Lesson video

Hello, everyone, how are you today? I hope you're really feeling great.

My name's Miss Afzal.

I'm feeling good, because we will continue engaging with "Arthur and the Golden Rope" today.

Really fantastic modern myth and I think there's gonna be a lot of excitement to come to unfold.

Are you ready for it? Should we get started? The outcome for today's lesson is I can engage with the characters and features of a text.

We have some keywords in our lesson today.

Let's go through them.

My turn, your turn.

Modern myth.

Character traits.

Features.

Great, I loved hearing those words.

Let's find out what they mean.

A modern myth is a contemporary tale explaining a culture's beliefs and customs, often involving gods and supernatural creatures.

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

The features of a text type refer to distinctive characteristics that belong to it.

Let's be on the lookout for these keywords.

They'll be coming up in our lesson today.

So our lesson engaging with "Arthur and the Golden Rope" has two parts to it.

Engaging with characters and engaging with features of a modern myth.

Let's begin with engaging with characters.

So what do we know about the text so far? "Arthur and the Golden Rope" is a modern myth.

We are introduced to the text narrator, Professor Brownstone, who has a vault of rare and powerful artefacts.

Arthur is the first ancestor of Professor Brownstone who went on an adventure.

This text is the story of that adventure.

Arthur lives in a small Icelandic town.

He's described as different to everyone else.

Immediately interests me hearing that about Arthur.

We are introduced to Arthur on page 12.

Let's hear Joe read pages 12 to 15 up until from a tree and you can follow along in your text.

(bright music) <v ->As soon as he was old enough to explore the forest,</v> he showed a great interest in the strange creatures that lived there.

At night, while the townsfolk would gather around the safety of the great fire, Arthur would sit and listen to Atrix, the town's wise woman.

She would tell him wondrous and frightening tales about distant lands and ancient magic.

Arthur soon began to journey into the forest in search of adventures.

He even started to carry with him some of the more unusual items he had found.

(lively music) For returning her egg, the mighty bird Wind Weaver gave him a special feather that would grant him help in a time of need.

By putting an end to the great or rather tiny war between goblins and fairies, he was given an enchanted staff.

High in an ancient tower, he discovered the hand of time which held the power to freeze anyone who touched it.

And Atrix gave him this very journal I'm reading from after the most dangerous challenge of all, rescuing her cat from a tree.

(lively music) <v ->Great to hear Joe reading</v> and now I would like you to tell your partner three character traits that you would use to describe Arthur.

Have your initial impressions about him changed? So what are some of these aspects of his character that make him unique and interesting? Pause the video here and share with someone nearby.

Okay, let's hear some ideas.

I think Arthur is brave.

He's shown climbing up to the Wild Weaver's nest.

Arthur is empathetic and cares about others as he encourages a truce between the goblins and fairies.

He is curious about the world he lives in.

Not all of these traits are what I expected him to be.

And what fantastic traits.

I love those, brave, empathetic, curious.

I wonder, do you share any of those character traits with Arthur or perhaps you have some other character traits? Just pausing for a moment to reflect on that.

And now, I'd like you to select the correct statements.

Arthur discovered the hand of time in a dimly lit cave.

Atrix thinks that rescuing her cat from a tree was the most dangerous challenge.

Arthur spends his time gathering around a great fire.

Arthur carries unusual items around with him.

Pause the video while you select which of these statements are true.

Did you select statements B and D? Atrix thinks that rescuing her cat from the tree was the most dangerous challenge and Arthur carries unusual items around with him.

Well done if you selected these.

Arthur's adventures lead to him being startled by a mysterious creature.

Let's hear Joe read pages 16 to 21 up until no good meddler and you can follow along with your text.

So pause here while we watch this short video of Joe reading pages 16 to 21.

(lively music) <v ->One day, while Arthur was attempting</v> to track down a rare species of magical worm, he was startled by a terrible howl.

A moment later, he was plunged into darkness as a huge black shape bounded over him and disappeared.

(lively music) Arthur quickly clambered up the nearest tree and poked his head over the top of the canopy.

Right there, heading straight for his town was a monstrous black wolf.

He could only watch in horror as the wolf put the great fire before it leapt back into the darkness of the forest.

Arthur hurried back to the town and felt the cold close in on him.

The final embers of the great fire were dying and everyone was huddled together as Atrix began to speak.

"Without the great fire warming our town, every house will be frozen solid in less than a week," Atrix warned, "And all of us soon after." The townsfolk gasped in fear.

But wait, there is a way we can be saved.

Across the sea lies the land of the Viking gods.

In a mighty hall on top of a mountain, there lives a God with a hammer that can command the skies.

He alone has the power to relight our fire.

As the townsfolk looked around, they realised a slight problem with this plan.

Everyone had been injured by the wolf, from their toughest warriors to their doughiest bakers.

There was no one to send.

"Arthur's not hurt," piped up one of his classmates.

"I wouldn't be surprised if all of his meddling brought this beast to us in the first place." He's much too small.

He wouldn't last two second in the land of the gods.

And the only reason he has remained unhurt is because he spends all of his time in the forest with those demons.

Yeah, he's just a no good meddler.

(gentle music) <v ->And now I'd like you to discuss.

</v> How do you think the villagers are feeling as they see the final embers of their great fire dying out? Pause a video, share with someone nearby.

The villagers might be worried or anxious as the great fire provided warmth for their town.

Without it, they are unlikely to be able to survive.

True or false? On page 21, the suggestion to send Arthur to the land of the Viking gods is met with universally positive remarks.

So that means, universally means everybody agrees.

Pause the video while you decide if this is true or false.

Well done if you selected false.

And now I'd like you to justify your answer by choosing from one of these two statements.

Villagers describe Arthur negatively.

They say he is meddling, small and spending too much time in the forest.

Everyone was injured by the wolf, Arthur was the only person they could send.

Pause the video while you decide which of these statements best justifies your earlier answer.

Well done if you selected statement A.

Indeed, the villagers describe Arthur negatively.

They think he's meddling more and spending too much time in the forest.

Arthur begins to question his actions.

And now let's hear Joe read pages 22 to 28 up until help with the wolf, and you can follow along in your text.

So pause here while we listen to Joe read pages 22 to 28.

(gentle music) <v ->That night, Arthur lay wide awake,</v> the harsh words of the townsfolk running through his head.

Maybe he was a meddler and he had led the wolf straight to the town.

Taking a deep breath, Arthur decided that he must go and find the god of the storms. Packing up his most useful possessions, he climbed out of his bedroom window and headed for the harbour.

He'd had many adventures in the forest.

How much harder could this one be? (gentle music) Here we can see Arthur on his treacherous journey to find Thor.

(gentle music continues) After a long journey, Arthur finally reached the great hall.

The powerful door swung open and a voice boomed, "Welcome, young traveller.

I am Thor, god of sky and thunder." The warrior god listened intently as Arthur recounted the fate of his town.

"At last," he nodded gravely.

"The wolf is Fenrir, son of the evil god Loki and he has ravaged many villages over the past years.

I will relight your great fire, but only under one condition.

you must help me capture the beast," said Thor.

Arthur could only tremble in his boots as Thor explained how the gods had already failed to trap the wolf.

(gentle music) Fenrir had nearly squished Freyja, the god of love, while she had tried to cast a spell.

Then there was Baldr, the god of justice who had only just escaped from the jaws of the beast, despite his amazing strength.

And then Thor's own brother Tyr had had his hand bitten off while he tried to help with the wolf.

The only way to stop Fenrir is with a rope made from two incredibly rare items. <v ->And now I'd like you to discuss.

</v> What are your impressions of the gods? Select one god and discuss your thoughts with your partner.

Pause the video, share with someone nearby.

Let's hear an answer.

Thor is very commanding.

He instructs Arthur on what he must do.

Arthur felt as though he couldn't refuse such an offer.

Match the god to their domain, and domain is the area they have command over.

So we have the gods or goddesses.

So we have Thor, Baldr and Freyja and the domains of love, thunder and justice.

Pause the video while you match the god or goddess to their domain.

So Thor is the god of thunder, Baldr of justice and Freyja of love.

Well done if you made these connections.

Arthur gets given instructions by Thor.

He sets off in search of the first of the rare items. And let's hear Joe read pages 29 to 33 up until a quick getaway and you can follow along in your text.

So pause here while we watch a short video of Joe reading pages 29 to 33.

<v ->"The only way to stop Fenrir</v> is with a rope made from two incredibly rare items, the sound of a cat's footfall and the roots of a mountain," said Thor.

"And by the looks of things, you have collected many strange things already." Before Arthur could refuse, Thor handed him two glass bottles and sent him on his way.

(charming music) If Arthur was to catch the sound of a cat's footfall, he would have to find a very big cat.

He remembered Atrix's tail of a serpent who could turn into a colossal cat, so large that Thor himself could not lift it.

As you can imagine, it was not hard to find.

(charming music) Arthur only knew one way to make such a big cat jump.

(charming music continues) A gigantic boom echoed around the valley as the beast's huge paws hit the floor.

Arthur held on tight to Thor's jar and captured as much of the sound as possible before making a quick getaway.

(charming music) <v ->And now I'd like you to discuss.

</v> How might you feel if you were Arthur in this situation? Pause the video, share with someone nearby.

Here's a possible answer.

I might feel confident in my plan, then shocked as the colossal cat jumps into the air.

Finally, I would be terrified of its sharp claws.

I wonder if your answer was something similar or maybe different.

And now I'd like you to sequence the following events.

Arthur collects the cat's footfall.

Fenrir puts out the great fire.

Arthur sets off on a voyage across the sea.

Pause the video while you sequence these events.

Well done if you had as the first event, Fenrir puts out the great fire.

Next, Arthur sets off an a voyage across the sea and then he collects the cat's footfall.

Well done If you sequenced the events in this order.

And now it's time for your first task.

The villagers do not respond well to the suggestion that Arthur will be their hero.

I would like you to write four pieces of dialogue that they might say about him.

What character traits might they mention? And notice their body language and facial expressions.

Oh my goodness, take a look at that.

We can read a lot into how these people are feeling just by looking at them.

So pause the video here and write your four pieces of dialogue about what the other villagers might say about Arthur being their hero.

Okay, so what did you come up with? Maybe he can't even catch a cold.

He spends too much time with his head in the clouds daydreaming, he won't be able to concentrate on such an important mission.

How will he fend for himself? He doesn't look like much of a hero, does he? Oh my goodness, wow.

They are not in agreement with him being their hero.

That's for sure.

Thor is the god of sky and thunder.

He is very commanding and authoritative.

What might Thor think about Arthur? Write down two thoughts that he might have.

Pause the video here while you consider what Thor might think about Arthur.

So what did you come up with? Perhaps something like this.

I wonder if this Arthur is up to the challenge.

He looks like he's collected lots of strange items. Could they help? Maybe, this boy shows determination.

I hope he'll survive what lies ahead of him.

Great, great thoughts there.

Great possible thoughts from Thor there.

And now let's move on to the next part of our lesson, engaging with features of a modern myth.

Can you remember the features of a modern myth? Pause the video and tell someone nearby some of the features of a modern myth.

Did you get this one? Often, feature gods and goddesses with extraordinary powers and abilities, adapts traditional myths for today or creates new ones, reflects contemporary values, issues and cultures, important moral or lesson taught and they can sometimes blend reality and fiction, leaving room for interpretation.

Well done if you remembered some of these features of a modern myth.

And now let's look at how these features appear in "Arthur and the Golden Rope".

So we have gods and goddesses with extraordinary powers.

We have Odin, Thor, Tyr, Baldr and Freyja.

An important moral or lesson taught, not to make judgements against someone's character before knowing them.

Such an important lesson.

And adapts traditional myths for today or creates new ones.

This text adapts Norse mythology to a different setting, period in time.

During our reading, we have been introduced to each of the Norse gods and began to explore their powers and abilities, as well as their character traits.

Freyja was known as a passionate and nurturing god.

She rode a chariot pulled by cats and owned a magical feather cloak that allowed her to fly.

Freyja's powers included the ability to shape-shift, to take on a different shape.

Baldr was known as the wisest and most merciful of the gods.

Baldr was eventually killed by a mistletoe to spear engineered by Loki who is jealous of Baldr's popularity among gods and humans.

Baldr's powers included the ability to project light and calmness to put others at ease.

Oh my goodness, I think that might be the best superpower I've ever heard of.

Love that.

Match the god to their abilities and character traits.

So we have Freyja and Baldr and here are their character traits and abilities.

Merciful, nurturing, shape-shifting, passionate and project light.

Pause the video while you match the god to their ability and character traits.

Freyja is nurturing, shape-shifting and passionate.

And Baldr is merciful and can project light.

Oh my goodness.

What amazing abilities and traits.

Thor wielded the mighty hammer Mjolnir and rode a chariot pulled by goats.

Thor was strong, brave, and quick-tempered, often setting out on adventures to prove his strength and defeat enemies.

Thor's abilities include the ability to control the weather.

Handy.

Tyr was known for his courage, honour and justice.

Tyr lost his hand while binding the wolf Fenrir after the other gods failed to subdue the beast.

Tyr's abilities included his skill in battle and inspirational leadership.

Now I'd like you to match the god to their abilities and character traits.

So we have Thor and Tyr and their traits and abilities are conjure lightning, quick-tempered, courage, leadership, super strength.

Pause the video while you match the god to their abilities and character traits.

Thor is able to conjure lightning, is quick-tempered and super strong.

And Tyr has courage and leadership.

Well done if you made these connections.

And now it's time for your next task.

We know that a feature of a modern myth is that they often feature gods and goddesses with extraordinary powers and abilities.

I would like you now to role play an interview as one of the gods.

Use knowledge from the lesson and the text to act out the role.

So partner A takes on the role of Freyja, Thor, Tyr or Baldr and partner B is the interviewer.

And then you can repeat shifting roles and gods.

Questions can link to their thoughts on Arthur or their powers and abilities.

And a challenge would be, you could include the gods' character traits through your responses.

Ah, that would be great.

Get that in there too.

Okay, so enjoy your role play.

I'll see you when you finished your task.

Pause the video here.

How did you get on role playing one of the gods and using your knowledge from the lesson and the text to act out the role? Did you reflect on the gods' thoughts about Arthur? Did you mention the gods' powers or abilities? Did you include answers that demonstrated their character traits? And did you have fun? I hope so.

In our lesson engaging with "Arthur and the Golden Rope", we have covered the following.

Arthur does not exhibit typical character traits of a hero.

The villagers in Arthur's hometown do not respond well to Arthur.

Their body language and facial expressions provide the reader with additional meaning.

Through further reading, we can explore Norse gods' powers and abilities, as well as their character traits.

Well done everyone for engaging with this lesson where we were engaging with "Arthur and the Golden Rope", a lot of engaging and I hope you enjoyed exploring these different Norse gods and their powers and their character traits.

I especially loved hearing about Tyr's projecting light and calmness.

Wow, what a great power.

Wishing you much light and calmness until we meet again.

See you in the next lesson.