Lesson video

Hi, everyone.

My name is Ms. Voyle, and I am really excited to teach you this lesson where you are going to be developing a character profile for Alina in "The Moon Dragons".

For this lesson, you need this copy of the Moon Dragons, written by Dyan Sheldon and illustrated by Gary Blythe.

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

Great.

Now I know you have your copy of the book with you.

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

There'll be tasks where you need somebody to talk to, and you'll need a piece of paper and pen or pencil for creating Alina's character profile.

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

Let's get started.

The learning outcome for today's lesson is I can understand and describe the character of Alina.

Here are our keywords for today's lesson.

Let's practise saying them.

My turn.

Your turn.

Protagonist.

Character traits.

Role on the wall.

Well done.

Let's take a look at their definitions.

A protagonist is a main character or central figure in a story or narrative.

Character traits are the special qualities that make a character in a story unique and interesting.

Role on the wall is a character analysis activity which encourages readers to infer.

There are two parts to today's lesson.

In the first part, we will be exploring the character of Alina, and in the second part, you will be creating a character profile for Alina.

So let's begin with exploring the character of Alina.

What do we know about "The Moon Dragons"? Let's remind ourselves.

"The Moon Dragons" is a fantasy story written by Dyan Sheldon and illustrated by Gary Blythe.

The plot of the story is based around the search for mythical creatures called moon dragons.

The king sends many people in search of the moon dragons, but everyone fails.

He offers a reward of a room filled with gold for anyone who is successful in finding them.

Alina goes on the quest and is successful, however, she lies and says she didn't find the moon dragons in order to protect them.

She believes that the dragons are more valuable than gold.

What is a protagonist? A protagonist is a main character or central figure in a story or narrative.

Alina is the protagonist in "The Moon Dragons".

Alina is not introduced straight away, but she is the character who drives the action in the story.

She's the only person able to find the moon dragons and her choices control their fate.

Let's check your understanding.

What is a protagonist? A, the first character introduced in a story? B, a main character or central figure in a story? Or C, the character who has the most power? Pause the video and select your answer now.

The answer is B.

Well done.

A protagonist is a main character or central figure in a story, and we know that the protagonist in "The Moon Dragons" is Alina.

How can we build our understanding of Alina's character? We can identify character traits by exploring a character's experiences and actions and making inferences.

Character traits are the special qualities that make a character in a story unique and interesting.

For example, brave, kind, rude.

We can learn a lot about Alina's character traits through her actions and experiences in the story.

Let's take a look at identifying some of Alina's character traits.

We can look at an example of something Alina experienced and what we might learn about her character from it.

The villagers and the king laughed at Alina for thinking she could find the moon dragons.

Alina said she would find them and went on the quest anyway.

We might determine that Alina is resilient or confident from this part in the story because despite others mocking her and not believing in her, she believed in herself and went on the quest anyway.

It is important that we use evidence from the text to support our judgments or inferences about a character.

Let's check your understanding.

What is a character trait? A, the special qualities that make a character in a story unique and interesting? B, how a character looks? Or C, the activities that a character enjoys? Pause the video and select your answer now.

The answer is A.

Well done.

A character trait refers to the special qualities that make a character in a story unique and interesting.

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

Discuss the following experiences or events and identify the character traits that Alina shows in each.

A, Alina ventured up the mountain alone and focused on the natural elements surrounding her.

And B, Alina lied about finding the dragons in order to protect them.

She believed that they were more valuable than gold.

Pause the video and use these moments in the story to infer character traits that Alina demonstrates.

Welcome back.

I loved listening to your discussions.

You were really great at using the clues in the story to infer character traits that Alina showed.

For A, Alina ventured up the mountain alone and focused on the natural elements surrounding her, I had determined, brave, curious, sensitive, attuned.

These were great adjectives to describe her character.

Some of you may not have heard of the word attuned before.

It describes how in touch Alina was with the environment around her.

For B, Alina lied about finding the dragons in order to protect them.

She believed that they were more valuable than gold.

I had principled, kind, noble, considered, honourable.

All of these adjectives describe Alina as a very moral character who made the right decision, and that is really interesting here because lying is often seen as bad, but the story and Alina's choices make us consider whether there are times when it can be viewed as the right thing to do.

Well done for discussing and inferring character traits that Alina shows in the story.

It's now time for the second part of our lesson, creating a character profile for Alina.

You are going to create a character profile for Alina.

You will be identifying the following: experiences and interactions that are important to Alina and character traits and feelings belonging to Alina.

We are going to use role on the wall to complete a character profile for Alina.

You will use a character outline for this.

On the outside, we are going to note down experiences, actions, and interactions that are important in shaping Alina's character to date.

And on the inside, we are going to note down character traits that make Alina who she is and any important feelings she has experienced.

Let's check your understanding.

Which of the following are we going to write on the inside of the character outline? A, Alina's character traits, B, Alina's interactions with other characters, C, Alina's experiences in life, and D, Alina's feelings.

Consider which of these exist on the inside of who we are.

Pause the video and select your answers now.

The answers are A, Alina's character traits and D, Alina's feelings.

You will write these on the inside of the character outline.

You will write about Alina's interactions and her experiences on the outside of the character outline.

Let's look at an example of role on the wall for Alina.

I might write on the outside of the outline she didn't let discouragement from the villagers dissuade her.

This was an interaction and experience that she had.

From this, I could infer that she is resilient and determined.

These are character traits which I am writing on the inside of the character outline.

Another example could be she ventured into the mountains alone.

I might infer that she is brave from this.

Noting down Alina's experiences and interactions on the outside will help you develop character traits and feelings to note down on the inside.

It is now time for your task.

Complete a role on the wall for Alina.

Remember, on the outside, note down experiences and interactions that are important in shaping Alina's character.

And on the inside, note down character traits that make Alina who she is and any important feelings she has experienced.

Pause the video and do the task now.

I loved looking at all of your different character profiles.

You have done such a fantastic job at understanding Alina's character and how her experiences and interactions have shaped that.

Let's take a look at some examples of what I saw.

On the outside for Alina's experiences and interactions, we have went on a quest that others had failed even when others laughed at her.

Ventured into the mountains alone, felt connected to nature.

Felt in awe of the moon dragons and moved in sync with them.

Lied to protect the moon dragons, prioritising their lives over money.

These were all really important experiences and interactions that Alina had in this story.

And on the inside for character traits and feelings, we had confident, resilient, determined, strong-willed.

Alina showed these character traits through her determination to go on the quest and find the moon dragons, even when others didn't believe in her.

Brave, curious, sensitive, self-assured, connected.

These character traits were really shown on her journey up the mountain.

She was really connected to nature and sensitive to the environment around her, and even though she was by herself and it could have been scary, she remained brave and curious about her surroundings and self-assured that she would make it.

Intuitive, empathetic, attuned, compassionate, amazed.

Alina really showed these character traits when she encountered the dragons.

I loved the adjective intuitive to describe Alina.

This means that she was really in touch with herself and her feelings, what she felt to be right and true and beautiful about the dragons.

And principled, moral, noble, considered, honourable, kind.

These character traits were shown through Alina's decision to lie about finding the dragons in order to protect them.

Now we know that lying is generally considered as wrong and a bad thing to do.

However, in this circumstance, Alina lied for a very kind and moral reason to protect living creatures.

Well done for building your understanding of Alina's character.

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

The protagonist is a main character or central figure in a story or narrative.

Alina is the protagonist in "The Moon Dragons".

Character traits are the special qualities that make a character in a story unique and interesting.

We can identify Alina's character traits by exploring her experiences and interactions and making inferences.

Alina displays a range of character traits such as resilience, bravery, and morality.

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

I have really enjoyed teaching you and exploring Alina's character with you.