Hi there.

Welcome to this reading lesson.

My name is Mr. Charlesworth.

In today's lesson, we're going to be exploring the text "El Deafo," which is written and illustrated by Cece Bell.

You'll need a copy of this graphic novel for today's lesson.

If you haven't got one already, pause the video now and make sure you've got one to hand.

Great work.

Today's lesson explores one of my favourite forms of literature, the graphic novel.

I hope you're looking forward to exploring this text in more detail.

Let's get started.

The lesson outcome for today is I can discuss the main ideas of "El Deafo." The keywords are, my turn, your turn, graphic novel, memoir, theme, capital D Deaf, and lowercase D deaf.

Let's try those once more.

Graphic novel, memoir, theme, capital D Deaf, and lowercase D deaf.

Well done.

Let's have a look at the definitions, particularly the difference between those last two.

A graphic novel is a type of text combining words and images in long form sequential art panels.

A memoir is a historical account or biography written from personal knowledge.

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

Recurs means to repeat.

Capital D Deaf refers to individuals who identify with the deaf community, sometimes using sign language to communicate, and lowercase D deaf refers to a medical or physical condition of hearing loss.

It's important to note that people may use these terms differently based on their personal preferences and experiences.

Don't worry if you're unsure about any of the keywords.

We'll be exploring them throughout the lesson.

In today's lesson, we're going to be developing our understanding of "El Deafo" through rich discussions.

We're going to begin by exploring the story first, looking at our likes and dislikes, then looking at graphic novels in more detail before we explore the themes and main ideas of the text.

Let's begin by exploring the story.

I hope you've got your copy with you and that you've read it already.

Let's get started.

"El Deafo" is a text that's written and created by Cece Bell.

She's done both the illustrations, and the story, and text.

"El Deafo" is a semi-autobiographical story that explores Cece Bell's own experiences growing up with a hearing impairment.

The graphic novel text is a memoir.

Well-spotted on our keyword.

The memoir uses bunny characters to depict Cece's childhood and her journey to embracing her hearing aid.

The illustrations in the text play a crucial role in conveying her emotions, experiences, and challenges associated with being deaf.

Our first question that I'd like you to consider is why is this memoir important, and do you think it's reflective for everyone within the deaf community? You might like to re-explore the author's note at the end of the text to support you here.

Pause the video now whilst you discuss the question with your partner.

Fantastic discussion.

I wonder if you discussed the authenticity.

That means if someone's writing about something that's quite sensitive that they've experienced themselves or they've done lots of research on the matter.

Let's have a look at an example from Sophia.

She says, "A memoir is created by someone who has experienced what they're writing about.

'El Deafo' is an important text because it shows readers what it might be like to experience hearing loss and the challenges associated with it.

'El Deafo' accurately depicts Cece's experiences.

However, these are not universal or experienced by everyone in the same way." Cece also mentions this in her author's note at the end of the text.

It explains the fact that this is just one experience, and that being deaf has a multitude of different challenges and experiences.

Here's our first check for understanding.

True or false.

"El Deafo" is a nonfiction text.

Is that true or false? Have a think about what nonfiction stands for.

Pause the video now whilst you decide.

Great work.

There are clearly some nonfiction elements in terms of it teaches us a little bit about Cece's experiences, and also what it might be like for someone who's deaf.

However, I'm not sure her depiction is exactly true to life, so the answer is false.

I'd like you now to justify your answer.

Is it because a "El Deafo" is a memoir which reflects Cece Bell's own life? In the graphic novel, Cece is depicted as a rabbit.

Or B, "El Deafo" depicts real events that have happened in someone's life.

Which of these justifications best fits with the original statement? Pause the video now whilst you decide.

Great work.

Whilst "El Deafo" does depict some events that happen to Cece, it depicts her as a rabbit.

Therefore, it's not exactly non-fiction.

So it has non-fiction elements, however, it's not a non-fiction text.

It doesn't portray Cece exactly as she is.

Therefore, the answer is A.

Well done if you've got them both right.

As you've read the text already, here's a brief summary of what happens.

Aged four, Cece falls very ill.

She spends time in hospital.

Though she recovers from the illness, she loses her hearing permanently.

This affects her family in different ways.

Cece's given a hearing aid, which she initially hates.

It makes her stand out at school.

She finds it difficult to make friends.

Cece begins to see some positives to having a device.

Others see it as a superpower.

Well-remembered, she's able to listen to the teachers both in the staff room and other situations.

She creates a superhero persona here called El Deafo.

El Deafo has the courage that Cece does not.

El Deafo intervenes in situations which might be uncomfortable to have in real life.

Through these interactions, readers are able to empathise with Cece.

To empathise with someone is to think about what it might be like to be in their shoes, to be them, to see through their eyes.

Here's a check for understanding based on what you've read.

Can you order the following events from "El Deafo" in chronological order? You can use the text to support.

Chronological order means the order that the events occurred in the text.

We have, A, Cece falls out with one of her best friends, Martha.

B, Cece goes to a sleepover with friends.

It doesn't go well.

C, Cece is taken to sign language lessons by her mother.

And D, after overcoming several challenges, Cece begins to form positive relationships with members of the class.

She feels included.

Which one of these happens first, which happens last, and which order must they go in? Number them one, two, three, and four.

Pause the video now whilst you do so.

Well done.

Lots of these events happen at different points within the text.

The first one mentioned is that Cece goes to a sleepover with friends and it doesn't go well.

The lights are switched off, and she's unable to read people's lips or to hear what they're saying.

After that, Cece is taken to sign language lessons by her mother.

Well-remembered.

They have a big discussion about sign language, and Cece reflects on this later, too.

After that, Cece falls out with one of her best friends, Martha.

Before at the end of the text, after overcoming lots of challenges, Cece begins to form positive relationships with members of the class.

She feels included.

Well done if you got them all in the correct order.

Now that we've explored the story, we're going to discuss our own thoughts and feelings about the text.

This is our personal opinion or reaction to the text.

I'd like you to answer the following questions in the grid with a partner.

Be honest about your thoughts, and make sure you listen to your partner's opinion.

You can of course refer to the text in your answer to support your discussion.

When you're talking with your partner, I'd like you to focus on the likes.

What caught your attention? What made you want to keep reading? The dislikes.

Was there anything that you did not understand? And the puzzles.

Was there anything you found strange or surprising? You could use the sentence stems, I enjoyed or my favourite part was for likes, I was unsure about, I wanted to know more about for dislikes, and I wondered or I noticed for puzzles.

Pause the video now whilst you complete the task with your partner.

Well done.

There are lots of things you could have drawn out from this fantastic graphic novel.

Under likes, I said I liked how the graphic novel showed what life was like for Cece as she grew to understand her hearing loss.

Under dislikes, I said I wanted to know more about how sign language can be used to communicate.

I know that there are many different types of sign language, and also accents.

It's a really fascinating language to learn.

Finally, under puzzles, I noticed lots of different speech bubbles and shapes around the page.

I think they might mean different things.

We'll be exploring them a little bit later.

I also wondered how Cece came up with the idea of text disappearing or being blank to represent hearing loss.

I thought that was a really clever tool, didn't you? Were your likes, dislikes, and puzzles similar or different to mine? Were they similar or different to your partners? Everyone's responses will be interesting and unique, just like our reader identity.

We're now going to explore graphic novels in a little more detail, and look at some of the features that are included in "El Deafo." Graphic novels are one of my favourite forms of literature.

They can appeal to readers of all ages and interests.

A graphic novel tells a complete story with illustrations in panels.

Those can be the square or rectangular boxes.

They also come in a variety of other shapes.

Graphic novels have a clear beginning, middle, and end, unlike comics, which are usually released weekly in smaller sections called comic strips.

Usually you'll see them in a small rectangular column with about three or four different panels.

Graphic novels are really engaging, and include many features, such as speech bubbles, thought bubbles, and sound effects, to inform the reader what is happening.

We're going to explore what these look like now.

On the right-hand side, you'll see two of my favourite graphic novels for year four, "InvestiGators" and "Barb the Brave." I hope you have a chance to explore them at the school or local library.

Callouts refer to visual elements that draw attention to specific details within a panel or page.

Let's have a look at three kinds of callouts.

There's speech bubbles.

These come in different shapes to distinguish between types of speech or communication.

For example, pointed or jagged edges to signify heightened emotions.

A heightened emotion is a bit like when your feeling is really powerful or strong.

Thought bubbles represent a character's internal thoughts.

They might have a cloud-like shape or be presented with a series of dots or wavy lines around the border to visually distinguish them.

You might have seen them in other text types, too.

Finally, there's sound effects.

In graphic novels, they're often visually representing onomatopoeia to convey the nature of the sound.

Some examples might be bang, crash, or wallop.

You might know some traditional sound effects in other comics, such as kapow, too.

Graphic novels have lots of creative ways to display words and images.

They can be presented in a range of different formats.

One of my favourite double page spreads in "El Deafo" is on page 108 and 109.

Pause the video now whilst you turn to the page.

Well done.

On this page, I really liked how the author conveyed the different forms of communication.

The text disappearing mirrored the batteries on Cece's hearing age depleting.

I thought that was a really clever way to represent that happening, where she's unable to rely on her hearing and asks to use sign language instead.

Now it's over to you.

I wonder, what is your favourite double page spread, and why? You might like to use the sentence stem, my favourite double page spread is, and I thought it was effective because.

Pause the video now as you discuss your favourite double page spread with your partner.

Great work.

I wonder which page you chose.

There were lots of possible options in this text.

I wonder if your selection was different to other people in your class, too.

"El Deafo" uses callouts in interesting ways to separate Cece's thoughts, emotions, and imagination.

Combined with narration, they help convey Cece's experience to the reader.

I'd like you in this task to find an example of each of the following callouts within the text.

I'd like you to find an example of a speech bubble, a thought bubble, and a sound effect.

I'd like you when you're discussing with your partner to say why did you choose that particular example, and what makes it effective in communicating to the reader what's happening within the scene? There are lots of options you could choose here.

I'd look for one that engages you as a reader and is interesting in some way.

Pause the video now whilst you complete the task with your partner.

Amazing work.

There are so many different types of callouts that Cece uses, and they're deployed in really effective ways, too.

Let's have a look at two examples.

The speech bubble and sound effects that I chose were on page 170 and 171.

They show the reader when Cece's feeling overwhelmed.

The sound effects emphasised the shattering sound of her hearing aid landing on the gym floor.

For thought bubble, I thought that the thought bubbles on page 25 were really interesting because they gave us insight into Cece's challenges and struggles with communication.

Which ones were your favourites, or which ones were most interesting for you? I hope you're able to share with your partner, too.

In the final section, we're going to be exploring themes within the text, and also our takeaway ideas, the ideas that are left with us after reading the text.

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

Identifying themes within a text involves inference.

That means we can't just see it within the text and the words, we have to think about it, too.

Themes are not explicitly stated within a text.

There are a few ways to identify themes.

You can consider actions and characteristics of people within the text.

You can identify repetition.

That includes actions, emotions, or character traits.

You can search for deeper meaning using inference, and you can consider the overall message of the text.

That's a bit like any morals or big messages from the text itself.

I think one of the most prominent themes in "El Deafo" is identity and self-acceptance.

That means accepting ourselves so who we are.

Cece has to come to terms with her loss of hearing.

She overcomes many challenges and setbacks both socially and emotionally.

I wonder, what themes do you think are shown in the text? Have a discussion with your partner now.

Pause the video whilst you discuss.

Well done.

There are lots of possible themes you could discuss in the text.

Let's have a look at some examples.

Other themes in our "El Deafo" might include friendship, bullying, family, and navigating the hearing world.

I wonder if you talked about any more.

If you found examples within the text and supported it with evidence, then it's probably a theme of the text.

There are many possible themes that can be drawn out from this text.

It's important to remember that readers may interpret themes and their importance differently.

Here's our final check for understanding.

Can you match the theme with how it's conveyed in the text? Well-noticed, there's two of our keywords.

The themes on the left-hand side are identity, family, and friendship, and how they could be conveyed in the text are on the right-hand side.

I'd like you to match these up.

Pause the video now whilst you do so.

Well done.

I know that with identity, it's about Cece herself, so identity must link with Cece becoming more and more confident.

Family definitely doesn't link with Martha and Mike.

Those are Cece's friends, so family must be that Cece has supportive parents who try their best to empathise with her.

This isn't always possible, so it must be quite a challenging situation for them all to deal with.

Finally, friendship is going to be Cece building up strong, positive friendships with both Martha and Mike.

I really liked how Cece explored her friendships through the text.

The author's note has some more information on this, too.

A takeaway idea within a text may link to themes that are explored and developed in it.

It might include a key message, insight, or perspective that the author's communicated to the reader.

I wonder, what are your takeaway ideas within "El Deafo?" Laura says, "'El Deafo' made me think about how we communicate with each other." And Lucas says, "The text made me think about inclusion, especially how we can be more understanding and empathetic to those with needs that are different to our own." I wonder what your takeaway idea will be.

Discuss with your partner.

Pause the video now whilst you complete the task.

Great discussion.

Here are some possible takeaway ideas you might have mentioned.

That friendships will come and go.

That happens a lot within "El Deafo." Cece falls in and outta friendships quite a lot, but ultimately, by being her true self at the end, she has a good surrounding network of friends.

Another takeaway idea could be that we should try and include everyone.

I hope that's a message that came through to you through the text.

The text taught me that there are lots of different ways to communicate with people.

It doesn't always have to be through speech.

We can help by writing things down or making sure that our lips are visible.

One of the overarching messages of the text is that we should see the person, not the disability.

There are so many times where Cece feels ostracised or alone because of her disability.

We need to look at the person and make sure that we are trying our best to empathise with others.

Finally, you might have said that authentic memoirs give you valuable insights into other people's perspectives.

I think authenticity is a really important factor here.

Maybe you'd like to explore other memoirs written by people who have experiences different to your own.

It's always good to widen your reading world and gain insight into a range of different experiences and perspectives.

And I'd like you to share your takeaway ideas with your partner.

As our reading experiences are unique, your ideas will be, too.

Pause the video now whilst you do so.

Well done.

I wonder what you explored.

I'm really looking forward to continuing this discussion in our next lesson.

In today's lesson, we've been developing an understanding of "El Deafo" through rich discussion.

We've learned that "El Deafo" is a semi-autobiographical graphic novel text that explores the author's own experiences growing up with a hearing impairment.

The text explores an individual's recount of their experiences.

It's not reflective of every experience within the capital D Deaf community.

A graphic novel tells a complete story with illustrations in panels.

Graphic novels include many features, such as speech bubbles, thought bubbles, and sound effects to inform the reader what is happening.

And finally, a takeaway idea within a text may link to themes that are explored and developed in it.

It may include a key message, insight, or perspective that the author has communicated to the reader.

They're things that we take away with us after reading.

Thank you so much for all your hard work today.

I'm really looking forward to working with you again soon.