Hello, everyone.

It's so good to see you.

My name is Miss Afzal, and I'm so pleased, because today, I get to share with you one of my favourite novels.

It's really something quite unique.

It's called "The Unforgotten Coat", and it's written by Frank Cottrell Boyce.

I'd like you to pause the video now while you go and fetch your copy of this text.

All right, great to have you back again.

Let's start exploring this book.

And who knows? By the end, maybe we'll have all planned a big group trip to Mongolia.

I know that's certainly what I wanted to do as soon as I finished reading this novel.

Let's begin.

The outcome for today's lesson is: I can discuss the main ideas of "The Unforgotten Coat." We have some keywords in our lesson today.

Let's go through them one at a time.

My turn, your turn.

Novella.

Nomad.

Theme.

Immigration.

Great stuff.

Loved hearing those.

Let's find out about the meanings of these keywords.

A novella is a fictional narrative that is longer than a short story, but shorter than a full-length novel.

A nomad is a member of a community or tribe that has no permanent settlement.

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

Immigration refers to the act of moving to a foreign country with the intention of living there permanently.

These are our keywords, let's look out for them, let's listen out for them, let's think about them, they are going to come up in our lesson today.

Today's lesson is developing an understanding of "The Unforgotten Coat" through rich discussions.

It has two parts to it: exploring the story and exploring themes.

Let's begin with exploring the story.

So here's our text, "The Unforgotten Coat." It's a novella written by Frank Cottrell Boyce, with photographs by Carl Hunter and Clare Heney.

So let's find out a bit about this text.

The text is told from the perspective of Julie, now an adult, who is reflecting on her time in Year 6 at her primary school in Bootle, a suburb of Liverpool.

Julie's school life is upended with the arrival of two brothers, Chingis and Nergui, who have travelled to the UK from Mongolia.

Through friendship, cultural exchange, and the power of storytelling, the trio navigates the challenges of immigration and the longing for a place to call home.

Wow.

A lot.

A lot going on in this amazing text.

Let's get into it.

"The Unforgotten Coat" explores the rich history of Chingis' home country, Mongolia, as well as giving readers an insight into what life is like for Julie, who lives in Bootle.

Through Chingis, Julie's class, and us as readers, are inspired to find out about nomadic culture and the Mongolian landscape, including the steppes, dry, grassy plains.

The characters explore Bootle and its surrounding areas which are brought to life by Frank Cottrell Boyce's writing.

So we can see many images there.

We can see the steppes on the right there.

A map under that, there's a map showing Mongolia, another image from Mongolia.

And then if we work our way towards the left of the screen, we can see some images from Bootle in Liverpool, and we can see a map which shows us Liverpool in the United Kingdom.

What a journey we go on in this text.

Okay, I have my first questions for you.

Why is this novel important and what message do you think it has for readers? So pause the video here, turn to someone nearby and share with them why is this novel important? What message does it have? Here's Jun.

"'The Unforgotten Coat' highlights the power of friendship and inclusion of all people, no matter their cultural background.

Julie's friendship with Chingis and Nergui demonstrates how genuine connections can rise above language and cultural barriers.

This story is particularly relevant when thinking about the experiences of refugees and migrants." Yeah, thank you so much for that, Jun.

Really important points there.

Okay, and I wonder what you came up with.

Why do you feel this novel is important? Hope you enjoyed sharing with someone nearby.

Check for understanding.

True or false? "The Unforgotten Coat" is a nonfiction text.

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

Well done if you selected false.

And now I would like you to justify your answer.

Choose from one of these two statements: "The Unforgotten Coat" tells the reader lots of information about the history and culture of Mongolia.

"The Unforgotten Coat" is a fictional novella based on the author's experience in a primary school.

Pause the video while you decide which of these statements will directly justify your earlier answer.

Well done if you selected the second statement.

Although both of these statements are true, it's the second one that is more directly referencing your earlier answer, that "The Unforgotten Coat" is not a nonfiction text.

And now let's get into a brief summary of the text.

Chingis joins Julie's class.

His brother Nergui sits with him and does not want to leave his side.

Chingis and Nergui choose Julie as their guide, someone who will help them.

Julie supports Chingis and his brother both in school and out.

Julie's class are inspired to learn more about Mongolia.

Chingis shares information about some tradition such as the oovo, a traditional Mongolia monument.

You can see an image there of an oovo.

One day, Chingis is no longer in class.

Julie finds out from their class teacher that his family were deported, which means they had to leave the country.

Having been through a summary of the text, I'd now like you to have a go at putting the following events from "The Unforgotten Coat" in chronological order.

That means in time order, in the sequence in which they occurred.

Use the text to support you.

Julie finds Chingis and his brother near the beaches.

They find some yurts, which they play in While visiting Julie's home, Chingis makes a dough figure and places this on her doorstep.

Chingis leaves school during the school day.

Julie decides to find out where he went.

Chingis and Nergui turn up at Julie's school one day during the summer term.

Pause the video while you decide which order these events occurred in.

Okay, so hopefully you had this one first.

So the first thing that happens is Chingis and Nergui turn up at Julie's school during the summer term.

Next, while visiting Julie's home, Chingis makes a dough figure and places this on her doorstep.

After that, Chingis leaves school during the school day.

Julie decides to find out where he went.

And finally, Julie finds Chingis and his brother near the beaches.

They find some yurts, which they play in.

And we can see an image of a yurt there on the screen.

Well done if you put the events in this order.

Okay, it is time for our first task.

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

I'd like you to answer the questions in the grid that's coming up shortly with a partner.

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

Okay, here we go.

Here is our grid.

So I would like to know what are your likes, your dislikes, and your puzzles about this text? So let's go into each of these.

So likes.

What caught your attention? What made you wanna keep turning those pages? I had this just yesterday.

I've read this book many times, actually.

And yesterday I reread it, and I just, it was late, but I could not stop.

What is it that made you want to keep reading? And you may like to start your sentences with: "I enjoyed.

." or "My favourite part was.

." What about dislikes? Was there anything that you didn't understand? And you could begin with: "I was unsure about.

." or "I wanted to know more about.

." And how about puzzles? Was there anything you found strange or surprising? And you could begin your sentences with: "I wondered.

." or "I noticed.

." So pause the video here and share with someone nearby your likes, your dislikes, your puzzles about "The Unforgotten Coat." And I'll see you when you're finished.

It's great to be back with you.

I wonder how do you respond to this text? Let's find out.

Likes.

"My favourite part was the football scene where Frank Cottrell Boyce uses humour and heart to make the reader feel a range of emotions.

He captures Chingis with a Liverpudlian accent perfectly." Dislikes.

"I wanted to know more about why Chingis had to return to Mongolia.

It was such a shock to not have him return to the class." Yeah, absolutely.

Really tough moment.

Puzzles.

"I noticed how each Polaroid photograph started the different chapters in the novella." Yeah.

"As I was reading, I wondered what had inspired Frank Cottrell Boyce to write the text.

The afterword gave me the answer." Fantastic.

Loved hearing these.

And I hope you enjoyed sharing with someone nearby.

Okay, and now we're onto the next part of our lesson where we'll be exploring themes.

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

Identifying themes within a text involves inference.

Themes are not explicitly stated within a text.

So a text will not say, "This text is about X, Y, Z theme." But there are a few ways that we can identify themes: By considering actions and characteristics of people within the text.

By identifying repetition, actions, emotions, traits that recur.

Searching for deeper meaning using inference, looking for clues.

And considering the overall message of the text.

Two of the most prominent themes are empathy and immigration.

So empathy is when we're feeling with another, we can understand another person and take their perspective.

And immigration is the act of moving to a country with the intention of living there permanently.

Through their friendship, Julie learns about Chingis' journey and understands the challenges that he and his family face in trying to remain in the country.

What themes do you think are shown within the text? So pause the video and share with someone nearby.

What are some of the themes? We've got empathy and immigration, but what other themes are there in this text? Perhaps you came up with themes such as kindness, family, friendship, belonging, school, experiences of refugee and migrants, and hope.

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

'Cause we all come to a text with our own experiences and our own learning and reading identities.

Check for understanding.

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

So we have the themes of belonging, immigration, and kindness.

And how they are conveyed in the text: Chingis and his family are deported, sent back to their home country for not having the correct papers to remain.

Chingis uses photography of Bootle to remind him of his home country, Mongolia.

Julie is happy to help Chingis and Nergui settle into their new school and community.

She supports them in learning English and invites them to her home.

So pause the video while you connect up the themes and how they could be conveyed in the text.

Okay, so well done if you made this connection.

Belonging is how Chingis uses the photography of Bootle to remind him of his home country, Mongolia.

Immigration.

Chingis and his family are deported, sent back to their home country for not having the correct papers to remain.

And kindness.

Julie is happy to help Chingis and Nergui settle into their new school and community.

She supports them in learning English and invites them to her home.

Well done if you made these connections.

Julie understands her own ignorance when it comes to Chingis' cultural heritage.

She compares this to feathers on page 18, when Chingis tells the class about how to calm an eagle.

What do you think she means by this? What feathers do you think you have or are yet to learn? Pause the video while you share with someone nearby.

You might like to refer to page 17 and 18 to support you.

So pause the video while you answer these questions and share with someone nearby.

Okay, here's Alex.

Let's see what Alex says.

"I think Julia's reflecting on what she has learned at school and all the learning she has yet to do.

She describes this as being like feathers wanting to be airborne.

Through reading, I've learned about different experiences and cultures.

I would love to discover more about Mongolia and its people's traditions." Fantastic to reflect upon these things.

It's always good to keep learning.

Learning, learning, learning.

Chingis tries to make himself and his brother fit in in order to disguise themselves.

Julie refers to this as learning how to be "ordinary." Why do you think the boys are trying to hide by being ordinary? And why do you think this upsets Julie? Refer to page 48 to support you.

So pause the video now while you answer these questions and share your answers with someone nearby.

Here's Sam.

"I think the boys are trying to avoid being caught by the immigration authorities.

Chingis compares this to the idiom of hiding a needle in a haystack." Yeah, great answer.

Thank you Sam.

And here's Andy.

"This might upset Julie because she thinks that once the boys are ordinary, they will no longer hang out with her." Yeah, a really interesting perspective there.

Thank you.

Thank you for sharing.

Check for understanding.

Which of the following is true? And use the text to support you.

Julie gets a chance to say goodbye to Chingis.

Finding Chingis' coat in lost property many years after leaving makes Julie think about her time in Year 6.

Chingis refers to Julie as their "good" guide.

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

Well done If you selected the final two statements.

Yep, indeed.

Finding Chingis' coat all those years later makes Julie reflect.

And Julie is referred to as their "good" guide.

And sadly, Julie did not get a chance to say goodbye to Chingis.

So that statement was not true.

The take-away idea within the 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.

Here's a take-away idea from Aisha.

"Friendship and kindness can overcome barriers." And here's one from Lucas.

"Home is not just a physical place, but can also be a feeling of connection, acceptance, and belonging." Oh my goodness.

These two.

Both of these two take-away ideas are so incredible.

I love them.

I wanna take away these take-away ideas.

What are your take-away ideas within "The Unforgotten Coat"? So pause the video now and share with someone nearby your take-away ideas.

Some take-away ideas you might have mentioned could be: Acts of kindness and compassion can have a profound impact on people's lives and encourage them to feel a sense of belonging.

People can find strength in adversity, overcoming challenges.

There are many reasons why people move from one place to another.

Not every story ends happily ever after.

It's important to learn about cultures that are different to our own, it fosters empathy and understanding.

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

Thank you for sharing them.

In our lesson, Developing an Understanding of "The Unforgotten Coat" Through Rich Discussions, we have covered the following: "The Unforgotten Coat" is a novella told from the perspective of Julie, who's now an adult.

She reflects on her time in Year 6 when Chingis joined her class.

The text explores the rich history of Chingis' home country, Mongolia, its landscape and nomadic culture.

A take-away 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.

A prominent theme is immigration.

Julie understands the challenges that Chingis and his family face in trying to remain in the country.

It was great to spend time with you in this lesson today.

Thank you for exploring this wonderful text together, and I loved hearing your take-away ideas, especially.

Those will really stay with me.

I'll see you in the next lesson.

Bye for now.