Lesson video

Hi everyone, my name is Ms. Boyle, and welcome to this reading lesson where we are going to be exploring the themes within the story "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 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 identify and explain the main themes within "The Moon Dragons." Here are our keywords for today's lesson.

Let's practise saying them.

My turn, your turn.

Theme.

Recurring.

Convey.

Morality.

Great job, let's take a look at their definitions.

A theme is a big idea, topic, or message that's recurs within a story.

Recurring means something that appears repeatedly.

To convey means to communicate a message to the reader directly or indirectly.

Morality refers to the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behaviour.

There are two parts to today's lesson.

In the first part we will be looking at understanding and identifying themes.

And in the second part we will be exploring themes within "The Moon Dragons." So let's begin with understanding and identifying themes.

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 is based around the search for mythical creatures called moon dragons.

The illustrations are vivid and a key element in the storytelling.

The main characters are the King and a young girl named Alina.

Let's summarise the story "The Moon Dragons." The King received news that in the mountains there were ancient moon dragons who could sing and whose silver scales shone.

The King instructed his huntsmen to retrieve a moon dragon, but they were not successful and they returned with a goat instead.

The King offered a reward of a room filled with gold to anyone who could find the moon dragons.

Many men tried and failed.

Alina said she would embark on the quest.

The villagers mocked her, but she was confident and she found the moon dragons.

Alina pretended she'd failed the quest because she wanted to protect the dragons.

She felt that the dragons were worth way more than gold.

Let's check your understanding.

Which statement best summarises the meaning of the story "The Moon Dragons"? A, it tells a story about the search for moon dragons.

B, it tells the story of a young girl who likes to sing.

C, it tells the story of a young girl valuing the beauty of living creatures over money.

Remember, you're searching for the statement that best summarises the meaning behind the story.

Pause the video and select your answer now.

The answer is C, well done.

It tells the story of a young girl valuing the beauty of living creatures over money.

A theme is a big idea, topic, or message that recurs within a story.

Within literature, authors use techniques to convey themes to the reader.

These themes are often communicated through character traits.

They can make us consider issues and topics that we encounter in our own lives, making the story relatable to the reader.

Examples of themes that you might see are friendship, courage, love, family, greed, good v evil, death, protection, right v wrong, survival.

Let's check your understanding.

What is a theme within a story? A, an idea, topic, or message that appears once.

B, the genre that a story belongs to.

Or C, a big idea, topic, or message that recurs.

Pause the video and select your answer.

The answer is C, well done.

A theme is a big idea, topic, or message that recurs.

Themes are recurring, which means you see them appear throughout a story, and you may notice similar themes within a genre.

Identifying themes within a text involves inference.

Themes are not explicitly stated within a text.

Authors commonly use repetition to convey themes to the reader.

How to identify themes.

Let's look at our methods.

Considering characters' actions and characters' traits.

Identifying repetition of actions or emotions or traits.

Searching for deeper meaning using inference.

This means looking for clues and drawing our own conclusions.

And considering the overall message of the story.

Let's check your understanding.

True or false.

Themes within a text are explicitly stated by the author.

Pause the video and select your answer now.

That is false, well done.

Now it's time to justify your answer.

A, identifying themes involves using inference to identify underlying messages the author is trying to convey.

Or B, to identify themes you need to retrieve key information from the text.

Pause the video and select your answer.

The answer is A, well done.

Identifying themes involves using inference to identify underlying messages.

We can retrieve information from the text to support and justify our inferences.

We are going to identify the themes within "The Moon Dragons." It can help to consider the kind of behaviours or characteristics shown by the characters throughout the story.

The themes within "The Moon Dragons." Let's look at some key themes.

Courage or bravery.

These are key character traits that Alina shows.

Power and greed.

We see the King demonstrate these behaviours and traits throughout the story.

Living things, the story is all about the search for living creatures, moon dragons, and conveys messages about the importance of respecting their lives.

Deception, we know that Alina deceives the King by lying about finding the moon dragons so that she can protect them.

Some themes are more complex and encourage us to consider their meaning.

Deception is an example of this.

For example, this story can make us question whether it is always wrong to lie.

Let's check your understanding.

True or false.

Considering the behaviours or traits of characters within a story can help me to identify themes.

Pause the video and select your answer now.

That is true, well done.

Now it's time to justify your answer.

A, you can identify a theme by looking at one action taken by a character.

Or B, the recurrence of certain behaviours or characteristics throughout a text conveys an underlying theme and message.

Pause the video and select the correct justification.

The answer is B, well done.

The recurrence of certain behaviours or characteristics throughout a story conveys an underlying theme and message to the reader.

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

Discuss which other themes appear throughout the story.

Consider the characters' actions and character traits as well as the overall meaning behind the story.

We've already looked at how the following themes appear in the story.

Courage and bravery, power and greed, living things, deception.

It's now time you to see if you can uncover any other themes.

Pause the video and discuss with your partner now.

Welcome back and well done for having some fantastic discussion and using your inference skills to determine themes within the story.

Let's take a look at some of the answers I heard.

Right v wrong.

The story does certainly explore the idea of what's right and wrong.

How should the moon dragons be treated? Cruelty, we see cruel behaviour from the King towards other people in the way he speaks, and we're not sure he has good intentions regarding the moon dragons.

Kindness, Alina demonstrates kindness towards the moon dragons.

Morality, this means what is right or wrong, or good or bad behaviour.

We see that different characters have different motivations and it makes us consider who is behaving in the right way.

Intuitiveness, this is a sense of being connected to your body and what you feel to be true or right.

Alina demonstrates this in the story.

Protection, we know that Alina lies in order to protect the dragons.

Empathy, we see her demonstrate a great amount of empathy for these living creatures.

And resilience, Alina goes on quite the journey.

Lots of people don't believe in her and discourage her, but that doesn't stop her believing in herself and she ventures up the mountain alone.

She shows great resilience in her quest.

Well done for understanding and identifying themes.

It's now time for the second part of our lesson, exploring themes within "The Moon Dragons." Exploring themes can help us consider human morality and the kind of people we want to be.

Identifying admirable qualities and positive themes within a story can inspire us to nurture those qualities within ourselves.

Let's consider some of the themes conveyed through Alina's character.

Bravery, this means having the strength to face danger, fear, or difficulty.

She shows this by going on her quest.

Protection, this means keeping someone safe from harm or injury.

She protects the moon dragons.

And morality, this means the distinction between right and wrong, or good and bad behaviour.

Alina demonstrates moral decisions by choosing to value the dragons' lives over the reward of gold.

Let's check your understanding.

Match the theme to the correct definition.

Our themes are bravery, protection, morality.

The definitions are keeping someone safe from harm or injury.

The distinction between right and wrong or good and bad.

And having the strength to face danger, fear, or difficulty.

Pause the video and match the theme to the correct definition now.

Let's take a look at the answers together.

Bravery is having the strength to face danger, fear or difficulty.

Protection is keeping someone safe from harm or injury.

And morality is the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad.

Well done for demonstrating your understanding of these key themes within the story "The Moon Dragons." It's now time for a task, and it is a talk task.

How are the themes of bravery, protection, and morality conveyed through the story "The Moon Dragons"? Your sentence starters are, "The theme of bravery is shown when.

." "The theme of protection is shown through.

." "I think the theme of morality is explored through.

." You have a strong understanding of the meaning of these themes, so now you need to use evidence from the story to justify how these themes are conveyed.

Pause the video and discuss with your partner now.

Welcome back, I loved listening to your discussions and you were brilliant at spotting how the themes were conveyed through the story.

Let's take a look at some of the answers I heard.

For bravery.

"The theme of bravery is shown when Alina doesn't let others laughing at her break her spirits." That was a moment of bravery for her.

Or, "The theme of bravery is shown when Alina ventures into the mountains alone." That is quite the quest to do by yourself.

For protection.

"The theme of protection is shown through Alina's decision to keep the dragons safe from the King." And for morality.

"The theme of morality is explored through the different motivations characters have for finding the moon dragons." And, "Morality is explored through Alina valuing living creatures over money." Alina's choices demonstrate moral, good, and kind behaviours.

Well done for discussing how these themes are conveyed in the story.

Exploring themes can also help us consider whether morality, which means what is right and wrong, can be more complex.

For example, deception and lying is generally thought of as wrong and immoral.

However, Alina's decision to lie is portrayed as a positive action within the story.

This can make us question whether there are occasions where lying is considered the right thing to do.

Let's check your understanding.

True or false.

Exploring themes within a story can help us to question the meaning of what is right and wrong.

Pause the video and select your answer now.

That is true, well done.

Now it's time to justify it.

A, it can help us understand how circumstances might impact what is considered right and wrong.

Or B, learning lessons from themes within a story can make life more interesting.

Pause the video now and select the correct justification.

The answer is A, well done.

It can help us understand how circumstances might impact what is considered right and wrong.

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

How does the story "The Moon Dragons" challenge the idea that lying is always wrong? Your sentence starters are, "Alina lies in order to.

." And "I think this can be seen as a good thing because.

." Pause the video now and discuss this with your partner.

I loved listening to your discussions.

It was fascinating to hear you discuss the circumstances under which Alina lied and her motivations for lying, and this helped you come up with the following answers to this question.

"Alina lies in order to protect the moon dragons from harm and let them live in their natural habitat.

I think this can be seen as a good thing because looking after living creatures is more important than money." This was a wonderful answer.

Somebody else said, "I think lying is definitely wrong if it causes others harm, but Alina's decision to lie didn't do that.

I think sacrificing a reward of gold to protect the dragons is a moral decision because it is selfless." I loved this answer.

It's highlighted that Alina's decision to lie didn't cause any harm, not even to the King, really.

He didn't get what he wanted, but it didn't hurt him, and instead it protected the dragons.

It could be considered as a very selfless act.

Well done for exploring the circumstances under which Alina lied in order to challenge the idea that lying is always wrong.

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

A theme is a big idea, topic, or message that recurs within a story, and authors use these to convey deeper meaning.

Identifying the themes within "The Moon Dragons" helps us understand the deeper meaning behind the story.

Themes are often communicated through exploring negative and positive character traits.

Key themes such as bravery, protection, and morality are conveyed through Lila's admirable character traits.

The themes within "The Moon Dragons" help us consider the complexities of human morality.

I am so impressed with how hard you have worked and all of your critical discussion around the topics in this lesson.

I have really enjoyed teaching you, well done.