Lesson video

Hi, everyone.

My name is Ms. Voyle and I am so excited to be teaching you your reading lesson today.

Reading stories is my absolute favourite thing to do, and today we are going to be reading a wonderful story named "Leaf." For this lesson, you need to be listening and looking carefully.

You need your thinking brain and there will also be some tasks where you need somebody to talk to.

I hope you are feeling excited and ready to learn.

Let's get started.

The learning outcome for today's lesson is I can make a prediction using evidence from the text.

Here are the key words in today's lesson.

Let's practise saying them.

My turn, your turn.

Fiction.

Prediction.

Character.

Illustration.

Good job.

Now, don't worry if you are not 100% certain about the definition of these words because we will be discussing their meaning throughout the lesson.

There are two parts to today's lesson.

In the first part, we will be making a prediction and in the second part we will be developing a deeper understanding of the story.

So let's begin with making a prediction.

Look carefully at the front cover of our book.

The title of this story is "Leaf." What can you see in the illustration? What do you think this book will be about? "Leaf" is a fiction text.

A fiction text is a story which is made up or imagined.

The author and illustrator of this story is Sandra Dieckmann.

And "Leaf" is full of colourful illustrations to support the telling of the story.

Let's check your understanding.

True or false.

A fiction story is a type of text which provides real information.

Pause the video and answer now.

That is false.

Well done.

A fiction story is a story which is made up or imagined.

A character is a person or animal in a story.

All of the characters in "Leaf" are animals.

Can you spot a character in the illustration? Take a close look.

Hopefully you spotted a polar bear.

Let's check your understanding.

In the story "Leaf," all the characters are A, humans, B, animals, or C, insects.

Pause the video and answer now.

The answer is B.

All of the characters in "Leaf" are animals.

Well done.

It's time for a task.

Read the first page and look carefully at the illustration.

Discuss these questions with your partner.

What do you think is happening here? How does it make you feel? What questions do you have? Pause the video and do the task now.

Let's take a look at what you might have said.

Maybe you said, "I think the polar bear is lost because it looks sad.

It makes me feel worried." Or maybe you said, "Is the polar bear going to drift towards land? Will they survive?" Those would be good questions to ask.

Well done for doing the task.

We are now going to read the book up to "brave enough to talk to him." "Leaf" "Crow saw it first.

The strange white creature carried upon the dark waves towards the shore.

It was unlike anything the animals of the wild wood had seen before.

It made its home in the old overgrown cave on the hill.

No one had lived there for as long as they could remember and no one dared approach now.

Stomping around the forest, the creature collected leaves every day.

Big leaves and small leaves, round leaves and colourful ones.

As he looked around the forest with a searching eye, the animals would flee in fear.

They named him Leaf not only after the creature's odd habit, but because they wanted him to leave.

No one, they thought, should have to live in fear.

Every day they discussed the stranger, but no one was brave enough to talk to him." Let's check your understanding of what we've read so far.

How did the woodland animals feel about the polar bear? A, they were scared of him.

B, they were glad he had come to live there.

Or C, they wanted to be his friend.

Pause the video and answer now.

The answer is A.

The woodland animals were scared of the polar bear.

Well done.

Making a prediction means deciding what you think will happen next in a story using illustrations and the text as evidence.

Making a prediction helps us to understand the story more and makes reading fun.

There is no right or wrong answer when making a prediction and your prediction may be different to someone else's.

Let's check your understanding.

What is a prediction? A, reading on to find out what happens next.

B, retelling the story in your own words.

Or C, guessing what you think will happen using evidence.

Pause the video and answer now.

The answer is C.

Well done.

Predicting is guessing what you think will happen next using evidence.

It's time for a task.

Make a prediction.

What do you predict is going to happen next in this story? Use the information you know so far, we know that the polar bear who has been named Leaf by the other animals is far away from home in a woodland full of creatures who are very different to him and we know that these woodland creatures are afraid of the polar bear and no one feels brave enough to talk to him.

What do you think will happen next? Your sentence starter is I predict that and use the conjunction because to give a reason for your prediction.

Pause the video and discuss with your partner now.

Let's take a look at some possible predictions you might have given.

Maybe you said, "I predict that the polar bear will try to make friends with the woodland animals because he seems lonely and might need some friends." Or maybe you said, "I predict that the woodland animals will go to the polar bear's cave and tell him that he has to leave their forest because they are scared of him." Remember, your prediction might be different to your partner's.

As long as you can justify your prediction with evidence then it is still a good prediction.

Well done.

It's now time for the second part of our lesson where we will be reading the rest of the story "Leaf" and developing a deeper understanding of it.

Let's use our inference skills to consider more about the polar bear in this illustration.

Using inference means searching for clues and inferring what we think they mean.

How do you think the polar bear came to be here? Take a close look at the picture.

You might say, "It looks like he has bloated away on a slab of ice!" That is what the illustration is showing us.

How might the bear be feeling? How might you feel if you had drifted far away from home on a slab of ice? You might say, "His body language suggests that he is sad and lonely." We are now going to continue reading the story up to "at last they all listened." "One day fox called out to the other animals as Leaf burst through the forest.

He ran very fast and was covered in hundreds of beautiful leaves.

They had never seen anything like it.

With a giant (imitates bear roaring), Leaf leaped off the edge of the hill and flew.

For a moment at least before tumbling down into the lake.

Soaking wet, the beast stomped back to hide once again in the dark cave.

A meeting was called to decide what to do about this strange situation.

The crows suggested talking to him.

They said, "He's lost.

He looks sad.

Let's help.

I think he's beautiful." But everyone looked to the ground and shook their heads.

They said, "He is dangerous, destructive.

Have you seen his teeth?" So, they decided nothing, only that they didn't agree.

A few days passed and Leaf burst out of the cave again.

This time he didn't stop running at the hill but ran all the way through the wild wood to the edge of the great cliff.

He jumped off and flew." You might notice the crows saying, "Wait." In the next illustration we can only see Leaf's paw.

So we know that Leaf didn't actually fly.

He fell into the ocean.

"The sea spat him out just like the day he arrived, only now the clever crows decided it was time to talk to the very sad and lonely Leaf.

They let him speak and at last they all listened." Let's check your understanding.

Order the following events from the story.

A, the clever crows decided to speak to Leaf and got all of the animals to listen.

B, the animals had a meeting to discuss Leaf and what to do, but nobody could agree.

C, Leaf jumped off a cliff flying into the sea and washed up on shore feeling lonely and sad.

D, Leaf ran through the forest covered in beautiful leaves and jumped off a hill into a lake.

Pause the video and number these one to four now to place them in the correct order that they come in the story.

Let's take a look at the answers.

First Leaf ran through the forest covered in beautiful leaves and jumped off a hill into a lake.

Second, the animals had a meeting to discuss Leaf and what to do, but nobody could agree.

Third, Leaf jumped off a cliff flying into the sea and washed up on shore feeling lonely and sad.

And last, the clever crows decided to speak to Leaf and got all of the animals to listen.

Well done for ordering these events from the story.

It's time for another prediction task.

What do you predict is going to happen at the end of this story? Use the information you know so far.

We know that Leaf has washed up on the shore feeling sad and lonely, but the crows have gone over to see him and listen to his story.

What do you think we'll find out? How do you think the story will end? Your sentence starter is I predict that and use the conjunction because to justify your prediction.

Pause the video and discuss with your partner now.

Let's take a look at some possible predictions.

Maybe you said, "I predict that the polar bear will ask the crows to help him because it is clear he is desperate to get home as he tries to fly using leaves as wings." Or maybe you said, "I predict that the crows will understand his story and will become his friend as it says they listen to him." Both of these are examples of good predictions because they justify using information we already know.

Remember, your prediction might be different to your partner's.

As long as you can justify your prediction with evidence, then it is still a good prediction.

Well done.

We are now going to read to the end of the book.

"Leaf told them how he had drifted over from far across the sea where the ice was melting.

After all, he was only a polar bear wanting to go back to his family, just someone who wished he could fly back home.

How silly they had all been for not talking to him sooner.

And so it was decided, the crows would help Leaf and fly him home.

And the animals promised to tell Leaf's story to everyone who would listen so that no polar bear would ever get lost again.

I hope you enjoyed reading the story of Leaf as much as I did.

It had such wonderful illustrations and so many lovely messages behind the story.

Let's check your understanding now that we have finished our story.

Why has the polar bear in "Leaf" ended up a long way from home in a forest? A, he loves to travel so he went on an adventure.

B, melting ice caused Leaf to drift away across the sea.

Or C, he didn't like his home and wanted to live in the forest.

Pause the video and answer now.

The answer is B.

Well done.

Melting ice is what caused Leaf to drift away across the sea, and that is how he ended up in the forest.

Let's learn a little bit more about polar bears and their habitat to help us understand the story better.

Polar bears live along shores and on sea ice in the icy, cold arctic.

When sea ice forms over the ocean in cold weather, many polar bears head out onto the ice to hunt seals, which are their main food.

Climate change, which is the warming of our Earth, is causing the ice that the polar bears depend on to melt away at a much faster rate.

This makes it harder for polar bears to hunt and it can result in them drifting away from their land and home.

Although "Leaf" is a fiction story, it is based on a real life issue, the issue of climate change and the impact that is having on animal habitats.

Let's check your understanding.

Which real life issue is the story of "Leaf" based on? A, healthcare, B, climate change, or C, equality.

Pause the video and answer now.

The answer is B.

Well done.

"Leaf" is based on the real life issue of climate change.

True or false? When the animals heard Leaf's story, they wanted to help him.

Pause the video and answer now.

That is true.

Well done.

The crows fly Leaf home and the animals promise to share Leaf's story with everyone so that no polar bear would ever get lost again.

It's time for your final task.

What lessons can we learn from the story of Leaf? This can be any important information or advice the story leaves you with.

Your sentence starter is I think the story teaches us and use the conjunction because to justify your answer.

Consider climate change, animal habitats, and how the characters treat each other when discussing this with your partner.

Pause the video and do the task now.

Let's take a look at what you might have said.

Maybe you said, "I think the story teaches us about the impact that climate change is having on animals.

This could encourage us to do more to prevent it." That would be a great lesson to learn from the story.

You might have said something like, "I think the story teaches us not to judge somebody by their appearance.

The animals were all afraid of Leaf, but when they spoke to him, they realised they didn't need to be." That is also a great lesson we can learn from the story and remember in our own lives.

You may have taken away different lessons from the story.

"Leaf" provides lots of positive messages and information.

Well done.

We've come to the end of our lesson, so let's go over a summary together.

"Leaf" is a fiction text, which means it is a made up story.

All of the characters in "Leaf" are animals but are given voices.

Making predictions means deciding what you think will happen in a story using illustrations and the text as evidence.

Fiction books can be based on a real life issue or event, for example, climate change.

And important lessons can be learnt from the story of "Leaf." Well done for all of your hard work and learning in today's lesson.

You had lots of rich discussion and thought really hard about the meaning behind the story of "Leaf.".