let citizens across the line.

The Army General arrives and is furious, demanding the guard is arrested.

The citizens stand up for the guard, demand what is fair, and defeat the General

Order the events in the story 'Don't Cross the Line'.

They work together to persuade the guard and fight for what is fair and right.

They push the guard over so he can't stop them.

They persuade the Army General to let them across.

How do the citizens manage to cross the line and defeat the General in 'Don't Cross the Line'?

A personal view or judgement about something.

The meaning a person infers from something.

To give a reason or explanation for something.

The way the content is arranged on the page.

Match the vocabulary to the correct definition.

Sometimes you have to break rules to stand up for what is right and fair.

What messages do you think the author and illustrator convey through the story?

Read it once and pay attention to the words.

Consider the hidden messages the author is trying to convey.

Discuss the meaning of the text with others.

How can we uncover deeper meaning behind a story?

This lesson will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Linking to personal experiences and feelings in 'Don't Cross the Line!'

Lesson outcome

This lesson will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.