Lesson video

Hello, everybody.

It's great to see you.

My name is Ms. Afzal.

I'm very pleased to be here.

That's because we are going to be exploring an incredible text together.

It's a picture book.

It's called "Greenling" by Levi Pinfold.

It looks like this, and I would like you to go and get your copy of the text now.

So I'm gonna pause here while you go and grab your copy, and I'm gonna take in this incredible front cover while I'm waiting.

Okay, you're back.

You've got this text.

Look at that.

Wow.

This is really gonna be something incredible for us to explore this text together.

So make sure you've got your thinking brains and your looking eyes, listening ears, your curiosity, your enthusiasm, all of your skills, and just be you and be here and let's get into it.

The outcome for today's lesson is I can explain a personal response to the text.

We have some keywords in our lesson today.

Let's go through them.

My turn, your turn.

Theme.

Rewilding.

Sustainability.

Personal response.

Let's get into these words and find out what they mean.

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

Rewilding is a conservation approach that restores ecosystems to their natural state by reintroducing key species and promoting natural processes.

Sustainability means using resources wisely without depleting them for future generations.

A personal response is expressing your own opinions, ideas or feelings.

Some fantastic keywords, and I'm really looking forward to finding out even more about them in this lesson.

So what's involved in today's lesson, reading around the text "Greenling"? Well, first we're going to be exploring rewilding, and then we'll look at developing a personal response to the text.

So let's begin exploring rewilding.

So here is our amazing text, "Greenling".

It is written and is illustrated by Levi Pinfold.

Have a look at that front cover.

It's quite, quite remarkable.

What a talented person Levi Pinfold is.

So what do we know so far about this text? The Barleycorns discover a Greenling, a plant-like baby.

They take it into their home.

As they nurture and care for the Greenling, it grows and transforms their world, bringing magic and wonder to their lives.

The Greenling provides crops for the couple and their community.

It changes people's opinion of it before finally leaving after the summer.

There are many themes that are explored in "Greenling", including change and transformation, sustainability and rewilding.

Rewilding is a key theme within the text.

It's an approach that humans can take to help nature recover by bringing back lost plants and animals to restore balance in ecosystems. An ecosystem is how plants, animals, and their environment work together.

In today's lesson, we're going to discover more about rewilding and how it connects to "Greenling".

I wonder if you've come across rewilding anywhere, maybe a small piece of land or might even be just a little patch of grass where things have been planted that didn't used to be there before, so new plants, new life coming to the area.

Check for understanding.

Rewilding is achieved through restoring ecosystems to their natural state, destroying habitats to source materials, reintroducing key species of plants and animals, building bigger and bigger cities.

Pause the video while you decide which of these helps rewilding to be achieved.

Well done if you selected restoring ecosystems to their natural state and reintroducing key species of plants and animals.

I'd like you now to read "Exploring Rewilding: Restoring Nature's Balance" from the additional materials, and take particular note of the words defined in the glossary.

Referring to the introduction, why do you think reintroducing key species is important in rewilding? So pause the video now.

Take a look at the additional material, "Exploring Rewilding: Restoring Nature's Balance", and then referring to the introduction, why do you think reintroducing key species is important in rewilding? Share your answer with someone nearby.

Pause the video here.

Maybe you came up with an answer like this, "Reintroducing key species is important because it puts plants and animals who are lost or displaced back in their original habitats," or perhaps, "It mentions in the text that reintroducing species will bring balance back to the environment." Well done if you came up with these answers, and now I'd like you to refer to the section titled "The importance of rewilding".

"The importance of rewilding.

Rewilding plays a crucial role in addressing environmental challenges, such as habitat loss, species extinction and climate change.

Restoring ecosystems through rewilding can help improve biodiversity by providing habitats for a variety of plants and animals.

Additionally, rewilding can have positive impacts on local communities and enhance the overall quality of life." What are the three environmental challenges listed? So pause the video while you take another look at this piece of text, importance of rewilding, and can you spot what are the three environmental challenges listed? Pause the video here.

Well done if you spotted these three environmental challenges, habitat loss, species extinction and climate change, really, really big challenges, big, really, really serious challenges, and again, referring to the section titled "The importance of rewilding", I'd like you to answer this question.

Why do you think increasing biodiversity might have a positive effect on the quality of life and improve the local community? So pause the video while you again refer back to this section, "The importance of rewilding", and share with someone nearby your answer to this question.

Why do you think increasing biodiversity might have a positive effect on the quality of life and improve the local community? Let's see what Lucas has to say.

"Increasing biodiversity would mean that more plants and animals might share the spaces, making local communities more diverse in flora and fauna." Oh my goodness, I love that.

Fantastic answer, Lucas, and yeah, we want more diverse flora, that's plants, and fauna, different kinds of animals.

Can you imagine how would that feel for you in your local community if you had more spaces where there are more plants and animals and you are sharing the space together? I wonder if you can notice how that would feel for you.

I know I would love that, just more greenery and more life, and remember, if your response can be justified by what you've read in the text, it's a valid response.

Check for understanding.

Which of the following is a suitable summary of the second paragraph, "The importance of rewilding"? Reintroducing native plants allows them to grow and minimise human interference.

Rewilding restores ecosystems, boosts biodiversity and benefits communities, or release animals into a suitable habitat, monitor them and let it thrive naturally.

So pause the video while you select which is the suitable summary for the second paragraph of "The importance of rewilding".

Well done if you selected b.

Yes indeed, rewilding restores ecosystems, boosts biodiversity and benefits communities.

Great summary, and now I'd like you to refer to the section titled "Examples of rewilding".

List a benefit of reintroducing the wolves to Yellowstone National Park.

So what's a benefit, something that was good, helpful, positive about reintroducing the wolves to Yellowstone National Park? And here's an image of an elk, which primarily feeds on grasses and shrubs.

So pause the video while you refer to that section of the text and share with someone nearby some of the benefits of reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone National Park.

Here's Sofia.

Let's see what benefits she came up with.

"By introducing wolves, it changed the behaviour of elks, which eat plants.

This meant that plants were able to recover, increasing biodiversity." Fantastic.

I love this ripple effect of what can happen when we make one change.

Now I'd like you to refer to the conclusion.

Why is it important for humans to support rewilding efforts? So pause the video here, refer to the conclusion, and share your answer with someone nearby.

Here comes Sam.

"Rewilding means nature can 'thrive'.

This helps the wildlife who rely on it." Fantastic, love that word "thrive".

Humans should support rewilding because it ensures the planet is sustainable and there is enough for future generations.

Really good point, Izzy.

Absolutely.

You are the young people, future generations, and we need to look after this planet and make sure it is in good shape for everyone in the future.

Check for understanding.

Refer to the whole text.

Which of the following are mentioned in the text? Elks were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park.

Rewilding is a conservation strategy that restores ecosystems to their natural state.

Wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park.

Rewilding does not benefit humans.

So pause the video here, refer to the whole text, and decide which of these were mentioned in the text.

Well done if you selected rewilding is a conservation strategy that restores ecosystems to their natural state and wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park.

Now that we've developed our understanding of rewilding, we can think about how it links to the text "Greenling".

So it's time for our first task.

How is the theme of rewilding explored in the text "Greenling"? You may want to make reference to the characters.

Are there any characters that support rewilding? Events.

What does the Greenling do to the Barleycorn's home? An illustration.

Do any illustrations depict rewilding? You might begin your answer like this, "I think the theme of rewilding is explored when.

." or, "I think the text links to rewilding by.

." So pause the video here and reflect on how is the theme of rewilding explored in this incredible text "Greenling", and I'll see you when you're finished.

Okay.

It's good to be back with you.

I am really curious to find out how you felt the theme of rewilding was explored in the text.

So let's begin.

What are some of your answers? "I think 'Greenling' to rewilding by the Greenling causing wild plants and animals to appear in the Barleycorn's kitchen," and that's referenced in pages 9 and 10.

Fantastic.

Yeah, I really like that it's giving us those page references too.

"I think rewilding is depicted best on the double-page spreads on pages 19 to 20 and 25 to 26.

Trees have enveloped the train carriages and wildlife and plants are everywhere!" Oh my goodness.

Yep.

Great, great spot that one too.

What else? "I think the theme of rewilding is explored when the Greenling provides enough harvest for the community.

The barn is full of produce and this is sustainable." Yeah, really nice, and that was on pages 27 and 28.

Fantastic, so remember, if your response can be justified by evidence in a text, it's a valid response.

And now we are moving on to looking at developing a personal response to the text.

A personal response is a reader's opinions, ideas, or feelings about a text.

Sharing personal responses allows readers to engage more deeply with the story and build connections to the text.

Talking about texts can build a reading community and help develop empathy.

Empathy is one of my favourite words.

It's about when we understand.

We can understand another's experience, see another's perspective.

Personal responses can vary greatly from reader to reader.

Just like a reader's identity, personal responses are unique.

What's your personal response after reading "Greenling"? Pause the video here.

Share with someone nearby.

So what was your personal response after reading "Greenling"? I am very, very curious about this one.

Here's Laura.

"Looking at the relationship between the characters and the Greenling, I think we should always try and practise empathy as much as possible." Oh my goodness, Laura.

This is music to my ears.

Empathy, empathy, empathy.

I love it.

"'Greenling' made me consider the natural world and how we should try and preserve it.

It provides us with so much." Yeah, what a fantastic point.

Maybe just even have a think about what have you eaten today or yesterday or over the last few days, and can you look back at what you've eaten or had to drink, how it comes from the natural world? I wonder, do you agree or disagree with Laura? Your own personal response will relate to your own experience, your likes, dislikes, and personal values.

Check for understanding.

A personal response is the author's opinions, ideas or feelings about a text, a reader's opinions, ideas or feelings about a text, your teacher's opinions, ideas or feelings about a text.

So pause the video while you decide which of these is a personal response.

Well done if you selected a reader's opinions, ideas, or feelings about a text.

We are all unique.

We all have our own reading identities, and we come with our own ideas, feelings, opinions, and that's our personal response.

Okay.

It is time for your final task.

This is gonna be a really fun one.

This is called the Diamond 4.

I'd like you to look at the statements that are coming up in a moment below and place the statement that you think is most important at the top of the diamond, and then work your way down and explain your choices.

So you have the most important statement at the top, the one you feel is the least important at the bottom, and the other two in the middle.

Here are our statements.

The Greenling's actions highlight the importance of rewilding.

The Greenling symbolises hope.

"Greenling" inspires awe and wonder in readers.

The Barleycorn's show empathy towards the Greenling, and do refer back to the text to support your discussion.

So pause the video now and decide.

Discuss with those around you which order you would like to place these statements in, from most important to least important, and I'll see you when you're finished.

Okay.

It's good to be back with you.

Let's take a look at Aisha's example.

So what did Aisha go for? Number one.

Okay, Aisha had the Greenling's actions highlight the importance of rewilding as most important.

Okay.

What was next for Aisha? "Greenling" inspires awe and wonder in readers, yeah, and the Greenling symbolises hope, and then what did Aisha put down here at the bottom? The Barleycorn's show empathy towards the Greenling.

"I placed rewilding at the top as I think it's an important message to share." Okay, yeah, I really get that one, Aisha, and "I put the Barleycorn's empathy as the least important because I think having hope and inspiring readers to take action is more important." Okay.

Fantastic.

Thanks for sharing your personal response, Aisha.

I really appreciated seeing that, and remember, we all have our own personal response to a text.

So your Diamond 4 may have looked different to Aisha's, and that's absolutely fine.

That's the point of this activity.

We get to discuss and share our ideas and our understanding of something.

So really well done for taking part in this, everyone.

In our lesson today, reading around the text "Greenling", we've covered the following.

There are many themes that are explored in "Greenling", including change and transformation, sustainability and rewilding.

Reading around a text can deepen our understanding of significant themes and ideas in a text.

Sharing personal responses allows reader to engage more deeply with the story and build connections to the text.

Personal responses can vary greatly from reader to reader.

Just like a reader's identity, personal responses are unique.

Thank you for engaging with this lesson, everybody, and especially for bringing in your personal responses, bringing in your own unique identity as a reader.

That's so, so wonderful and important when we get to do that and to share that, and also, I loved the discussion and the sharing around sustainability and especially around rewilding.

So much hope for our precious planet as we rewild it.

I look forward to seeing you in another lesson very soon.

Bye for now.