Hello there.

How are you doing today? I hope you're feeling really quite well.

My name's Miss Afzal.

I am feeling pretty good because we are gonna continue our exploration of the adaptation of "Oliver Twist." The author of this novel, this classic Victorian novel, is, yep, you got it, Charles Dickens, and it's been adapted by Geraldine McCaughrean.

So I would like you to go off and get your copy of the text, pause the video, and I'll wait here for you.

All right, good to see you again.

You've got your text.

what else have you got? We're exploring themes, so I hope you got a lot of curiosity.

I hope you're up for sharing, for listening, and for discussing some of the themes in this amazing text.

Let's begin.

The outcome for today's lesson is I can identify and engage with the key themes in "Oliver Twist." Here are some key keywords in today's lesson.

Let's go through them.

My turn, your turn.

Theme, convey, identity.

Fantastic.

It was good to hear those words.

Let's find out the meanings of them.

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

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

And identity is linked to understanding who you are and your place within the world.

I'm really looking forward to these words coming up in our lesson today.

So what's involved in our lesson, exploring and engaging with themes in "Oliver Twist"? Well, first of all we'll be reading Chapter 17, and then we'll be identifying and reflecting on themes.

So let's get started.

"Oliver Twist" is adapted by Geraldine McCaughrean and illustrated by Jeff Anderson.

There's a fantastic illustration on the front cover there.

So what do we know so far? Oliver is forced to help Bill Sikes to burgle a property in the countryside, and Oliver is shot.

In Chapters 10 to 16, Oliver recovers.

He's taken in by the family who own the house.

Miss Maylie understands that Oliver did not want to assist Sikes.

Oliver is taught to read and write.

Fagin and Monks eventually find Oliver.

Monks is revealed as Oliver's half-brother.

Monks is trying to track down his mother's locket which was taken when she gave birth to Oliver.

It is proof of Oliver's identity.

Oliver and Miss Maylie travel to London, are reunited with Mr. Brownlow.

Nancy locates the two adults and informs them of Fagin and Monks' plan.

The Artful Dodger, who had been asked to follow Nancy, tells Fagin and Bill Sikes what Nancy has done.

She is killed.

The people of London are shocked by Nancy's death, and the Den of Thieves go on a run.

Bill Sikes dies while fleeing.

Fagin and the Artful Dodger are imprisoned.

Well, that's really a lot of quite intense stuff that happens at the end of this text.

Check for understanding.

True or false.

The character of Nancy remains the same from when the reader first meets her to her death.

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.

Take a look at these two statements.

A, Nancy begins the text with Bill Sikes capturing Oliver.

By the end of the text, she tries to save Oliver and redeem herself.

Or B, Nancy is betrayed by the Artful Dodger.

He follows her to her meeting with Mr. Brownlow and Miss Maylie.

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

Well done if you selected A.

Absolutely, this is a really good justification for your answer about Nancy not remaining the same from when we first meet her to her death.

In Chapter 17, Oliver is reunited with Fagin after the events of the previous few chapters.

He visits the jail with Mr. Brownlow.

I'd like you now to read the first part of Chapter 17, page 100, down to the bottom of page 102.

After that, I'd like you to answer these questions: What is the connection between Oliver and Mr. Brownlow? What objects does Oliver now own that belonged to his mother? So pause the video while you read from 100 to the bottom of 102 and answer these couple of questions and share your answers with someone nearby.

Pause the video here.

Let's see what Laura has to say.

"Oliver's mother was Mr. Brownlow's niece.

A portrait of her hung in his house.

Oliver finally has something that belonged to his mother: a locket and a ring.

He is overcome with emotion." And here we can see an image of a locket.

So a locket is a small, ornamental case, and it's often placed on a chain, and someone might wear a locket around their neck.

I wonder if you've ever had a locket or seen a locket before.

I used to have one when I was a child.

Mr. Brownlow asks Oliver what he thinks he should do with his half-brother, Monks, who tried to ruin Oliver's reputation.

Refer to page 102.

If you were Oliver, what would you decide? What do you think Oliver's father wished for? So pause the video now while you refer to page 102 and have a think about what would you do if you were Oliver in this situation, and what do you think Oliver's father would've wished him to do? So pause the video while you reflect on these questions and read page 102.

I wonder what you decided.

Maybe something like this.

"I know Oliver was very forgiving, as he has been forgiven a lot by others.

I think if I were him, I would split whatever our father had given us." Okay, yeah, so he's really taking the forgiveness route.

Or maybe, "Monks tried to cause harm to Oliver and conspired with Fagin against him.

I would not speak to him again.

He doesn't seem like a kind person at all." Oh.

Can also understand that point of view, yeah.

So thank you for sharing your answers and exploring what you would've done if you were Oliver.

Check for understanding.

Which of the following adjectives describe Oliver? Refer to his characterization throughout the text.

Cruel, selfish, honest, forgiving.

Pause the video while you select which adjectives describe Oliver.

Well done if you selected honest and forgiving.

Throughout the entire text, characters have taken pity on Oliver and commented on his trustworthiness and honesty.

He has been forgiven many times, which perhaps results in his choice to follow his father's wishes.

And then, as we carry on reading, we find out that Oliver is shocked at what happens next.

His life is forever changed.

I'd like you now to read the second part of Chapter 17, pages 103 down to the bottom of page 104, and then I'd like you to reflect on this question.

Why is Oliver taken aback by Mr. Brownlow's response regarding his inheritance? An inheritance is what someone may pass on to another person, what they leave to them, or give to them.

So pause the video here while you read those pages and reflect on this question: Why is Oliver taken aback by Mr. Brownlow's response regarding his inheritance? Let's see what Jun has to say.

"Oliver initially thinks he's just inherited six pounds.

However, Mr. Brownlow reveals this is 6,000 pounds, a large amount in Victorian society." Yeah, absolutely, Jun, that is.

Really no wonder that Oliver's taken back.

That's a really, really large, large amount of money in those times, and in these times still.

Check for understanding.

Match what happens to each of the following characters in the ending of the text.

So we've got Mr. Bumble, Miss Maylie, and Edward Leeson, or Monks.

And what happens to them is: marries a clergyman and moves to the countryside, takes his inheritance and loses it gambling, ends life in prison, and loses his job and ends up working in a workhouse.

So pause the video while you match the characters to what happens to them at the end of the text.

Okay, let's see what connections you made.

Did you connect up Mr. Bumble to being the person that loses his job and ends up working in a workhouse? Miss Maylie marries a clergyman and moves to the countryside.

And Monks takes his inheritance and loses it gambling.

He ends his life in prison.

Well done if you made these connections.

At the end of the text, the author tells the reader what happened to the rest of the characters in "Oliver Twist." Refer to pages 103, 104.

Why do you think the author does this? Does anyone not have a resolution? A resolution in a story is when the main problems or conflicts are solved and the story comes to a satisfying end.

So pause the video while you refer back to pages 103 and 104.

And why does the author decide to tell us what happens to the rest of the characters in "Oliver Twist"? And is there anyone that doesn't have a resolution? Pause the video here.

Okay, it's good to be back with you, and I'm curious to find out what did you think about this? Why did the author do this, and who didn't get a resolution? Let's see what Lucas has to say.

"I think the author knew that Charles Dickens wrote a lot about injustice so decided to make sure the readers knew that everyone had a suitable ending.

The reader is left wondering about Fagin's boys, like lots of children who were in poverty at the time." Yeah, really great points there.

Thank you, Lucas.

So yeah, nearly everybody gets a resolution.

And now, it's time for us to look at identifying and reflecting on themes.

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 often mirror issues and topics that we encounter in our own lives, making the story relatable to the reader.

And so, to convey means how those are communicated; convey is to communicate themes and ideas.

Let's have a look at some examples of themes: friendship, family, love, courage, betrayal, good versus evil, death, protection, loneliness, survival.

I wonder if you can think of any texts that have covered themes such as the ones we can see here on the screen.

I can think of a few of my favourite texts that have explored some of these themes, and I wonder if there are some themes that you particularly enjoy reading about.

I know, for me, I really like stories that are about friendship, family, love.

It looks like I'm going through the whole list.

But yeah, those are some of the ones I really, really like.

What about you? I wonder what themes you really enjoy reading about.

Maybe you'd like to pause the video here for a moment and tell someone nearby which of these themes do you like to read about.

Okay, thanks for sharing with your partner.

I wonder if you had the same sorts of themes that you enjoy or maybe different ones, and maybe you could give some recommendations to each other for books that explore some of these themes.

Identifying themes within a text involves inference.

Themes are not explicitly stated within a text.

So a text won't say, "This book is about x, y, z themes." Authors commonly use repetition to convey themes, to communicate their themes to the reader.

So there are a few ways in which you can identify themes: By considering actions and characteristics of people within the text.

Identifying repetition, actions, emotions, traits, that recur.

Searching for deeper meaning using inference.

Or by considering the overall message of the text.

These are just some of the ways that we can identify themes.

There are many possible themes that can be drawn out from this text, and readers may interpret themes and their importance differently.

Let's take a look at some of the themes: identity, injustice, poverty, compassion.

These are just some of the themes that can be inferred.

There are many more.

Check for understanding.

Match the theme with how it is conveyed in the text.

So here we have our themes, identity, poverty, compassion, and how it could be conveyed in the text: Mr. Brownlow and Miss Maylie show kindness and empathy towards Oliver despite their differences.

Oliver uncovers his true parentage and finds where he belongs.

Many of the characters do not come from wealthy backgrounds and live under challenging circumstances.

So pause the video while you match up the themes and how they're conveyed in the text.

Let's see what connections you made.

Did you connect up identity with the fact of Oliver uncovering his true parentage and where he belongs? Poverty is the fact that many of the characters do not come from wealthy backgrounds, and they live under challenging circumstances.

And compassion, it's one of my favourite words, is how Mr. Brownlow and Miss Maylie show kindness and empathy towards Oliver despite their differences.

I wonder if you can think of a time when you showed compassion to someone, or when someone showed compassion to you, showed kindness and empathy.

That's a really nice thing to reflect on.

And now, it's time for your next task.

I'd like you to discuss which other themes appear throughout the narrative.

So we've looked at these themes, identity, injustice, poverty, compassion, but what else is there? And some themes are more complex and encourage us to consider their meanings.

So pause the video now while you discuss with someone nearby some more themes, some other themes that appear within this narrative.

All right, it's good to be back with you.

So I'm really curious.

What did you come up with? Did you have any ideas such as these: Corruption, when people are committing crimes, where they are not being honest.

Family, social class, morality, knowing right from wrong, belonging, loneliness, betrayal, redemption.

Doing the right thing, making up for what we have done, maybe when we've done something wrong.

So many amazing themes here.

What a rich text this is, contains so much.

"Oliver Twist" is a dramatic and engaging text, written about an important part of history.

Readers can reflect on its themes today.

Answer the following questions: What messages or take-away ideas do you have from reading the text? How does Oliver's search for his identity shape his actions and relationships throughout the story? And you might like to use sentence starters like these: So, "A take-away idea I had after reading the text was." And, "I think Oliver's search for his identity is shown through." So pause the video here while you answer these questions.

What's your take-away idea, and how does Oliver's search for his identity shape his actions and relationships? All right, it's good to be back with you.

I am really curious.

What are your take-away ideas? What are you taking from this text? Maybe something like this.

"Reading 'Oliver Twist' made me think about the inequality between those who have lots of wealth and those who do not.

Charles Dickens wrote about injustice, and I think it's still an issue people face." Such a helpful point to share there: inequality and injustice then and indeed now.

"I think Oliver's search for his identity is shown through him befriending lots of the characters in the text, including Mr. Brownlow, Miss Maylie, and Nancy.

He eventually finds his true family at the end of the text." Yeah, it's quite a resolution.

Thank you for sharing your ideas with each other.

Hope it was a really rich exploration.

In today's lesson, exploring and engaging with themes in "Oliver Twist," we've covered the following: A theme is a big idea, topic, or message that recurs within a story.

Some themes are more complex.

It can be incredibly relevant and linked to significant issues regardless of the time in which the text was written.

Theme of identity is conveyed through Oliver's emotional journey to finding out who he is.

It is one of the central themes of the text.

At the end of the text, Geraldine McCaughrean offers resolutions to many of the characters encountered by Oliver in the text.

Well, I think this is a wonderful resolution for us right now who completed these lessons and engaged with the themes in "Oliver Twist." It was great to be with you and to explore all of this, and I'm really looking forward to seeing you in another lesson.

Bye for now.