Lesson video

Hi, everyone! My name is Ms. Royal, and welcome to this reading lesson, where we are going to be exploring vocabulary and illustrations in "The Planet in a Pickle Jar.

For this lesson, you need a copy of "The Planet in a Pickle Jar" by Martin Stanev.

Pause the video and get your copy of the book now.

Great.

Now that I know you have the book with you.

During this lesson, you'll need to be listening and looking carefully.

You'll need the book to refer to, and there'll be 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 understand the meaning behind the vocabulary and illustrations used in the story.

Here are our key words for today's lesson.

Let's practise saying them.

My turn, your turn, vocabulary, preserve, illustrations.

Great job.

Well done.

You will be hearing these words lots throughout the lesson, and we will be discussing their meaning.

There are two parts to today's lesson.

In the first part, we will be exploring vocabulary from the story, and in the second part, we will be exploring illustrations.

So let's begin with exploring vocabulary.

"The Planet in a Pickle Jar." Let's remind ourselves what we know.

"The Planet in a Pickle Jar" is a children's story which is told through narrative writing and illustrations.

It is a narrative fiction text which contains magical elements.

The story also contains important and meaningful messages about real-life issues.

Martin Stanev is the author and illustrator of the story.

What happens in "The Planet in a Pickle Jar"? Let's recap the story together.

Two grandchildren go to visit their grandma.

They think she lives a very quiet and simple life, and they find her boring.

The illustrations show us a different story about the grandma with her doing unique activities in a variety of vibrant settings.

The grandma explains that the world's natural wonders are being damaged and they need protecting, the grandchildren listen.

When the grandma goes missing, the grandchildren discover animals in her house, a pickle jar room, and a sanctuary.

They realise their grandma is far more interesting than they had thought.

They decide to help her protect the world's wonders.

"The Planet in a Pickle Jar" contains a range of precise and ambitious vocabulary.

It is important to understand the definition of this vocabulary.

In order to build our understanding of the meaning behind the story, we are going to define the following, an adjective used to describe the world, a verb used to describe the protection of the world, and a noun used to describe a safe place.

The grandma describes the world using the following adjective, fragile.

Let's practise saying this word.

My turn, your turn.

Fragile.

Well done.

Let's take a look at the definition.

Fragile is an adjective used to describe something which is easily damaged or destroyed.

The grandma describes the world this way due to the negative impact of human activity on the planet.

Let's check your understanding.

What does the adjective fragile describe? A, something which is sturdy and strong, b, something which is nice to look at, or c, something which is easily damaged or destroyed.

Pause the video and select your answer.

The answer is c, well done.

Fragile is an adjective used to describe something which is easily damaged or destroyed.

Did you notice a key verb that was repeated to describe how the grandma protected the world's wonders? Pause the video and have a little think.

I am sure you noticed the word preserve.

Let's practise saying this word, preserve.

Great job.

Let's take a look at the definition of this word.

Preserve is a verb and it means to maintain something in its original or existing state.

Preservation is a form of protection.

The grandma wants to preserve the world's wonders in order to protect the planet for the future.

Let's check your understanding.

What does the word preserve mean? A, to change something, b, to maintain something in its original or existing state, or c, to get rid of something.

Pause the video and select your answer.

The answer is b.

Well done.

Preserve means to maintain something in its original or existing state.

Why does the grandma preserve items in jars? Items of food can be preserved in order to make them last longer.

Here is an example of pickles in a pickle jar, they are being preserved.

Pickling items in jars is a popular way to preserve certain foods.

You do this by placing food in a mixture of water, salt, and vinegar, and then sealing it inside a jar.

How do the title and the front cover of the story let us know what the grandma wants to preserve? Pause the video, look at the front cover carefully, and discuss this with your partner.

She wants to preserve the planet and lots of things on it.

We know this because the title of the book is "The Planet in a Pickle Jar" and we can see an illustration where the grandma is holding a pickle jar with the planet inside it.

Well done for spotting these things on the front cover.

Let's check your understanding.

True or false, the grandma wants to pickle the planet and items on it because it is a method for preserving them? Pause the video and select your answer.

That is true, well done.

The grandchildren use the following noun to describe the place where their grandma has been preserving things, sanctuary.

Let's practise saying this word, sanctuary.

Great job, well done.

Let's take a look at the definition of this word.

A sanctuary is a place of refuge and protection.

This means that it is a safe place.

The grandma created a sanctuary to protect and preserve a variety of animals and plants with different needs.

Let's check your understanding.

What does the noun sanctuary refer to? A, a place of refuge and protection, b, something which is nice to look at, c, something which is easily damaged or destroyed.

Pause the video and select your answer.

The answer is a, well done.

A sanctuary is a place of refuge and protection.

It's time for your first task.

Match the vocabulary to the correct definition.

Our pieces of key vocabulary are fragile, preserve, sanctuary.

The definitions are a place of refuge and protection, something which is easily damaged or destroyed, and to maintain something in its original or existing state.

Pause the video and do the task now.

Let's take a look at the answers together.

Fragile is an adjective used to describe something which is easily damaged or destroyed.

Preserve is a verb, which means to maintain something in its original or existing state, and sanctuary is a noun, and it means a place of refuge and protection.

Well done for demonstrating a great understanding of this vocabulary.

It's now time for the second part of our lesson, where we are going to be exploring illustrations within the book.

Stories can be told through narrative writing and illustrations.

Illustrations are used as a key element of storytelling in "The Planet in a Pickle Jar" because they show and tell the reader things that the words don't.

We are going to explore some of the illustrations to uncover the items that the grandma wants to preserve.

Look at the front cover of "The Planet in a Pickle Jar." What items can you spot being pickled in order to preserve them? Pause the video now and discuss this question with your partner.

Well done for exploring the front cover to answer this question, let's take a look at the answers.

We can see inside the pickle jars trees and plants, a ukulele, which is a type of instrument, a dinosaur skeleton, we know that dinosaurs are extinct, which means they are no longer alive, but lots of their skeletons have been found since, an elephant, and maybe even the grandchildren.

In the illustration, it looks like the grandchildren are being sucked into the pickle jars.

So, what kind of things does the grandma think are important to preserve? She wants to preserve the world's natural wonders, for example, creatures, living organisms, and natural elements belonging to the world around us.

She also wants to preserve human elements or experiences, for example, family, emotions, languages, memories, and she wants to preserve items or belongings, personal objects or items that might bring joy.

Some things may be all of the above, for example, the smell of coconut because you have a memory of eating it at the beach as a child.

The smell and the memory are human elements, but the coconut is an item and it is also a world natural wonder because it is grown naturally.

Let's check your understanding.

Look at the illustration on pages 15 and 16 of the story.

Identify one item preserved in a jar for each of the following, a, the world's natural wonders, b, human elements or experiences, and c, items or belongings.

Pause the video to explore the illustration and identify these now.

Let's take a look at the answers.

For a, the world's natural wonders.

Inside the jars, we can see a turtle, trees, stars, a shell, a polar bear, a river.

For b, human elements or experiences, we can see musical notes, family members, a language, a memory of a hug.

And for c, items or belongings, we can spot a slice of cake, a ball of yarn, a book, avocados.

Well done for identifying the different types of things the grandma preserved in her jars.

It's now time for your final task, and I am really excited to see your outcomes.

What special things would you preserve if you could? Discuss with your partner and draw one of the following in each jar, one natural element belonging to the world, and one human element or belonging that is special to you.

Pause the video and do the task now.

Welcome back.

I have loved looking at all of your different drawings for the items that you would like to preserve, and it has been fascinating to listen to your discussions and your explanations for why you would like to preserve them.

Let's take a look at some examples for a natural element belonging to the world.

What can we see in this jar? There is a tree and there are conkers.

Izzy said, "I would preserve a horse chestnut tree because they grow conkers.

They are so fascinating and I love to play with them." This is a wonderful example of a natural element of the world that could be preserved.

For a human element or belonging that is special to you, what can we see in this jar? It's a musical note.

Jacob said, "I would preserve the sound of my favourite song so that I could listen to it whenever I wanted.

It makes me feel calm and relaxes my body." This is a wonderful example of a human experience that a person might want to preserve because it brings them joy or peace.

Well done for discussing and sharing the items you would like to preserve and drawing them in your jars.

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

"The Planet in a Pickle Jar" contains precise vocabulary that is crucial for understanding the meaning behind the story.

The grandma describes the planet as fragile and wants to preserve it so she creates a sanctuary.

Special things are pickled in jars because pickling is a method of preservation.

The story explores the preservation of the world's natural elements, human elements, and items and belongings, and the illustrations communicate additional meaning behind the vocabulary in the story.

Well done for all of your hard work and enthusiasm in this lesson.

I have really enjoyed teaching you.