Lesson video

Hi everyone, my name is Ms. Voyal, and welcome to this reading lesson, where we are going to be exploring the theme of protection in "The Planet in a Pickle Jar." For this lesson, you need this copy of "The Planet in a Pickle Jar" by Martin Stanev.

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

Great, now, I know you have the book with you.

During this lesson, you'll need to be listening and looking carefully and there will also be tasks where you need somebody to talk to.

I hope you're feeling excited and ready to learn.

Let's get started.

The learning outcome for today's lesson is; I can explore the theme of protection in the story.

Here are our keywords for today's lesson.

Let's practise saying them.

My turn, your turn.

Theme, protection, environment.

Great job, well done! You will be hearing these words lots throughout today's lesson, and we will be discussing their meaning.

There are two parts to today's lesson.

In the first part, we will be understanding and identifying themes, and in the second part, we will be exploring the theme of protection.

So let's begin with understanding and identifying themes.

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

"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.

Here is a summary of "The Planet in a Pickle Jar." 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.

Let's check your understanding.

Which statement is the best summary of "The Planet in a Pickle Jar?" A, it tells a story about two grandchildren who were bored.

B, it tells a story about all of the different animals in the world, or C, it tells a story about the importance of protecting the world's wonders for future generations.

Pause the video and select your answer.

The answer is C, well done! The best summary of the story is that it tells a story about the importance of protecting the world's wonders for future generations.

The theme in a story is the big idea or lesson that the author wants you to explore and understand through reading the story.

Examples of themes you might notice in stories are: family, good V evil, teamwork, friendship, discovery, celebration, environment, survival, protection, love.

These themes convey deeper meaning to the reader.

Readers can interpret themes and their importance differently.

"The Planet in a Pickle Jar" conveys important messages through exploring the following themes.

Protection, this means any actions taken to guard something against damage.

Environment, this means the natural world around us.

Family, this is a group of people who look after each other and love one another, and belongings, this means a person's possessions.

The story explores how passionate the grandma is about protecting the natural world and its environment, and she also wants to protect other things that are important and special to her, like her family, and belongings that have special meaning.

Let's check your understanding.

Match the theme to the correct definition.

For our themes, we have, A, protection, B, environment, C, family, D, belongings.

For our definitions, the natural world around us, any action taken to guard something against damage, a person's possessions, and a group of people who look after each other and love one another.

Pause the video and match these now.

Let's take a look at the answers.

Protection refers to any action taken to guard something against danger.

Environment means the natural world around us.

Family is a group of people who look after each other and love one another, and belongings, are a person's possessions.

Well done, for showing a great understanding of this vocabulary.

It's now time for your first task and it's a talk task.

Discuss what other themes could be interpreted from the story.

We have already identified protection, environment, family, and belongings, and we have considered how these themes are shown throughout the story.

Consider the meaning behind the story and the character's actions, to see if you can uncover and identify any other themes.

Pause the video and discuss with your partner now.

I loved listening to your discussions.

Let's share some of the themes that you identified.

Love, we see the grandma demonstrate great love for the planet and lots of things on it.

We also see the love that is shared between the grandma and her grandchildren.

Planet Earth.

The whole story is about how to protect Planet Earth and the things on it.

Preservation, this is the method of protection that the grandma uses.

Perspective.

This is a key theme that is explored because we see the grandchildren's perspective of their grandma change through the story.

Wildlife, this is one of the key natural elements of the world that the grandma wants to preserve.

Responsibility, the story makes the reader consider what responsibility they might have to protect the Earth.

And the future.

The story makes us consider what the future might look like and how we can protect the planet for the future.

Well done, for discussing and interpreting themes from the story.

It's now time for the second part of our lesson, where we are going to be exploring the theme of protection in more detail.

We are going to focus on the theme of protection within the story of "The Planet in a Pickle Jar." What does protection mean? Let's remind ourselves.

Protection is any action taken to guard something against damage.

The desire to protect things is driven by an appreciation, love, or need for them.

Some things in our world require greater care and protection to look after than others.

What was the grandma passionate about protecting in "The Planet in a Pickle Jar?" Pause the video and discuss with your partner.

The grandma wanted to protect the planet and the things she felt were sacred or special on it.

She wanted to protect the environment and the world's natural wonders.

Examples of this are; creatures, living organisms, and natural elements.

She wanted to protect human elements and experiences.

Examples of this are; family, emotions, languages, memories, and she wanted to protect items or belongings.

This meant preserving personal objects or items that brought joy.

Let's check your understanding.

Which aspects of our planet was the grandma passionate about protecting? A, the world's natural wonders, like the ocean and creatures, B, money and expensive items, like jewellery and fancy clothes, C, human elements and experiences, like family and memories, D, special items and belongings, like a book and yarn? Pause the video and select all of the correct answers.

The answers are A, C, and D.

The grandma was passionate about protecting the world's natural wonders, human elements, and experiences, and special items, and belongings, well done! Protection is a crucial part of preserving our natural world and environment.

Here are some examples of some of the things the grandma wanted to protect in our wild and why.

She wanted to protect animals like polar bears, koalas, and sea turtles.

This is because these are examples of animals that are at threat of extinction, which means they might die out and no longer exist.

She wanted to protect natural water elements, like oceans and rivers.

This is because these are being polluted and overused by humans.

This depletes the amount of clean and natural water sources on our Earth.

She wanted to protect natural green elements like trees, plants, and forests.

This is because these are being cut down and built over by humans.

Unfortunately, we cannot preserve the natural world and environment by pickling it in a jar like the grandma did, but there are actions we can take to protect it! Here are some examples of actions we can take.

Reduce, reuse, and recycle! This cuts down on waste of natural resources.

Walk and cycle more, drive less.

` This reduces air pollution.

Keep educating ourselves.

This helps us understand and share knowledge with others.

I'm sure you know of lots of other actions we can take to protect the planet too.

Let's check your understanding.

True or false? Human beings can take actions to protect the natural world and environment and preserve our planet.

Pause the video and select your answer now.

That is true, well done! It's now time for your final task and it is a talk task.

Is there anything you do, or would like to do, to protect our world and environment? Remember, that protection means any action taken to guard something against damage.

Consider any action that takes care of your local environment or the wider world.

Let's look at an example together.

Aisha said, "At home, we are really good at recycling packaging of all of our products! We wash them out carefully and make sure they go in the correct bins." This is a great example of reduce, reuse, and recycle.

What about you? Is there anything that you do, or would like to do, to protect our world and environment? Pause the video and discuss with your partner now.

Welcome back, I loved listening to your discussions.

You all had such interesting things to share.

Let's take a look at some of the examples I had.

"I would like to learn more about how I can help protect habitats for animals at threat of extinction.

I'm not sure how to help, but I'd like to!" I love this answer because it is totally okay not to know or understand everything about our planet and how to protect it, but it is really positive that this person wanted to find out more.

Another example I heard was, "I like finding clothes in charity shops because there are so many used clothes in good condition and it is better for the environment and its resources." This was a lovely example of how we can reuse what already exists.

Somebody else said, "I am a vegetarian because I would like to protect the animals on our land and in the ocean.

I make sure I get all the nutrients I need from other foods!" This was a lovely example of how some people choose to alter their diet to protect the environment.

Well done, for discussing this important topic with your partner.

You all gave such wonderful and varied answers, which showed that there are so many different ways that we can protect our planet and the environment, and it's okay if we all take different actions to do so.

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

A theme is a big idea or lesson that the author wants you to explore and understand through reading the story.

Readers can interpret themes and their importance within a story in different ways.

"The Planet in a Pickle Jar" explores the theme of protection relating to environment, family, and belongings.

The importance of protecting the world's natural wonders and the environment is a key lesson communicated in the story, and there are many natural elements in our world that need protecting and a variety of ways to help with this.

Well done, for all of your hard work and learning during this lesson, I have thoroughly enjoyed teaching you!.