Lesson video

Hello, everybody.

I'm Miss Afzal, and I'm wondering how you're doing? I hope you're doing well.

I'm feeling really good because we're going to be exploring one of my very favourite books today.

It is a picture book called "Mirror" by Jeannie Baker.

It looks like this, and it also looks like this.

Oh, my goodness.

There's something very, very special about this book, which we're gonna be getting into shortly, so I'd like you to go off and find your copy of "Mirror" by Jeannie Baker.

So I'm gonna pause here while you go and get your copy of the text.

While you're gone, I'm just gonna spin this book around so we can see both of the front covers, 'cause it's pretty unique in that respect.

Okay, so you're back.

You've got your copy of the text.

Let's get into it.

I'm really excited.

Hope you are too.

The outcome for today's lesson is, "I can make predictions about the text." We've got some keywords in today's lesson.

Let's go through them one at a time.

My turn.

Your turn.

Wordless text.

Dual narrative.

Collage.

Word explosion.

Prediction.

Fantastic, great to hear those words loud and clear.

Let's find out more about what they mean.

Wordless texts refer to narratives which are conveyed almost entirely through illustrations.

They can also be known as silent texts.

Dual narrative is a storytelling technique where there are two distinct but interconnected storylines or perspectives, presented simultaneously, at the same time, within the same text.

A collage is an artistic technique where images are created by assembling various materials to form a piece of artwork.

A word explosion is a vocabulary-building activity designed to encourage mind-mapping and in creativity in generating words related to a specific topic or theme.

And a prediction is an educated guess based on evidence in the text or prior knowledge.

So these are our key words, let's look out for them.

Let's listen out for them, they will be coming up.

Here's our lesson today.

Introducing the text and author of "Mirror." We'll begin with an introduction to the text and author, and next we'll be exploring the title of the text.

So first, the introduction to the text and author.

So here we have the cover, the front cover of "Mirror," and it's pretty special, it's pretty spectacular.

What do you notice on the front cover? So pause the video while you take a look at this image and tell someone nearby.

What do you notice? Okay, so you may have spotted two front covers, each with the word, mirror.

In Arabic script, this is, and you can see the script there, and each cover is split by the spine.

You may have noticed the moon in the sky.

It's in the same position on both covers.

You may have noticed some star constellations.

I noticed that the Southern Cross and Ursa Major are on different sides of the spine, and we can see on our screen there those two star constellations.

The landscapes are different.

One is an urban city environment, one is more rural, with mountains and deserts.

You may have spotted the skyline colour is gradual.

It could be dusk or dawn.

You may have noticed two boys glancing out of their windows.

Their homes are decorated in different ways.

Perhaps you noticed there are two creatures.

One is a bird flying above the richly decorated building, the other a form of cat-like creature beneath the windowsill, maybe a stork, maybe a possum.

Well done if you spotted some of these things on the incredible cover of our very unique text, "Mirror." "Mirror" is created by Jeannie Baker.

The text is a dual narrative text with two stories that can be read side by side.

It's presented in picture-book form.

Unlike traditional picture-books, "Mirror" features hardly any written text.

It can be considered a wordless text, so no words, or a silent text.

Instead of words, it relies on intricate, detailed collage artwork to convey its message.

What genre do you think the text is? And a genre is a category used to group different types of literature, so pause the video while you share with someone nearby.

What genre do you think the text "Mirror" is? Okay, good to be back with you.

I wonder what you discussed with someone nearby? Let's see what Izzy has to say.

"I think the genre might be nonfiction because the text looks like it will explore two different locations." Okay, interesting thinking there, Izzy.

And how about Sam? "I think a genre that "Mirror" might fit into is environmental texts.

The two landscapes are contrasting, one rural, one urban.

I wonder if the stories will make me consider the environment?" Yeah, really important thing to be considering is the environment, so yeah, that's again, some great thinking there from Sam.

I wonder what you thought? If your genre can be backed up with evidence from the front cover, or we could say the cover, or your own experience, it is a valid suggestion.

Check for understanding.

True or false.

"Mirror" contains just one story.

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 with either, a, "Mirror" is in picture book form, the artwork is created using a collage technique, or, b, "Mirror" has two front covers, each depicts a different setting and character, it is a dual narrative text.

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

Well done if you selected statement b.

In fact, both of these are true, a and b, but b is the one that directly speaks to your answer from earlier about "Mirror" containing more than just one story.

Having explored the front cover, let's find out a little more about the author, Jeannie Baker.

Here are some facts about her.

Jeannie grew up in England and was the eldest of six children.

As a child, she enjoyed drawing, painting, and making things.

Jeannie studied at art college, she developed her collage skills.

She wrote and published her first children's book while at art college, later published as "Grandfather," and we can see the front cover of her text, "Grandfather," on the screen there.

Looks really interesting.

Quite like to look that one up.

Jeannie moved to Sydney, Australia, in 1975.

Her projects often take three to four years to complete.

Wow, that is some serious dedication that Jeannie Baker shows and that she's put into her artwork and her books.

Jeannie has created many texts.

Here are some of them.

"Window," "Circle," "Playing with Collage," "The Hidden Forest." Oh my goodness, don't they look really enticing, just looking at those covers? The environment has had an enormous impact on her work.

Yeah, I think that's quite clear to see just from looking at those front covers.

I wonder if there's any of those that you are drawn to in particular? I'm quite intrigued by "Window." The blue of that water in "Circle" is really drawing me in.

How about you? Pause the video and tell someone nearby which of these books you'd really like to read.

Okay, well done, I hope you enjoyed sharing.

I wonder if you had the same text or a different one that you were drawn to? Check for understanding.

Which of the following statements are true? "Jeannie grew up in Australia." "Jeannie grew up in England." "Her first published text was 'Grandfather.

'" "Her first published text was 'Mirror.

'" Pause the video while you decide which of these statements is true.

Well done If you selected statements b and c.

Indeed, Jeannie grew up in England and her first published text was "Grandfather." To begin, we'll read the introduction to the text.

This can be found on the inside pages of both sides of the text.

It is written in English and Arabic.

So I'd like you now to read the introduction and answer this question.

"What do you think the connections might be between the two boys?" So pause the video while you read the introduction and answer the question, and share your answer with someone nearby to this question, "What do you think the connections might be between the two boys?" Here's Lucas.

"I think a connection might be that although they live in different places, Australia and Morocco, both boys might be similar on the inside and have similar character traits." That's great, thanks for sharing that answer, Lucas.

I wonder what you thought the connection might be between the two boys? And now I'd like you to refer to the world map.

Here we can see an image of a world map on screen.

Can you locate Morocco and Australia? Pause the video while you do this.

Okay, and here we have Morocco in North Africa.

You can see that in the centre of the map there.

And then we can see Australia southeast where Morocco is.

Check for understanding.

Which two locations are depicted in the text? Nigeria, Indonesia, Australia, Morocco.

Pause the video while you decide which two locations are depicted in the text.

Well done if you selected Australia and Morocco, and we can see on these maps, Australia and Morocco.

And now it's time for your first task.

Based on what we've read and discussed so far, what predictions can you make about the text's content? And a prediction can be based on what you've looked at and discussed so far, and also you can link it to the words, illustrations, or your own personal experience.

And you may like to begin your sentence like this, "I predict," and then say, and then give your reasoning, "because." So pause the video here while you make your prediction about the text's content and share it with someone nearby.

Okay, good to be back with you.

So what did you come up with? Let's see what Laura has to say.

"I predict the text will explore the two different environments, a city in Australia and a countryside in Morocco, because lots of the author's published texts share this theme." Aha, okay.

Yes, well done, Laura, for picking up on the environmental theme.

How about Jin? "I predict that there will be some connections between the two narratives.

Perhaps both boys will communicate with each other in some way." Interesting, interesting thinking there, and predicting, Jin.

Great stuff.

I wonder what you have predicted, and if your prediction can be justified using the text, illustrations or your own personal experience, then it's a good prediction.

And now let's move on to exploring the title of the text.

The title of the text, "Mirror," is very significant.

Mirrors can have lots of different meanings and connections.

To focus on a word, we can complete a word explosion to unpick its meaning, discover linking words and connections.

We begin by writing a definition of the word.

Sometimes words might have more than one appropriate definition.

Next, we find synonyms, words that have similar meaning, and antonyms, words with an opposite meaning to the word, and list these.

We then write the word in a sentence, the more creative the better.

And after that we can write in connections we have to the word.

This can be from another text or something we've seen, read or heard recently.

So, interesting.

Finally, we can illustrate the word.

Oh, my goodness, we finish with some serious fun.

So let's look at an example using the word, environment.

So there we've got our word in the middle, environment.

Here's our definition.

"The surroundings in which a person, animal or plant lives or operates." Our synonyms, habitat, home, surroundings, setting, natural world.

And our antonyms, opposites, empty, void, artificial.

Let's use it in a sentence.

"The lush environment of the rainforest teems with diverse plant and animal life." Some connections.

"The films 'Avatar' and 'Wall-E,' the TV programme, 'Planet Earth,' and the books, 'Greenling' and 'The Wild Robot.

'" And an illustration, oh, my goodness, how luscious is that environment? Wow.

I want to view that.

Check for understanding.

Which of the following are included in a word explosion? The etymology of the word.

Synonyms and antonyms. A definition of the word.

Connections to the word.

Pause the video while you decide which of these are included in a word explosion.

Well done if you selected the last three.

Absolutely.

We have synonyms and antonyms, definition of the word, and connections to the word.

And it can be useful to remember the prefix, syn, in synonym, which suggests sameness or similarities.

Likewise, it can be useful to remember the prefix, anti, in antonym, which suggests opposition or opposite.

Okay, it is time for your task.

I would like you to complete a word explosion using the word, mirror.

So remember, you are gonna define the word, what's the meaning? Synonyms, similar words, antonyms, opposite words, use the word in a sentence, think of some connections, something you may have seen, heard, read, and then your illustration.

And to start you off, here is a definition.

An object that reflects a clear image, mirroring is to copy or reflect someone's actions.

Okay, I cannot wait to see what you come up with.

Enjoy, take your time, I'll see you when you're finished.

It's good to be back with you.

How did you get on with that task? I am so curious.

Let's find out.

So we have our definitions.

How about some synonyms? Okay, these are good ones.

Copy, replica, reflect, repeat, match, imitate, mimic.

Yeah, these are all fantastic synonyms for mirror.

What about some opposites for mirror? Hide, conceal, blur, distort, disguise.

Okay, fantastic.

Really nice opposites there.

Nice antonyms. Let's see how you used mirror in a sentence.

"The dancer skillfully mirrors the movements of his partner during the performance." Love that.

So connections.

"Mirror, mirror," in fairytales, "Through the looking glass," "Alice in Wonderland," and "Harry Potter." Love those, and let's see this illustration.

Very nice, nice handy mirror, that one.

Yeah, like that one in my bathroom.

Okay, well done, everyone.

You've done a fantastic job with this word explosion.

I hope you enjoyed it.

In our lesson today, Introducing the text and author of "Mirror," we have covered the following.

"Mirror" is a dual narrative text, two stories that are made to be read side by side.

The text can be considered a wordless text, instead of words, that relies on intricate detailed collage artwork to convey its message.

A prediction can be based on what readers have explored within a text, it can be justified by the text, illustrations or personal experience.

Words can have multiple meanings, pupils can explore these through a word explosion.

It was great to explore this text with you today to get an introduction to "Mirror" by Jeannie Baker.

It's really quite something, I'm sure you'll agree, and I'm looking forward to continuing the exploration.

See you next time.

Bye for now.