Lesson video

Hi, everyone.

My name is Ms. Voyle, and welcome to today's reading lesson, where we are going to be engaging with the legend of "Mulan." For this lesson, you need a copy of the 2014 Oxford University Press Edition of "Mulan," written by Michaela Morgan.

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 need to be listening and looking carefully, and there will also 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 summarise the legend of 'Mulan'." Here are our keywords for today's lesson.

Let's practise saying them.

My turn, your turn.

Legend, warrior, summarise.

Great job.

Let's take a look at their definitions.

A legend is a type of folktale that reflects human elements that are believed to have taken place in true history.

A warrior is a brave or experienced soldier or fighter.

To summarise means to pull out the key events and ideas from a text.

There are two parts to today's lesson.

In the first part, you'll be reading the story of "Mulan," and in the second part, you will be summarising the story.

So let's begin with reading "Mulan." Let's remind ourselves of what we know about "Mulan" so far.

"Mulan" is a traditional tale known as a legend.

Legends belong to the genre of folklore.

Folklore is a genre in which oral stories are shared and passed down over time.

Folklore stories do not have one author.

As they're shared orally over time, variations of the story emerge.

Here is the front cover of the version of "Mulan" that we are reading.

The legend of "Mulan" first originated in China over 1,000 years ago.

"Mulan" is believed to be a fictional character that was to challenge ideas around the role women should play during a time of real war in China.

Michaela Morgan is the author of this version of "Mulan," and Steve Dorado is the illustrator.

What happened in chapters 1, 2, and 3 of "Mulan"? Let's recap these chapters.

Mulan expressed concern to her family because she had seen a sign saying that their country was facing attack and that a man from every family must fight in the war.

Mulan's father was two elderly and weak, and her brother was very young and lacked the necessary skills, so she decided that she was the right person from the family to join the military.

Mulan told her family of her plan to disguise herself as a boy in order to become a soldier.

Her family did not approve of her plan because they felt the army was no place for a girl.

Mulan remained determined and she gathered all of the equipment she needed to go to war for her country.

Let's check your understanding.

Put the following events in order from one to four to show the chronology of the beginning of "Mulan." A, Mulan planned to disguise herself as a boy in order to become a soldier, and her family did not approve.

B, Mulan was worried because a man from every family was required to fight in the war for their country.

C, Mulan remained determined and she gathered everything she needed to go to war for her country.

D, Mulan's father was too elderly and her brother was very young, so she felt she was the right person to join the military.

Pause the video and number these from one to four now.

Let's take a look at the answers together.

Number one, Mulan was worried because a man from every family was required to fight in the war for their country.

Number two, Mulan's father was two elderly and her brother was very young, so she felt she was the right person to join the military.

Number three, Mulan planned to disguise herself as a boy in order to become a soldier, and her family did not approve.

Number four, Mulan remained determined and she gathered everything she needed to go to war for her country.

Well done for showing your understanding of the chronology of the beginning of "Mulan." It's now time to read chapter 4 of "Mulan" by Michaela Morgan.

Pause the video, read this chapter, and come back and press Play when you are ready.

Welcome back.

I hope you enjoyed reading chapter 4.

What happened in this chapter? I'd like you to pause the video again and see if you can summarise the key points with your partner.

Let's recap chapter 4 together.

Mulan hid her hair, wore her armour, and practised the skills she needed for fighting.

The next morning, she left to embark on her mission.

Mulan went on a difficult journey that took her three long days to reach the army base.

She disguised her voice and the guard let her in.

Mulan began a training regime in the army that she found incredibly difficult, and she was afraid that the other soldiers would find out she was not really a boy.

Let's check your understanding.

True false? Mulan found life in the army easy to adjust to.

Pause the video and select your answer.

That is false.

Well done.

Now it's time to justify your answer.

A, she found the weather hard to adjust to, or B, she found the training incredibly difficult and was afraid the other soldiers would discover her true identity.

Pause the video and select the correct justification.

The answer is B.

Well done.

Mulan found the training incredibly difficult and was afraid the other soldiers would discover her true identity.

This was why she found it really hard to adjust to life in the army.

It's now time to read chapter 5 of "Mulan" by Michaela Morgan.

Pause the video, read this chapter, and come back and press Play when you are ready.

Welcome back.

I hope you enjoyed reading chapter 5.

What happened in this chapter? I'd like you to pause the video and see if you can summarise the key points from chapter 5 with your partner.

Let's go over this chapter together.

Mulan showed commitment to her training and developed great skills as a soldier.

She won in battle and gained respect from the other soldiers who still thought she was a boy.

Mulan became a fantastic warrior and leader in the army.

She travelled long distances across many landscapes and fought for her country for 10 years.

Mulan's courage and position in the army remains strong, but she missed her family dearly and dreamt of what their life looked like.

Let's check your understanding.

Which of the following best summarises Mulan's journey as a warrior? A, she found it easy and the war ended quickly, B, she tried really hard, but it was too difficult and she gave up, or C, she showed qualities such as courage, commitment, and resilience in order to fight for her country for many years.

Pause the video and select your answer.

The answer is C.

Well done.

Mulan showed quality such as courage, commitment, and resilience in order to fight for her country for many years.

It's now time to read chapter 6 of "Mulan" by Michaela Morgan, and this is the final chapter in the book.

Pause the video to read this last chapter, and come back and press Play when you are ready.

Welcome back.

I hope you really enjoyed reading to the end of the story.

What happened in this final chapter? I'd like you to pause the video and see if you can summarise this with your partner.

Let's go over the key points from chapter 6 together.

When Mulan's country eventually won the war, she was granted a reward for her bravery and service.

She chose her freedom so she could return home.

Mulan rode home on her horse accompanied by her soldiers and her family welcomed her with joy.

She shed her armour to reveal her true identity.

Mulan revealed herself to her soldiers.

They could not believe that she was a girl.

They were in awe that a girl could be such a fine warrior.

They shared her story everywhere they went.

Let's check your understanding.

How did Mulan's soldiers react to discovering her true identity as a girl? A, they were in awe of her and shared her story everywhere, B, they felt betrayed and didn't respect her for lying, or C, they found it funny and laughed at her.

Pause the video and select your answer.

The answer is A.

Well done.

Mulan's soldiers were in awe of her and what she'd achieved, and they shared her story everywhere.

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

Reflect on the legend of "Mulan." Share your opinions and discuss them.

Likes, what caught your attention and why? Dislikes, was there anything that you didn't enjoy? Puzzles, was there anything you found surprising? Pause the video and discuss these questions with your partner now.

I loved listening to your discussions and hearing all of your different opinions on the legend of "Mulan." Let's take a look at some of the answers I heard.

For likes, what caught your attention and why? One person said, "I felt inspired by Mulan's commitment to her quest and wanted to read on." Another person said, "I loved reading a legend about a female warrior who achieved her goals." For dislikes, was there anything that you didn't enjoy? I heard, "I felt nervous at points in the story that the other soldiers would uncover Mulan's true identity and something bad would happen to her." And for puzzles, was there anything you found surprising? One person said, "I was surprised that nobody noticed that Mulan was a girl." And another person said, "I was surprised at how long the war lasted and how successful Mulan was." These were just some of the thoughtful opinions I heard.

Well done to you all for discussing the legend of "Mulan" and sharing your opinion with others.

It's now time for the second part of our lesson where you are going to be summarising the story.

We are going to summarise the legend of "Mulan." Summarising means to pull out the key events and ideas from the text.

Summarising the key events in a story helps us to build our understanding of the text and the meaning behind it.

Let's check your understanding.

What does summarising mean? A, to retell the story in detail, B, to read the story again, or C, to pull out the key events and ideas from the story.

Pause the video and select your answer.

The answer is C.

Well done.

Summarising means to pull out the key events and ideas from the story.

I am now going to summarise the key events from "Mulan" in my own words.

Mulan expressed worry to her family because the country faced attack and a man from every family was required to join the war.

Mulan decided that her father and brother were not fit to fight, and that she must join the army in order to protect them.

Mulan developed a plan to disguise herself as a boy in order to become a soldier, and she gathered everything she needed.

Mulan travelled to the army base and struggled with training while living afraid the other soldiers would discover her identity.

Mulan remained committed to her quest and became a fine warrior and leader who fought for her country for 10 years.

As a reward for winning the war, Mulan chose freedom and returned home to her family.

She revealed her identity as a girl to her soldiers, and they were in awe of her.

Let's check your understanding.

Which of the following statements accurately summarises the legend of "Mulan"? A, it is about a young girl who is forced to fight for her country, B, it is about a young girl who defies expectations in order to fight for her country and protect her family, or C, it is about a young girl who follows orders to play the role a girl is supposed to.

Pause the video and select your answer.

The statement that accurately summarises the legend of "Mulan" is B.

Well done.

It is about a young girl who defies expectations in order to fight for her country and protect her family.

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

Summarise the key events from each chapter of "Mulan." Use the sentence starters to help you.

One, Mulan expressed worry to her family because, two, Mulan decided that her father and brother were, three, Mulan developed a plan to, four, Mulan travelled to the army base and, five, Mulan remained committed to her quest and, six, as a reward for winning the war, Mulan chose.

Pause the video and summarise each chapter with your partner now.

Welcome back.

You did such a great job at summarising.

Let's take a look at the answers together.

Mulan expressed worry to her family because the country faced attack and a man from every family was required to join the war.

Mulan decided that her father and brother were not fit to fight, and that she must join the army in order to protect them.

Mulan developed a plan to disguise herself as a boy in order to become a soldier and she gathered everything she needed.

Mulan travelled to the army base and struggled with training while living afraid the other soldiers would discover her identity.

Mulan remained committed to her quest and became a fine warrior and leader who fought for her country for 10 years.

As a reward for winning the war, Mulan chose freedom and returned home to her family.

She revealed her identity as a girl to her soldiers, and they were in awe of her.

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

The legend of "Mulan" is set in China during a period of war where a man from every family is required to join the army.

Mulan's father and brother are not fit to fight, so she decides to join the army in order to protect them.

Mulan disguises herself as a boy in order to be a soldier, and she becomes a respected and accomplished warrior.

When the war is won and Mulan returns home, she reveals herself as a girl, and her soldiers are in awe of her.

Summarising key events and ideas in a story helps to build our understanding of it.

Well done for engaging in the legend of "Mulan" so well and summarising the key points from the story.

I have really enjoyed sharing it with you.